By Faith Anisiobi, The Sight News
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has urged senior public relations practitioners to mentor younger colleagues and pass on their professional knowledge and experience to sustain the growth of the profession.
Idris made the call on Saturday in Kaduna at the maiden Bashir Adamu Chedi Annual Memorial Lecture and Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Kaduna State Chapter.
The Minister said one of the greatest measures of professional success was the number of people an individual helped to become better.
“Your experience should not retire with you. One of the greatest measures of professional success is the number of people you help to become better,” he said.
He described the memorial lecture as an enduring platform for mentorship and a fitting way to preserve the legacy of the late Mallam Bashir Adamu Chedi, FNIPR.
According to him, Chedi’s greatest legacy was not the positions he occupied, but the people he influenced, the younger practitioners he encouraged and the professional values he represented.
Idris stressed that no profession could endure if each generation was forced to start from the beginning, noting that experience must be transferred while institutional memory must be preserved.
“Experience must be transferred. Institutional memory must be preserved. Yesterday’s mistakes must become tomorrow’s lessons,” he said.
The Minister also called for stronger collaboration between senior and younger practitioners, noting that while young professionals bring energy, creativity and knowledge of emerging technologies, experienced practitioners contribute judgement, wisdom and institutional knowledge.
“Young practitioners must not dismiss experience as outdated, and senior practitioners must not regard innovation as a threat. Bridging generations means bringing these strengths together,” Idris said.
He further urged public relations professionals to uphold truth, credibility, integrity and responsibility, particularly amid the rapid transformation of communication through artificial intelligence and social media.
Idris said the life of Chedi should remind professionals that their most enduring legacy was not limited to their personal achievements, but also included the knowledge, values and professional standards they passed on to others.
The event was attended by the NIPR President and Chairman of Council, represented by the Vice President, Prof. Emmanuel Dandaura; Chairman of the Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN), Dr Nkechi Ali-Balogun; former NIPR Vice President, Dr Auwal Mohammed Haruna; and Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Malam Ali M. Ali.
Others included the Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Malam Abdulhamid Dembos; Director-General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Dr Mohammed Bulama; Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Malam Jibrin Baba Ndace; Managing Director of Northern Cables Processing and Manufacturing Company (NOCACO), Dr Tunde Orija; and the Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), represented by the Director of Coordination, Commodore M.S. Danjuma.
The Commissioner of Police, Kaduna State Command, was represented by the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Finance and Administration, ACP Abdulkadir Yahaya, while members of the family of the late Bashir Adamu Chedi were also present.
