By Charles Kumolu, Deputy Editor

Renowned Public Relations, PR, practitioner and former President, Lagos State chapter of Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR, Nkechi Ali-Balogun, in this interview, discusses the issues that informed her decision to contest the presidency of NIPR among other issues.

Relying on her national and global standing in the PR space, she expresses confidence about coming tops at the institute’s election scheduled for August 23.

Despite traditional and unconventional barriers limiting the mileage of women in Africa, majority are winning in manners that render those bars irrelevant and unnecessary.

Apart from questioning the very essence of gender-based limitations, their feats in different fields keep sounding death knell on group deprivations.

Women have made and broken records in ways that should erase any institutional challenge standing in their way, professionally.

One of those women, who through hard work, competence and consistency emerged as one of the authorities in Public Relations, PR, is Nkechi Ali-Balogun.
For more than three decades, she didn’t only build a flourishing career in PR, Ali-Balogun also assisted the growth of corporate organisations.

At the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR, she is one of the leading figures, who in various ways have enhanced the capacity of the 60-year-old body.

The former President of Lagos State chapter of NIPR, alongside other great minds has ensured the institute provides a professional structure for the practice of public relations in Nigeria.

Today, it is not surprising that the Mass Communication graduate of University of Lagos is not just satisfied with the stewardship she has so far provided for the NIPR.

Ali-Balogun believes she has got more to offer the association and as such wants to be its National President.

The PR expert told Sunday Vanguard that having been part of NIPR’s growth, she considers herself the right person to be its 15th National President.

Her reasons: “I have watched public relations grow in Nigeria and I have been a part of that growth and development. I have traveled far and wide to African countries and outside Africa.

“I have seen how Public Relations is practiced and I have also watched with respect what my predecessors have done. I think that if I put in all that experience, expertise and skills, I have what it takes to drive a contemporary institute of public relations in Nigeria.

“It is time for us to practice Public Relations the way that it aligns with global practice. For instance, if you look at our country, we are yet to fully understand the gains of Public Relations. And it is not because my predecessors have not done enough or done their work, I think we have to do more.”

Relevance
Backing her views with a historical example, she noted: “If you look at our history and how far we have come, you will agree with me that we’ve come a long way. But, we want to do more to ensure that the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR, has a recognisable level of relevance.

“It is when we have a recognisable level of relevance that government will begin to look towards us as an important body that could help drive national perception in the nation.

“We are in the business of mending and building relationships. If there is a time that Public Relations is needed, it is at this critical time in the history of Nigeria. This, and many other reasons, is why I want to come to lead the institute.”

Given how technological advancements have disrupted most sectors including PR, Ali-Balogun recognises the need for new ways of “building and mending relationships.”

“There are many new things happening today, and if you noticed, I used the word contemporary. It is time for us to be contemporary and intentionally premium in making decisions that would bring about a body that is globally accepted.

When this is achieved, Nigeria will not have to go to America to bring a PR expert who does profiling for us. We have the best PR practitioners in Nigeria, but we have not been able to engage government in a way that our potential and the power of public relations will be recognised. We have not been able to make that impact. Maybe that is the reason our certificate doesn’t fetch us anything, “she stated.

Expatiating, Ali-Balogun, said:”For instance, if someone sits for the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria, ICAN, exam and passes, the certificate received automatically changes his or her status in whatever organisation he or she is working. Those are the kind of things we have in mind.
“Isn’t it ironic that practitioners of Public Relations, a profession that is in the business of creating a positive and a workable ambien for business to thrive, are not recognised? It is ironic because we are in the business of building goodwill and using a lot of intangibles to bring about tangible activities that would build a strong band, yet we are not recognised. Also, we intend to look at this area.

“We want to look at creating more visibility for our institute globally. I am talking about global affiliations so that we can have that global outlook. For instance, if we talk of the International Public Relations Association, IPRA, a lot of practitioners want to run there because it is a strong band.”

Technology

Asked specifics about her plans, she outlined what passes for a robust set of programmes for NIPR.
She said:’ I intend to look into what they are doing differently and integrate it. An affiliation with them will expose us to some of those things they are doing and we are probably not doing or we are not approaching correctly.

