By Josfyn Uba And Henry Uche
Veronica Ngozi Osokoya is a retired media professional. Her areas of expertise are advertising, standards, brand development, corporate communications, child communication, media research and public relations, among others.
In this interview with Daily Sun, she explores how one can drive business sustainability in the age of data and technology disruptions, and how young breeds can excel in marketing, advertising and PR in this turbulent business world, among other issues.
One of your core competencies is “Conflict Management.” How can the socio-economic and political conflicts in the country today be resolved sustainably?
This first question referencing conflict management is that there are usually legally binding contracts between partners! Principals, clients/customers and the representative of the organization are either in form of mail exchanges, endorsed industry contracts, MoU or reminder notes culled from minutes of meetings. Taking my knowledge of conflict management to the secular space, you would like to know how this conspicuous sickening political and social economic conflict in our country can be resolved.
There are very scary local conflicts, inter-tribal conflicts and the humongous national conflicts. We must however first identify these conflicts before tagging them as either political ors-economic or as being caused by such alienations. We then reflect on the causes of these conflicts, the dragon-headed effects of these conflicts, the very nature of political crisis in Nigeria. However we see these, the truth is that our leaders have due to selfish reasons tried to ignore fair play while sponsoring inequality and all the ills that have kept us apart. The parties or regions who suffer denial, stop at nothing to defend what they know is their natural birthrights.
There are different types of conflicts in Nigeria. We have conflict of values, interest conflicts, interethnic relationship conflicts, and structural conflicts amongst so many others. One can expand this scope but an in-depth understanding will reveal that almost all conflicts can be captured here because these are all drivers of man’s inhumanity to man, favouritism, ethnic divide, Intolerance, Injustice through quota systems, Territorial or land conflicts, religious superimposition conflicts, unequal distribution of resources where one is robbed to pay other. Often the law is also tilted and made rigid to favour another, religion again sadly has been captured outside the confines of what it’s meant to do. Creativity when stifled through bad leadership or government creates a gap and leads to conflicts. We must think outside the box, emulate international best practices to see how we can salvage our nation from the ills that have divided us and held on bond dispersing our young and vibrant forces like a storm whose end is not near.
How do you think these issues can be addressed and resolved?
To be able to address these issues, we must be ready as a nation to sustain the resolution. Way to go is to take these issues from the basics. With a full knowledge of the types of conflicts we as Nigerians experience such as earlier enumerated and summarized as – religious – (Christian-Muslim), ethnic – (farmer-herder) host community – business operators (Niger Delta).
Towards any type of sustainable resolution, we must identify and understand the drivers of the conflict, take into account the views of critical stakeholders, examine best case scenarios from the point of views of the protagonists. Establish pain points from the viewpoints of the parties in conflict, reconcile viewpoints based on principles of equity, justice and fairness, work towards a win-win situation, set up metrics for tracking and monitoring progress. My worry is with the political class and those whose selfishness and self-aggrandisement are funded by the existence of these conflicts. Those instigate, sponsor, engineer conflicts as they cannot survive except there is chaos.
Are Nigerians bold enough to identify these drivers without fear of intimidation, suppression and oppression by those who by power, either at clan, local, regional, national levels and international levels, have sponsored these conflicts?
My sincere prayer is that we must focus on the issues and make time for them, craft sincere solutions as to how we can avoid them. At some points, there must be deep overlook and tolerance, compromise, no life threatening accommodation and collaborations or we may just be stuck. We must thereafter work towards sustaining, and milestones must be achieved. The bottom line is that people must conscientiously accept to cooperate while being diplomatically assertive on what they deserve. A government that cares for the good and interest of the people and nation must drive this.
Another one is social media/digital marketing, Do you agree with the Federal Government’s previous and intended moves to profile the use of social media? Are Nigerian youths really maximizing the space, especially in deciding their fate politically?
When one considers that an average of 31 hours is spent online weekly by a youth, and imagine, how much funds goes into data, it becomes a huge concern if no positive self-development issues are met. Social media offers both the possibility of media democratisation, and its misuse and abuse can be catastrophic. What is the case with the Nigerian youth whose whopping minimum of four hours daily goes on Facebook alone because the tool in his or her hands called mobile telephone is used for practically everything. Excuse this language ‘the pinging, ponging, popping’ often cannot be ignored and so they bury useful, youthful time and energy for a whole day if care is not taken. To my mind, the dominant model of social media use among Nigerian youth is one which is destructive, adversarial, confrontational, emotive, non-evidence based, leaning towards sensationalism and fake news.
