PUBLIC Relations (PR) is the way of managing outside communication of any society in order to create and maintain a positive image. Every society needs public relations as long as there are people living together in communities, working together in organisations and forming a society. The fact that human beings live together makes them to think about their interactions and organize their relationships with one another.

Public relations has done a lot in informing, persuading and integrating people. It is in recognition of these important function of PR that the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) Kaduna State chapter organized it’s 2007 annual lecture at Hamdala Hotel, Kaduna recently.

In his welcome address, the Chairman of NIPR Kaduna chapter Alhaji Mohammed Idris said the theme of this year’s lecture is "The role of PR in fostering relationship among people." The theme was so chosen because of the important role PR plays in creating necessary effects and opening opportunities for better understanding among people and nations.

He said that NIPR has made positive contributions to the development of Kaduna State and the nation as a whole since its inception through conference, workshops and seminars.

Presenting a paper, His Excellency Awad Mursi Taha, Ambassador of the Republic of the Republic of Sudan, gave a general overview of Sudan and how the conflict in Darfur started in order to create better understanding and correct any misconceptions.

Ambassador Taha, described Sudan as a multifarious, multinational and ethnically diverse society because it is the largest country in the Middle East, with an area of one million square miles, a population of about 40 million and over 500 tribes.

Sudan a former colony of Britain but gained her independence on 1st January, 1956 and thus started her journey towards nationhood. As a nation, Sudan has had her own share of internal conflict and crisis which she has at various times managed successfully until 2003 when the existing peace in Darfur region was shattered.

The crisis in Darfur started in 2003, when two armed groups the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) attacked villages and towns concentrating on government locations, especially remote and isolated police stations. They exercised armed plundering, killed citizens, plundering their properties and also engaged in highway robbery. At the end of the day, over 600 people were killed and 500 others wounded.

The rebel movement claimed it was pushed into the rebellious act by the government because the people of Darfur are being marginalized. Ambassador Taha said the claims of the rebels were false and totally baseless because the crisis is not as a result of marginalization or underdevelopment. According to him "Darfur is far better than most parts of Sudan in terms of development. The present government which came into power in 1989 has increased the number of high schools in the region from 16 to 250, primary schools from 241 to 784 in 2003; university from 1 to 3 and hospitals from 3 to 33."

Looking at all that has been said, since the rebellion in this western remote and badly underdeveloped region of Sudan was plotted under the guise of lack of development programmes, has development come to the area? The answer here is a big and emphatic "No". The rebellion only succeeded in bringing destruction, misery and bloodshed to the people and land of Darfur and also sabotaging the development programmes which the government had put in place.

Since the crisis in Darfur was not as a result of underdevelopment, what exactly is the problem? Abdul Rahman Al-Zuma in "Darfur crisis…the true story" believes that the rebels who started the crisis were being used by enemies of Sudan. "These enemies who would do every thing at their disposal to keep the country in a state of chaos, troubles and instability. The leaders of Darfur rebellion are a bunch of hypocrites who want to use the humanitarian crisis which they caused to achieve their own political goals. Those politicians have been pushed out of the political arena by the "Ingaz Regime." They wanted to come back to the political scene through the window. That window is the Darfur rebellion. They thought they could use the Darfur rebels to "settle their political account." They did not evaluate carefully the dangerous consequence of such irresponsible behaviour," he said.

He further stated that, "it would be too late when these puppets (rebels) would discover that they were used by their "own enemies who were only interested in the oil, copper and uranium of Darfur."

Looking at the spate of killings in Darfur, can the events in Darfur be described as genocide? Ambassador Taha, revels that claims and allegations of genocide, ethnic cleansing and racial conflict have been pushed by several long standing anti-Sudan activists and irresponsible media but the event in Darfur cannot be described as genocide. Former United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Anan said, "I cannot call the killing a genocide even though there have been massive violation of international law."

The ambassador said that the government of Sudan is committed to finding a peaceful and lasting solution to the conflict. They have equally welcomed the close involvement of both Chad and the African Union (AU) peace keeping forces. The massive response of the AU and the overwhelming interest demonstrated by the African countries to contribute troops to the African mission in Sudan (AMIS) putting their most valuable men and women on the frontline, reveals the unity and determination of African leaders to take responsibility for their problems. He stated further that AMIS have made significant achievement in protecting civilians, in security humanitarian assistance to the needy people in Darfur and the reconciliation efforts between the waring tribes.

However, Ambassador Taha stressed that to fully address the Darfur crisis, it is essential that the events in Darfur are evaluated as objectively as possible, to do so observers must cut away the propaganda, media sensationalism and pressure groups politics especially within the United States (US) that has already distorted perception of the Darfur crisis in Sudan.

From this standpoint, the Darfur crisis was meant to tear the social fabric on which the Sudanese national unity was built thereby leading to a wide explosion of the whole of Sudan. The evil scenario was designed in such a way that will lead to total chaos and that will lead to foreign intervention, which would practically lead to the undermining of the Sudanese independence and sovereignty.