“There is also the issue of digitisation because the world has gone digital. If the world is evolving, why shouldn’t the NIPR? We want to do away with paper and harness technology to bring about more growth, impacts, and profits, save lives and reduce the cost of governance.

Today, everybody is talking about artificial intelligence, AI. We intend to ask how we can harness the power of AI to improve our work. Though some people are afraid that AI will take our jobs, it definitely won’t because AI doesn’t have what we have.

“I am also interested in empowering our members. The capacity of members has to go beyond what we have right now. Our members want to be able to talk about public relations the way their counterparts would talk about it. They want to be able to talk, practise it and do pitches.

“We have had a lot of practitioners winning awards internationally in the last five years and they are all from Lagos. Why can’t we have it all around? It shouldn’t be just a few. We want it to go around. We want every member of the NIPR to be a professional with the capacity to practise the profession locally or abroad. In a nutshell, this and so many other things are what I am bringing to the table.”

Regarding her strength given other heavyweights in the race, Ali-Balogun confidently pointed at her experience and achievements in PR.

“My strength is that I have been practicing PR all my life,” she said.

Using an analogy to back her position, the presidential hopeful said: “I have a saying, which goes: If a person has two children – an engineer and a medical doctor. Who should take care of the person when he or she falls sick? It is the medical doctor. That doesn’t mean that the engineer didn’t go to school or isn’t competent. It only means that he is not competent in the area for which he is needed.

“I am a public relations practitioner and I have trained in public relations. I have practiced Public Relations. I started my people-oriented career at the Nigerian Television Authority. I moved on to the Nigerian Export Import Bank, NEIMB, to set up the first public relations department of that bank.

“From there, I moved on to Equitorial Trust Bank. In between, I traveled between Nigeria and Cairo to help set up the public relations department in African Export–Import Bank, AFEXIM, then I set up mine in 1995.

“I have been running a Public Relations conference for the past 23 years and I have brought people from all over, networking with global brands and experts. People like Akinwunmi Adesina, PLO Lumumba of Kenya and Justin Green of Ireland.

“I am a member of the African Public Relations Association and I have received awards from the association. I have been listed by the Guardian, ThisDay and Business Day as one of the leading public relations practitioners in Nigeria and Africa. I also have a life achievement award from the institute.

“Last year, I was chosen by NIPR Lagos as the most inspiring PR personality of the year. You can see that I work Public Relations. I don’t just talk about it, I work it. Everything I do is Public Relations. So it is time for us to put round pegs in round holes.

“It is not like my opponents are not educated or enlightened, it is not that they don’t have integrity but when it comes to public relations, I think the man to do the job right now is Nkechi Alli Balogun because of my pedigree.”

First woman

In the history of NIPR in Nigeria, a woman hasn’t led the institute. If Ali-Balogun emerges victorious at the body’s forthcoming polls, she would make history. Does that mean anything to her?
“In another clime, I would have been able to harp on that but I don’t want to because I don’t want people to think that I am looking for a handout.

Incidentally, this woman is well equipped, this woman has the capacity, and this woman has the expertise and the skills. It is also an added advantage that she is a woman. We were joking the other day that the world is going female.

Why not NIPR? It’ll be the first time that a female will lead and we are talking of inclusivity. If for about 60 years we’ve not had a female president, why not now? Why not somebody who is also coming with a pedigree that matches whatever qualification is required to be the President of NIPR?,” she said.

Advantage

Asked if being the first woman to go for the position is an advantage to her prospects.

She responded:”Yes and no. Mostly no because it is not a gender issue. Like I said, I am qualified for the job. I am also representing my gender who, for years, have been working hard in the industry and have also made their marks and breaking ceilings. So, why not? It is time for us to recognise this. But I don’t think that the office is really a gender issue, but then, I also think that this is our own time.”

Interestingly, Ali-Balogun’s two-term as the Chairperson of Lagos State chapter of NIPR is often on the lips of many. Asked the reason, she explained:”I took over from a man that we call public relations himself, Yomi Badejo Ogunsanya. To match what he did, I needed to sit up. It was more critical because a female was taking over from somebody who was very vibrant and that was a challenge for me.

