In pursuit of its overarching vision to foster a cohesive and empowered marketing communications landscape while nurturing expertise and capabilities, the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN) is embarking on a significant journey to establish a robust partnership with the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).
At a collaborative session attended by representatives from both entities today, Mr. Idorenyen Enang, President of NIMN and Chairman of Council, articulated the institute’s commitment to broadening marketers’ knowledge base and spearheading initiatives to revitalize the marketing landscape in Nigeria. He emphasized the significance of forging strategic partnerships to facilitate capacity building, particularly for emerging marketers.
Mr. Enang underscored the pivotal role of partnerships in nurturing industry growth and national development, emphasizing that a unified approach can effectively address challenges such as mediocrity and lack of professionalism. He emphasized the imperative of enhancing knowledge depth and establishing robust frameworks to uplift members and fortify the industry, thereby contributing to national advancement.
He said: “The guiding stroke is around the depth of knowledge and to create a strong structure and manual to improve our members and ultimately build the industry and by extension, our country. We need these kinds of partnerships to make it happen. We can rub minds and seek opportunities where we can collaborate and bring both institutions together, to build capacity and enhance the quality of our members”.
In response, the President and Chairman of Council, NIPR, Dr. Ike Neliaku, commended the partnership initiative, recognizing its potential to engender synergistic collaboration that accelerates industry advancement for the collective benefit of the nation. He outlined NIPR’s initiatives, including the “Rebirth Nigeria” program, designed to reshape the country’s image perception and promote its intrinsic values and heritage. Expressing the desire for collaboration, he extended an invitation to NIMN to join forces in advancing this transformative agenda.
“We now have an in-country program called REBIRTH NIGERIA, an acronym that answers questions about Nigeria, reinventing the essence, beauty, integrity, resourcefulness, tradition and heritage of Nigeria. Within these words, the entire emblem of Nigeria is deposited and we are running this on four pillars; citizen education, values orientation, excellence in value delivery and promotion of Made in Nigeria products. We are inviting NIMN to partner with us on this front” he said.
Addressing the imperative of upholding professional standards and enforcing regulatory compliance, the NIPR President lauded NIMN’s robust enforcement mechanisms and emphasized the importance of ethical conduct in safeguarding the reputation of both professionals and the nation at large. He highlighted ongoing efforts to strengthen enforcement measures, emphasizing the legal ramifications for non-compliance and the shared responsibility of organizations in ensuring adherence to professional standards.
He said: “NIMN has a very robust enforcement and compliance mechanism that is very impressive. Mr. President, we take the issue of enforcement and compliance very seriously. Recently we set up a committee to work on our processes and procedures of enforcement. Our Act is very interesting, it says that anybody holding out himself or herself as public relations practitioner under any name, must be a registered by NIPR or will be liable to fine, jail term or both. This legal action extends to the organization that engaged such an individual”.
The impending weeks are poised to witness the alignment of both institutes in identified areas of collaboration, paving the way for an official signing ceremony symbolizing their united commitment to advancing the marketing profession and national development agenda.
This strategic partnership builds upon NIMN’s existing collaborations with regulatory bodies such as the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) and esteemed educational institutions like the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK and the Lagos Business School (LBS), reflecting a concerted effort to provide continuous learning and development opportunities to members while fostering the growth of the marketing discipline and contributing to the socioeconomic advancement of Nigeria.
