4th ACSPN History Series at LASPOTECH

4^th Edition ACSPN History Series

Venue: Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu.

December 8, 2017

Guest Speaker: Sir Steve Omojafor

The 4^th ACSPN History Series was a collaboration between ACSPN, The Diamond Award for Media Excellence (DAME) and this time around the Lagos State Polytechnic.  The event played host to staff and students from the Lagos State Polytechnic and guests from institutions such as Caleb University, Imota and the Nigerian Institute of Journalism. The 4^th speaker in the series was Sir Steve Omojafor, currently the Chairman of STB McCann, one of the leading advertising agencies in Nigeria.

Sir Steve Omojafor whose professional experience started from the field of Journalism refrained from giving an in-depth discussion of the industry stating that previous speakers like Otunba Segun Osoba and Mr Henry Odukomaiya who are veterans in that field and were his former colleagues would have done justice to the topical issues.

Narrating how he got into the field of advertising, he had following his resignation from Daily Times walked into the then Kakawa office of Lintas Lowe and asked to speak to the Chairman whom he knew nor had he ever met. Suffice to say that it was a bold move that got him the job placement in the organisation.  He however pointed out that such a move would likely not work in today’s environment given the number of employable and unemployable graduates in the field,

In his discourse on advertising, he stated that one of the greatest reasons for his business success is the kind of partners he has.  He pointed out that one major cause of failed Nigerian businesses which never go beyond a generation lies in poor partnerships and said that if he had to do his life over one more time, he would still pick the advertising industry and still pick the same partners.  While he acknowledged that the industry was filled with challenges especially in light of the recent economic challenges and the proliferation of agencies most of which were not registered with the Advertising Practitioners’ Council of Nigeria (APCON) and whose business ethics were alarming, he categorically stated that the new business model of advertising is “digitalization” and that all organisations that would remain in business especially in the advertising industry needed to incorporate it into their business offerings.

He admonished the lecturers and administrative heads, that there was need for institutions to start building entrepreneurs instead of “I beg to apply” candidates.  He also encouraged the students to look beyond getting a job after their education but learn as much as possible and venture out to set up their own businesses and also employ others.

He finished up his discourse by charging the students that the “secret to success is to work hard, work harder and work hardest.” He charged them to get up and start something today.

Following his presentation, he answered some questions where he re-iterated the need to pick good partners and even friends as they were critical to the level of success any of the students would achieve at various points of their lives.

The session ended with attendees singing to the national anthem and ending with an excited flourish.