“I came in with a lot of innovations, which I can’t begin to count now. For instance, I set up an office. We also did fundraising. The first fundraising we had in Lagos was in the Boat Club, which is an exclusive place. We have people like Jim Ovia, Mazi Okereke, the late Akinyele and then we had an elders’ forum.

“The elders’ forum was started because we know we have elders who come to meetings.” every day but we can always network to get the things that we need to do.

“ In fact, it was really a vibrant time in the history of the NIPR Lagos. I started a football club in memory of one of us that died. As our own corporate social responsibility, CSR, we had an award for tertiary institutions and essay competitions. We did so many things.

“We had a series of training sessions. Lagos was very vibrant as all the practitioners were involved. However, these are not to say things have not been happening since I left.

“Like I keep telling people, Lagos has remained the premium chapter because it has been a building block from where I stopped. Whatever I did, we’ve had state chapter chairs who have kept building on it. One of us has started with a stakeholders’ forum that is getting bigger and bigger.

“Today, we are doing LaPRIGA. Lagos is doing so much and I wouldn’t say I was the best or nobody has done what I did. People have been building on what others built. Mine was vibrant because I took over from somebody who was very active, I maintained what he did and even added more.”

Competitive

Experience has shown that there is no small election anywhere. Therefore, many wonder how competitive the NIPR race has been.

“You don’t want to know. I was shocked because I thought as a professional body, the contest won’t be tough. I have not been to the other side of politics, but I don’t think it is tougher than this,” Ali-Balogun revealed.

Continuing, she said: “Like I tell everyone, no matter how tough, we should not forget that we are a professional body. We must respect one another and we must remember that we are all members of one body, one big family and everyone has a right to vote and be voted for and that after the election, there is life.

“People should vote their conscience but they must vote right. Voting right means putting the right person with a pedigree to move NIPR forward because that is what is needed now. Let us be less emotional because this is a profession that needs a pure, competent, knowledgeable and experienced professional, an expert who can do the job. Let us not be sentimental, we must be deliberate.
On any likely obstacle in the race, she added:”If you know me, I am a very optimistic person. And why is that? I have a firm belief in God. Once an individual has a firm belief and faith in God that individual will remain positive.

I know that God will grant me the desires of my heart. So, I don’t consider anything an obstacle. If it is an obstacle, it is there because I would like to give my testimony. No success comes without a challenge. Whatever obstacles there are now, they are actually the things that would propel me to my victory.

Women

“I think women in this country need to be encouraged. But those of us who are competent, we have faith to talk like we do because usually we are being told, ‘is it because you are a woman?’
“No, it is not because we are women. It is because we are competent. It is because we have what it takes to do the job. We have been trying people for 60 years, eating the same food. It is time to change our menu. If anything, it is also time to reward the women who have been working. We should be given a chance. I am talking about inclusivity and affirmative action. Give us that 30 per cent because we’ve never had it and we’ve never even had a female Vice President.

Patriarchy

‘The patriarchal system that we have and the misogynistic attitude make the woman feel as if she is helpless and useless but they forget that God created the woman specially.

It is only the woman that multitasks in a way that no man can. For instance, I have never been lacking in my home. I still go to the market and I still cook. When my daughter was in school, I was given an award as a super mum.

“I picked my child up from school. If I am having a meeting with any Managing Director, once it’s three o clock, I tell them I want to pick my child. It didn’t stop anything because we know how to give attention to different tasks and be able to get positive results.

I am there for my children’s homework. I cook my husband’s meals even as a chartered chair. As we speak, I am the President of about three other organisations and none of them is lacking.

“That is the energy God has given us and it can’t be competed with. If I remember God says he created us as joint heirs, so in the marketplace, we can compete but I have an edge because as a woman, God specially created me as a helper.

God created the woman as a helper and gave her the womb. She is the womb man that brings life, ideas and creativity. Most women don’t even know anything about the power they have and they trivialise it.

Men should not be afraid. Women like me who are coming are not coming to push them out, but we need them to push each other