I have received several awards and recognitions in both my public and private life, including those from the workplace, the church, some for philanthropy or charity and even for contributions to life in general.
However, the Lifetime Achievement Award to me by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Lagos Chapter on Friday, December 13, 2024, was certainly a pleasant surprise and that was what I told the Chairman of the Chapter, Mrs. Comfort Obot-Nwankwo, when she informed me of the Chapter’s decision.
Presentation of the award took place at the Muson Centre, Lagos, during the Institute’s 9th Lagos Public Relations Industry Gala & Awards (LaPRIGA), with the theme, “The Shining Stars”.
During the ceremony, over 20 organisations and individuals were honoured with awards in different categories, ranging from Agency of the Year, Practitioner of the Year, Best Brand in different fields, including Technology, Education, Crisis & Risk Communication, Entertainment, Sustainability, Innovation, Corporate and Internal Communications, Governance, Community Relations, Professionalism, PR Journalist of the Year, as well as Lifetime Achievement and Contributions to the Growth of Public Relations.
Mrs. Obot-Nwankwo said the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to “to acknowledged and celebrate your contributions to the Chapter and the Institute at large.”
Now, some friends have told me: “O boy, what they have told you is that you have done well. Go and rest and leave the field for us younger ones”.
After all, the Guardian of London raised an issue in 2020 when it wondered “if winning a lifetime achievement award meant that’s it.”
I laughed at these guys and The Guardian and decided to educate them that such an award could mean it is time to also do more than one had been doing, because as the saying goes, “The reward for hard work is more work” and that is what I told these my so-called friends. I said maybe the Institute is telling me that I could do a bit more and that life and practice should not end at 70.
In fact, AI tells me that AI tells me that, “A lifetime achievement award is a recognition of someone’s accomplishments over their entire career. It is often given to someone who has made significant contributions to their field and is usually presented at the end of their career. However, it can also be given to someone who is still working.”
There you are!
Even the same The Guardian had opined earlier in 2015, “No matter how many lifetime achievement awards you get, a lifetime isn’t over.”
I joined the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR, Lagos Chapter, as an Associate Member in 1988 and having become a full member, was instituted as a Fellow in 2001 at the Annual General Meeting in Owerri. I served the Lagos Chapter as Public Relations Officer and Vice-Chairman, and also chaired several ad-hoc committees like the AGM organising committee. I was admitted into the International Public Relations Association, IPRA in 2000 and have attended several PR World Congresses, including Chicago 2000 and Istanbul 2005, and was fully involved in Public Relations Practice in UBA Plc where I was two-time Head of Corporate Affairs & Brand Management from 1995 to 2005, and as Public Affairs Officer of the Canadian High Commission in Lagos from 1987 to 1995.
I did wonder though how ‘they’ remembered me, since my main business in the last few years has mostly been in research, data, analysis and AI, social media management, although even these areas make use of marketing communications and Public Relations in their day to day businesses.
But let me thank Comfort Obot-Nwankwo and our other colleagues that we are still available to make our little contributions, even as a senior citizen and Fellow of the Institute. We cannot waste experience of over 50 years of Media, PR and Communications Practice, no matter which field the wind blows.
