John Ajayi: An Excellent Professional @60

Ralph Tattagattar

Ever heard the phrase “60 is the new 40”? While that may sound biologically and literally impossible, it’s meant to highlight the very real phenomenon of being productive, a continuing and innovative presence in the workforce even at 60.

The above poser and its ensuing explanation encapsulate the life of John Ajayi, a.k.a Omo Ajayi, a legacy journalist who has spent over three decades of his sojourn on planet earth, practising a career that gives joy to his heart and soul.

Born on June 12, 1963, in Ijan-Ekiti, in Gbonyin Local Government of Ekiti State in Southwest Nigeria, Ajayi, known for his visionary and highly focused journalism, marketing and public relations acumen, graduated from the University of Lagos with a Bachelor’s degree in English Language. In his quest for more knowledge and to prepare for future endeavours, he obtained a postgraduate diploma in Journalism at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Ogba and later a Master’s degree in Political Science, from the same University of Lagos.

A consummate professional, Ajayi worked with prominent media firms in Nigeria, particularly in the print media, distinguishing himself as a well-sought-after journalist, covering the wide spectrum of business beats, features and later the political desk where he was once posted to the Governor’s office as a State House Correspondent by THISDAY Newspapers. He cut his journalism teeth at The News magazine, where he was first employed as a Proof Reader on the Sub- Desk. He later moved to Thisday newspaper upon the completion of his Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism as a Staff Writer where he also introduced the Media page column of the Newspaper.

Meritoriously celebrated as an investigative journalist, and a very hard-working news hunter, Ajayi is known for delivering breaking news and exclusives that have positively lifted the profession. In his drive to move beyond the established mark and do something extraordinary, Ajayi took a very bold, surprising and decisive decision in 2003 that stunned industry watchers and even his family by floating his own media outfit, Marketing Edge Publications Ltd. His bold decision to call it quit with a paid employment even at a much younger age was seen as a risk too grievous and ambitious.

The focused publication’s objective as envisioned and moulded by Ajayi is aimed at promoting the brands, while expanding the frontiers of marketing and advertising knowledge for all the players and practitioners in the Integrated Marketing Communications sector (IMC) .This initiative offers the IMC group the first and novel opportunity to embrace and identify with a news platform that solely deals with the industry happenings,  developments and growth .This media group  has  today metamorphosed into a multi-channel media news Channel that cuts across print, online, broadcast and OOH; and with a subsidiary, Media Edge, that is into 360-degree marketing communications and brand management consultancy services.

In further pursuit of the vision, Ajayi, in 2013, signposted the 10th anniversary of the company with the flag-off of an annual two-in-one event: the National Marketing Stakeholders Summit and the Brand and Advertising Excellence Awards, an event which, on the one hand, galvanizes the industry to brainstorm on a contemporary and topical issue in an effort to extend the frontiers of knowledge in the business of brand management and the management of the brand business as well as provide the environment for stakeholders engagement to chart the way forward for the industry.

The awards event, on the other hand, is a platform that honours outstanding product, corporate, institutional, and personality brands across marketing communication and other sectors. The two-in-one event has since grown to become another pace-setting and torch-bearing initiative which, over the last ten editions, has enjoyed a consistent rise in profile and equity, both locally and internationally.

In twenty years of establishing Marketing Edge, John Ajayi, a Fellow of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria, FNIMN, has truly developed the publication as a likable brand reputed as the authoritative source of news, events, and happenings in the IMC sector. As far as Ajayi is concerned, the vision remains very green as ever-green as the water lilly plant by the river bank.

It is no secret that the magazine and, indeed, the print media industry have had to cope with some significant changes in recent years. From declining print sales to advancement and incursion of the social media and digital technology, it is fair to say that the print industry is verging on extinction and looks very different now to what it did 20, or even 10 years ago. What remains of print journalism is shifting, morphing into a loose web of digital outfits populated by a corps of young freelancers, citizen journalists and keyboard hustlers, Twitter fiends and social media soothsayers. Gone are the packed days of the newsrooms. And gone, in many cases, are the journalism of the olden days as technology and innovations have disrupted the trade and the profession.

Despite the shrinking of the sprawling lattice of the newsroom and the extinction of several publications in the Nigerian media landscape too numerous to mention, Ajayi as a publisher has continued to strategically and creatively navigate the media ecosystem with exceptional courage, innovation and creativity. His audacity and can do spirit inspired him into replicating the Marketing Edge in print with Marketing Edge On Tv, broadcast version of the print in partnership with TVC and WAP TV,

In 2017, John Ajayi was inducted into the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), an umbrella body for Nigerian top editors and media elites. In 2022, the national body Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Lagos Chapter and Brand Journalists Association of Nigeria (BJAN) recognised and honoured him for his immeasurable contributions to the growth and development of journalism profession. While the BJAN conferred him with the Industry Torchbearer –award (Brand Journalism) in recognition of his pioneering, pace-setting, and continued torch-bearing credentials in birthing and nurturing the genre of journalism which is now recognized, respected, and celebrated as brand journalism.

The NUJ national body added more feathers to his cap with a milestone award recognition as one of the Media Icons in Nigeria. John Ajayi was bestowed with this award and honour alongside media gurus and icons.

It must be recalled that the earlier days of this veteran journalist and workaholic wasn’t a bed of roses but tough and tedious, as initial efforts to get sponsors and investors failed woefully. Most regrettably, the few who were keen showed reluctance to part with their money on media enterprise when the die was cast for them to represent their stake with funds back up…Indeed, they pulled out within some months. In Ajayi’s own words: “At the point when we thought we had investors ready for our business, no sooner did we kick off after business registration than they pulled out.”

For Ajayi, that was the most glooming and harrowing day in the life of the business. Most significant, he would recall as one of the “reluctant investors” said, J”ohn Ajayi, if Marketing Edge fails, you have failed, if it succeeds, you have succeeded”. That singular development, despite how unpalatable has continued to goad and inspire the publisher in relentless pursuit of higher ideals and goals for the magazine.

Simply put, Marketing Edge is a story of an individual audacity in the face of adversity and a man who braved all the odds to prove the nay-sayers who thought that the enterprise would collapse within one year wrong.

We are grateful to God today, for giving us a man in Ajayi’s mould and personae who has been impacting positively on the Nigerian media landscape with innovative and brilliant ideas ever imagined in this part of the world. Interestingly, Marketing Edge will be celebrating twenty years of its operations in September this year, having redefined brand journalism, a new genre of journalism which “John Omo Ajayi” as fondly known in some circles pioneered in the annals of journalism practice in Nigeria.

For those who work closely with John Ajayi, the fountain of his innovation and ideation never runs dry. There is no sign that it is going to do so any time soon either. As we celebrate this indefatigable journalist and exemplary entrepreneur with an insatiable appetite for excellence today, may 60 years of age mark the starting point of the best he has to offer his family, his community, his state, his country and the world at large.  Happy birthday to John Omo Ajayi. We wish you growth and prosperity in all aspects of life.