Mr. Yomi Badejo-Okusanya Speaks at 5th History Series

5th Edition ACSPN History Series

Venue: Mountain Top University Hall, Km 12, Lagos-Ibadan, Expressway,Ibafo, Ogun State
Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Guest Speaker: Mr. Yomi Badejo-Okusanya

The 5 th ACSPN History Series was a collaboration between ACSPN, The Diamond Award for Media Excellence (DAME) and this time around the Mountain Top University located along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Mountain Top University hosted staff and students from the institution as well as guests from academic institutions such as Lagos
State Polytechnic, National Open University (NOUN), the Nigerian Institute of Journalism Caleb University, Imota, as well as professional organisations.

The 5th speaker in the series was Mr. Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, President of the African Public Relations Association (APRA) and the Group Managing Director, CMC Connect (Perception Managers).

Mr Badejo-Okusanya who pioneered perception management business in the Nigerian communication market has more than two decades worth of experiences – some aspects of which he shared with the staff and students at the event. He talked about the growing stages of his business and the opportunities in the industry and the business itself.

He explained that he had a vision of what he wanted to achieve in the industry but that that in itself was not enough to help him achieve all that he has in the industry today.

He mentioned that the vision was achieved by proper planning, hardwork all fuelled by passion. Acknowledging that there were discouraging moments, he implored the students not to give up when such situations arise, but to instead give it their all.

He specifically encouraged the students to develop a passion for their area of interest, gain confidence and have the courage to take on problem solving. He stated that they needed to take charge of their destiny instead of looking towards everybody else to solve their issues. In order to effectively manage their destinies, they would require

knowledge – in whatsoever field they chose to practice including Public Relations; they would also require wisdom and understanding to manage situations and people. Mr Badejo-Okusanya pointed out that the decisions they make today would determine their future and that laziness and procrastination are killers of success and need to be
avoided at all costs even though that is the focus of celebration in our society today.

There were two highlights from Mr. Badejo-Okunsanya’s presentation. One was his discussion on the essence of time. He asked students to plan well and prioritise their goals in order to avoid time wastage. The second highlight was when he spurred students to take up responsibilities and take charge in order to grow. He ended the talk with responses to questions from the students.