Truly, social media is expanding its horizon. It is developing and getting more popular among our youth and the young generation. Its popularity is overwhelming with impacts that negatively stare us in the face as it promotes vices and very negative impacts especially when it has no link with their jobs or scholarly works.
Social media is a huge concern for most of the people in Nigeria as it’s seen as important. Is this truly so?
There will definitely be a long term impact of social media on the Nigerian youths of today especially those who through stories told think being on social media, and possession of Android phone are a status symbol. In brief, it has sadly turned out to be a sponsored tool in the hands of politicians and their stooges who take it as an abusive model that is undemocratic and suited more to exploitation and adoption by cheap rabble rousing demagogues!
Profiling is expedient which in the end could be abused, so it’s a wrong way to go. Best solution by my opinion is to lay down norms for social media use and enforce these and block the accounts and platforms that refuse to abide by these norms. The warning here is to be fair not denying those who do not dance to the regulators tune. The major justification is the theory of summum bonum.
Politically today, Nigerian youths, through the impactful bang of #EndSARS protests, have registered an indelible impression that they exist and sufficient attention has been drawn to the social media as the platform of the Nigerian youths. You can be sure to reach them through those platforms. Who do we blame? Boldly, sponsors of their frustration and unemployment because their mates in other countries are employed and not allowed the use of telephones while at work. Our youth have built a huge followership. It has gradually maintained a status of a vehicle for and of information dissemination to their peers and a voice that must be heard. I call it a vessel or missile of weapon to catapult its messages to its members and attack government, or those who err. Advertisers and policymakers rightly or wrongly visit the social media and those wishing to address the youth, or wish to know their opinion do so too. It’s up to the Nigerian youths to emulate international best practices and a wise government ought to look into their concerns and agitations or the Nation suffers the consequences.
You are undergoing a PhD in entrepreneurship and family business; in Nigeria today, only a few family businesses have lived more than five decades and many factors are responsible, one is dearth of succession and sustainability plan. What’s the way forward?
I have chosen a very thriving serious family business on this research work.
Though this research would focus on succession intentions in Nigeria, it will in addition address all aspects of how family influences business and business influences family. Based on the confidence imposed on the family head to oversee family inheritance, this tested and proven person and all that are considered his partners and allies cum proxies strive to earn the family trust through their doggedness, resolve to carry on, commitment, and doing so in a closely-knit way. Relationships must be nurtured as not to let the family inheritance, investments to go unrecognized should be encouraged. The tradition of continuity or succession intentions which I have identified as critical to family business sustainability, registration for posterity to judge the generation are indelible marks in the sands of time. Succession is success and longevity. The business must have great entrepreneurship drivers and rating indices which sadly are lacking in most contemporary Nigerian businesses leaving the playing ground for only a few.
Growing up, I easily recall the names of some business empires associated with success but suddenly got extinct. The woes of many businesses is lack of infrastructural support, power, staffing, bribing regulators and instability-cum-insecurity, all of which are the problems created by governance at all levels.
How can we drive business sustainability in the age of data and technology disruptions?
Data and technology, as reliable as they are, suffer disruptions. To avert most of the effects of such occurrence on technology, best options amongst many is to adopt digitisation, build capacity in digitisation across all levels of the organization, be nimble and agile, adopt lean management systems, accept disruptions and be ready to use them to your advantage. You must create sadly so alternative means and use those to have access to all documents, data and qualitative information stored in such a way that empowers investors to take action on investment decisions easily.
How could youngsters excel in marketing, advertising and PR, as an experience fellow in these fields?
Who is the young breed? Where are they? Do they belief in Nigeria? The Current business world is characterized by a typical rate of change, frequent turbulence and unpredictability in direction of change. The Solutions are many. First such young breeds must submit to being admitted to the professional bodies that regulate such practices. Enrol in courses and trainings. Seminars, symposiums and workshops are essential. Capacity building and reading are key. On the job practice of learning the ropes and not the tricks must be emulated. They must submit to being upgraded, obtain bulletins on industry watch to be informed.
The challenge is that most refuse to learn at the feet of the more experienced. To excel, you must take time to learn and understand the essentials of Marketing, Sales, Advertising, Public Relations and Trade Management. Tap from the fountain of knowledge is often my advice to those who worked with me. I often find ways to commit them to a culture of continuous learning.
