Assessment of Orientation and Public Relations- Strategy on Crises Management: Evidence from Nigeria’s South-South Region

It is widely acknowledged that since the discovery of oil in the region, neither the government, multinational oil companies nor the host communities have had peace as there has been nonstop violent crisis ranging from militancy, to kidnapping, pipeline vandalism, oil theft to all sorts of youth restiveness and criminality. This study therefore examines the efficacy of marketing communication as potential tool for crisis management within South-south region of Niger Delta. A total of twelve local government areas where selected (two each) from the six states of the South-south from where units of analysis were drawn, and responses elicited from them with the aid of a structured questionnaire. Field data was analysed using multiple regression. Findings indicated that the two dimensions of marketing communication examined in this study are of significant positive relationship with the criterion variable (crises management). Hence study concludes that multinational oil companies operating in the region should invest more in their public relations and reorientation strategies to facilitate effective communication between operating multinational oil companies and their host communities so as to enjoy peaceful coexistence and tranquillity in the area.