Public Issues Education and Extension Practice in Nigeria

This paper advocates that public issues education (PIE) and conflict management are new societal concerns extension professionals in Nigeria should tackle. The paper believes that incorporating PIE into policy making will allow communities in Nigeria to use public-issue conflicts as an opportunity to collaboratively explore topics, better understand the issues, and consider alternative solutions. The paper provides an overview of the concept of PIE, the process of public policy education and how PIE helps communities involved in public-issue disputes to reach agreements. Furthermore, the paper identifies (1) roles extension professionals in Nigeria should play in PIE; (2) principles they should observe to successfully impart policy education; (3) ways for evaluating the success of PIE; and (4) institutional requirements for involvement of extension professionals in PIE in Nigeria. The paper concludes that involvement of extension professionals in PIE can only be possible when the institutional environment of extension agencies in the country gives it a worthy support. The extension professionals also will require training on the principles and process of PIE and the ability to practically apply skills so acquired for them to effectively impart public policy education.