Appoint a skilled and experienced marketing communication professional as information minister, the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari.
AAAN President, Kelechi Nwosu, counselled that the new role of the ministry is beyond the traditional one of acting as a catalyst in disseminating information and managing the information machinery of the government.
In his view, the ideal minister should have a record of brand building and executing high impact communication strategies and frameworks in the interest of the nation.
A statement Nwosu issued through AAAN Publicity Secretary, Ikechi Odigbo, argued that the minister should be a thoroughbred professional experienced in integrated marketing communication, information strategy and management, and brand building.
“The country has been confronted with several image and brand positioning challenges of recent and critical in complicating the problems has been the absence of brand communication expertise as a strong consideration in the appointment of the heads of the country’s Information Ministry.
“But we are happy that the new government rode to power, driven by the campaign slogan of change. For us, this change should be extended to the appointments of professionals to manage relevant strategic offices,” Nwosu said.
He added that today’s information management has become very complicated and requires a professional with hands-on experience and proven track record in handling complex projects.
“In the global balance of relationships, perception is everything. But we have toyed with managing the complicated communication challenges of the country, using non-professionals that practically spend their tenure learning on the job and employing knee-jerk strategies on a job that demands deliberate strategic long term planning.
“This has not worked and we believe [Buhari] will extend the mantra of change that brought him into office to the area of working with professionals for the nation’s information management processes.”
Nwosu added that the challenge of rebuilding the confidence of other countries and getting the buy-in of Nigerians requires a lot work in perception management and only a professional information manager can weave the threads together to ensure Nigeria regains its pride of place in the global community.
To him, Nigeria as a high value brand needs qualified and committed integrated marketing consultants to work for the minister and the government to effectively position and communicate vision and policy.
