Industry Stakeholders Task Tinubu on Choice of Information Minister

Raheem Akingbolu

As President Bola Tinubu continues to reposition the country for further development, stakeholders in the Nigerian marketing communications industry have identified effective communication as a major tool necessary to drive the process.

To this end, they have called on Mr. President to appoint experienced professionals to man the country’s Ministry of Information as well as the National Orientation Agency (NOA). 

In their submissions, practitioners in public relations and advertising sector who spoke on the calibre of people Mr. President should appoint to various key positions, noted that time has come for professionals with hands-on experience in reputation management and brand positioning to be given the chance to contribute their experiences towards evolving and moulding the appropriate image for the country.

On his part, Former Chairman of the Advertising Standards Panel of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), Ade Akinde, highlighted the importance of hiring the services of professionals for the Nigerian Information Ministry and the NOA, saying it will be the only way of maximising the marketing of President Tinubu’s democracy deliverables to Nigerians and to other countries.

The stakeholders spoke at the 2023 Annual Conference of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN), with the theme: ‘The Role of Marketing and Ethics in Nation Building’.

At the conference, the Director General of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria, (ARCON) Dr. Lekan Fadolapo, emphasised the need for marketing activities to adhere to core ethical principles to enhance Nigeria’s marketing economy.

Fadolapo stressed the importance of establishing enforceable standards of practice that provide acceptable industry-wide rules of engagement. 

Such standards, according to him, will ensure that the interests of various sectors within the industry are safeguarded, as a failure in one sector could potentially have catastrophic consequences for others.

Speaking on the choice of ministerial appointment, Akinde, said communications have grown to become a serious national security asset that should be managed by highly experienced professionals as a means of ensuring better-coordinated policy management while also ensuring that the people are carried along in all that government plans to do.

His words: “The Ministry of Information, and its agency, the National Orientation Agency are important assets of the government that should be manned by experienced professionals. The NOA, by its mandate, is saddled with communicating government policy, staying abreast of public opinion, and promoting patriotism, national unity, and the development of Nigerian society. What this means is that this agency should be on top of its game in diffusing policy and selling them to the people, without which the job wouldn’t be properly done. Only a thoroughbred professional who understands the tools and psychologies of communication management can best deliver results.”

Also, the Chief Exe executive Officer of the TBWA/CONCEPT, Kelechi Nwosu, emphasised the importance of employing communications professionals in all areas concerning information management and national mobilisation and urged President Tinubu to ensure he takes advantage of the large pool of experienced professionals in the industry for public communication and information management.