By Henry Uche, Lagos
The National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN) and Lagos Business School (LBS) of Pan Atlantic University, Lagos, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop human capital capacity, research and expand their frontiers in the marketing profession.
Addressing the media in Lagos, the President/Chairman of the Governing Council, Mr Idorenyen Enang, said the essence of the partnership was to transform the marketing profession since every human endeavour sits on marketing.
“We all are involved in one form of Marketing or another. We want to drive professionalism, ethics, growth and development. When this profession is transformed, the wrong perception would change and many young people would see something to do”
Enang who urged operators in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to get certified with NIMN, added that the two institutions would engage in boot camps, masterclasses and other forms of intellectual discourse and fora, to empower all potential and prospective practitioners and other stakeholders in the entire marketing value chain.
On his part, a professor of Marketing at LBS, Uchenna Uzo, explained that there is more about marketing than what many people know, hence the need to democratize marketing knowledge so that practitioners can practice it with pride and dignity with a view to attracting more Nigerians.
The don who is also the Director, Africa Retail Academy, stressed that it was the desire of marketing giants and doyens to see a solution-driven marketing profession targeted at boosting the economy.
“There are more to Marketing than what many people think about it. With this partnership, we are looking at re-creating so that those practising it would do it with all sense of responsibility, while those who think otherwise would see reasons to come in, that is why individuals and corporate bodies should identify with NIMN, going forward, the two institutions would keep putting heads together to achieve the aims of this MoU,” he stated.
On her part, the Chief Marketing Officer at LBS, Nsima Ogedi-Alakwe, told newsmen that as time goes on, the two institutions will line up a series of courses and both Institutions will join hands to boost the capacity of Marketing practitioners, aimed at taking the profession to an enviable height.
“We just kicked off, be assured that we are leaving no stone unturned to see that this collaboration meets the needs, desires expectations of our members and other interested parties including corporate organizations. Marketing must regain its full glory among all professions because everyone is involved in it, we want to give it a due place of recognition and acceptability,” she added.