Plans for the establishment of a private university dedicated to the study of Brands and Marketing Communication is currently underway in Nigeria, The Point has gathered.
The institution is not only the first of its kind in Nigeria but in the West African sub-region.
The varsity, which is being promoted by Troyka Holdings, the parent company of Insight Communications, the advertising giant, is the brainchild of renowned advertising guru, Chief Biodun Shobanjo, who is the Chairman of the Group.
Vice Chairman, Troyka Holdings, Mr. Jimi Awosika, gave a hint of the plan to float “a big Media University” while speaking at the “Digitising Nigeria” seminar organised in Lagos recently, by Academy Halogen, in partnership with the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State.
Academy Halogen, the training arm of Halogen Security Limited, a member of the Troyka Group, is partnering OAU on Cyber Security.
However, Awosika, who delivered a paper titled, ‘Business and the need for safety in an open world’, at the event, did not give further details of the plan.
Present at the Digitalising Nigeria event, which held at the Academy Halogen premises in Ikeja GRA, Lagos, were the Vice Chancellor of OAU, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede, and many other top experts in both the academia and industry. Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Ogunbodede stressed that partnership with Halogen would enhance the practicality of the plan to digitise Nigeria and extol the virtues of the OAU.
Other speakers at the event included Prof. Adesola Aderounmu, who made a presentation on the OAU ICT-driven Park, and the Chief Operating Officer, Academy Halogen, Dr. Wale Adeagbo, among others.
Efforts to reach Awosika and Adeagbo for an update on the plan for the specialised university were unsuccessful as at the time of filing this report.
Adeagbo, the COO, Academy Halogen, did not pick his calls as at press time, even as he did not reply the message sent to his phone.
However, stakeholders in the brands and marketing communications industry have lauded the proposed plan, describing it as a good step in the right direction.
They also believe that the project would be a solid and credible one, given the fact that it’s the brainchild of the well-respected advertising industry guru, Shobanjo, whom many refer to as a “multi-million dollar advertising man.”
A marketing communication expert, Mr. Joe Anatune, who is also the Managing Director of b3 Communications Limited, said anything done to develop talents in the industry would always be a welcome development.
Speaking in a chat with The Point on the proposed plan to float the specialised university, Anatune said, “In a discipline like Marketing Communication, it is actually going to reduce the problems we already have in the industry.”
Anatune said, “Such an institution will reduce the time and close the gap fresh students of Advertising and Mass Communication take to fully grasp the nitty-gritty of the industry, which may run into five years.
“In terms of diversification, we would have enough personnel to drive our effort to re-brand the country. And if Marketing Communication is their focus, they can always broaden the scope. It will also ensure that the academia and industry have a meeting point.”
Maintaining that Nigeria was fully ripe for such a specialised institution, Anatune said it was not unusual for Nigeria to have that kind of a university.
“And coming from Shobanjo himself, I believe he’s trying to give back to the society and this may be his parting gift to the industry, which he has contributed so much to,” he added.
Anatune, however, said, “Anything good may come with difficult challenges, especially that of funding and getting the students to pay the high fees that may be charged.
“I think it’s not only going to be advertising, it will have to cater to the creative industry.”