Anyone willing to Learn and Excel must ask questions, know the codes and ethics of the profession as this helps the would be core competent professionals focus on enlarging their competence and broaden their horizon. My success story began through very decent processes from cradle as I had very humble parents, and education was important. Mediocres can’t survive in my family. Again, I found strength from books and journals and I am happy to pass on these batons. I made sure I never focused on misconceptions. I was more than willing to submit myself to be taught and gradually built some humble confidence. I was admired by junior workers because they made me feel like an instructor. I worked on my communications skills which made me believe in myself. I loved my name, took my surname as a brand which must be defended reflecting on the adage which says to remember the daughter of whom I was. This taught me to embrace discipline especially being decent, fashionable, clean, respectful and passionate about my job. Very readily I volunteered to serve and this made me become highly strategic and encouraged me to set Behavioural targets. I had a female boss whom I admired and there were industry bosses whom I leaned on seeking knowledge.
Those who worked with me realized I never found any job too tasking because I found ways to make negatives into positives. This boosted my confidence and made me delight in doing extras. At some point, I realized I had paid my dues and so it was time to train some trainers passing the knowledge baton. I became a teacher of weekly and bimonthly stand up meetings. Gradually I turned an industry mentor who would always attend to my subordinates.
As a retired Director at FRCN who connected with the other side of the profession, what differences did you see between the private media organisations and the Government / Public Media Organisations- like FRCN, NTA, others?
Private media often are too profit driven and often megaphones for their owners. Professionalism suffered in the hands of revenue and the wise ones would pick professional staff from the Government media whose salaries though are stable but too meagre to start theirs. What they had going for them was the access to funds to replace parts which ensured they remained on air without disruptions. They often had automated loggers which made reconciliations easy when principal or clients had tracking evidences. While government media would be owed, the debt profile of private media was low because they had automated loggers to support their certificates of broadcast. They understood what appreciating customers was all about as they would easily have customers’ dinner, awards, gala and rewards outings.
Government media was too uncritical and blind praise singers of any party in power. While they had the best professionals who knew the processes and ethics of the profession, they often run with little concern for efficiency and effectiveness because the head of units, and sadly the over stretched Chief Executives had funds approval power limits with resulting evidences of business failure. It is a sympathetic case. You need a professional radical to run these institutions. To replace a small i/c may take months because of bids, due process etc.. stifles creativity. Cross learning is both possible and desirable but to achieve this, important changes in owner psyche and predilection to interfere would be needed.
Most media organisations while pursuing revenue/ profit making- via advert/ marketing department & sales Personnel, they lost integrity, content and sustainability, how do we strike a balance to *Quality* of what we offer (Products & Services) and *Quantity* of what comes in as Revenue/ Profit?
The simple answer is the importance of content which everyone knows is King but content without audience and clear signals adds up to nothing. The advert or commercial rate card must be competitive offering extras for volume buyers. There must be discount regimes and loyal clients must be rewarded. Balance is what is needed. How to work that balance is the challenge. A profit ethos can be very debilitating. A pursuit of quantity leads to garbage journalism. Good quality assures revenue in the long term. Volume and turnover works. The way to achieve this is to block leakages and encourage inter departmental interface. Reward schemes for staff who meet and supersede their targets, wardrobe allowances, mobility, tools of trade, ICT, conducive work environment, commissions and marketing imprests are also important in this matter, as these are some of the ways to encourage efficiency and productivity. A sales or marketing officer who does not have endorsement to use his or her initiative while with a client suffers defeat and during pitch presentations for accounts may not compete favourably.
Now, you run an NGO. What makes yours different from others who are offering same or similar service to less privileged?
Vechi givers has ran as a charity concern for over seven years now, though it was not fully registered while i was still in service. I decided recently to fully register it alongside a media agency Vbots media. I have a group of friends who are my social net worth who love to give to the needy and less privileged.
We have for over six years blessed the needy, the oppressed and the hungry. We have through our partners supported, fed widows, paid school fees for children of the less privileged , provided shelter for homeless people through payment of rents, released victims of kidnappers by raising ransom demanded and supported their medical care after, funded orphanages, clothed the naked, made the poor celebrate, bridged the gap between the poor and the needy, empowered rural woman to startup businesses, given pocket money to the aged in rural communities, given monthly pocket money to the aged in a village in Ogun state, picked up medical bills, shared food, support sanitary pads for teenage girls, encouraged boys/young men reformation projects and prayed where our funds cannot be able to reach
Now we are going further to bring smiles to the needy. Vechi has subtly commenced a food share, clothing share, personal hygiene products share, furniture and utensils share. We depend on friends and men and women looking for men and women who can donate items and food to charity. .
We are sacrificial givers and we render accounts to those who support. We also ensure we ask members of the public to nominate those who need our help and support. We are growing and we are happy to help especially rural women push their farm produce to the cities. We disburse funds to the identified needy at the end of each month and during festivities.