I 
remember growing up and wanting so much to be
like Ben Murray Bruce. I used to admire his creativity and savvy, characteristics that earned him the accolade
of the greatest showman in Nigeria, the Nigerian media went on to give him the title of showbiz impresario, deservedly.
Ben and his Silverbird crew revolutionised show business and beauty pageantry in Nigeria and gave the Daily Times
organised Miss Nigeria pageant a whipping with their Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN) version and also the
Miss Intercontinental pageant, these efforts culminated in the crowning of Biancah Onoh as both the MBGN and Miss
Intercontinental in 1989, Also the Silverbird crew produced Agbani Darego who went on to rewrite the history of
world beauty pageantry with her success as the first black African Miss world at the 2001 Miss world beauty pageant.
This put Nigeria on the world map once again and the multiplier economic effects would have been felt in the continuing
years if not for our reoccurring religious bigotry that saw the beauties fleeing Nigeria in the aftermath of the
ensuing riots started by one journalist's naïve writing.
Ben and Silverbird also brought big acts to Nigeria such as Lakeside, Shalamar and a host of others, what really
got me sold on him
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and his entertainment business was when I saw him on the pages of Jet magazine (an Ebony publication) in 1986 hanging
out with the likes of Janet Jackson, I was still in high school then and on holidays at my uncle's house in Enugu
and as soon as I got back to college that year, I quickly put together a small group comprising my brother George
and Patrick Abana and we started the New Age Klub in IMT Enugu, we went on to organise the first ever MR IMT and
Miss IMT beauty pageant in a show we aptly dubbed fantasy '87. The event was so successful that we became campus
stars overnight appearing on TV, newspapers and radio, we ran the franchise for another two years before going
on to university.
Miss Eucharia Anunobi, the popular Nigerian actress won the inaugural Miss IMT pageant that year (1987) and this
actually launched her into the world of modelling and show business as she later featured in commercials for Kessingsheen
beauty products and for some other companies. All through this period, I never had any direct contact with Ben
Murray- Bruce but I continued to follow his career in the media. Without his knowing it, he was my mentor and role
model and had indirectly and positively inspired some of my choices in my growing up years.
When I enrolled to study communication arts at the University of Uyo, I was hoping to pursue a career in media
and show business, a path I had carefully selected and modelled after that of Ben Murray-Bruce, but the world of
academics and society as a whole does things to you which sometimes change your world views and values, Dele Giwa
had just been bombed, some of the journalists I came in contact with at the time didn't look too happy and fulfilled,
they were not helped by their constant struggle for the famous brown envelopes, journalism and media practice at
the time didn't look appealing anymore as the likes of Lawrence Akapa and his Top News magazine dragged the profession
to the mud with their sensationalism, helping to introduce the phrase junk journalism into Nigeria's vocabulary,
this was long before the world began to talk about the paparazzi in relation to gutter journalism.
Mayor Akinpelu (Global Excellence Magazine) was with Prime People and later Vintage People magazines at the time
and he didn't help matters with the meagre postal orders he used to send to me at Uyo during my undergraduate days
for my freelance contributions, some of this stories got me into trouble with the university authority who threatened
me with expulsion, particularly over my story on the Ooni of Ife (the university chancellor at the time) and the
sexual escapades of his high chiefs during the 1990 convocation ceremony.
The Ooni story though was conceived out of spite and revenge against my then campus girlfriend who had actually
stood me up on a date to attend an Ooni party. All these factors made me feel disillusioned and disappointed with
media and journalism practice, to the extent that I pulled out of the Campus Beats crew, (a magazine that I started
in the university as the founding publisher). My other reason for quitting was also not to jeopardise my chances
of graduating in record time as the magazine had been having running battles with the authorities over some of
our stories and expose, this climaxed with the Ooni story.
One man presented a very good escape strategy for me and completely changed my career path without knowing it.
On this particular day, I opened the pages of the defunct Lagos Life newspaper which was edited at the time by
Sunmi-smart Cole and beheld the story of Biodun Shobanjo.
Shobanjo, dubbed the Czar and crown prince of advertising in Nigeria was portrayed as the quintessential glamour
boy in the article, he had
managed to edge out the colonially run agencies in the billings and rankings table, his exploits with his Troika
Holdings and foray into the territory of the big corporations opened my eyes to a whole new world, that of fame,
glamour, career, professionalism and wealth.
I could still recall my frustration with my university for not providing enough advertising content in the communication
arts curriculum and so I began to teach myself advertising, I bought a book at the famous Moneme bookshop at Aba
titled Advertising and written by Winston Fletcher, further enquiries led to my writing to the CAM foundation in
London to register for their professional exams in advertising, difficulties with students exams and registration
fees remittances created the opportunity for Mike Okereke to start the Nigerian franchise (BEEC) on behalf of CAM
, I registered with BEEC and actually graduated overall in 1991 as the best advertising student in Nigeria.
It was around this period that I set up the advertising students association at the university of uyo to carter
for the interests of students who wished to pursue careers in advertising, this then became a very good time and
opportunity to get in touch with Shobanjo, so I wrote him and offered him the grand patronship of the association,
I could still remember his reply, in an Insight Communications letter head and signed personally by him, I carried
the letter in my pocket for days and used to show it off at the university canteen, I became the envy of my peers,
facilitated by a letter from a man I looked up to but hadn't met. Shobanjo's words of encouragement and support
then have helped me ever since making me the marketing communications practitioner that I am today.
Shobanjo and his Insight Communications team were very helpful during my undergraduate thesis writing, my thesis
was based on their advertising campaign for the National Republican Party (NRC) in the 1991 elections. I remember
hanging out a lot in those days at Insight's offices at Akanbi Street in surulere. Here I was, a college kid with
no dime in his pockets nor a nickel to his name, a JJC (Johnny just come) in local parlance rubbing minds and shoulders
with these dream makers, I felt so empowered and motivated.
Gabriel Abba, then an account director at the agency was particularly helpful, surprisingly I met him again on
a recent trip to Nigeria in July 2004 on a Chachanji flight from Abuja to Lagos, he didn't recognise me as the
years have taken a toll on both of us, he was so surprised when I reminded him of our encounter in 1991 and the
help the Insight team gave to me, Abba now runs his own agency (Communication Solutions) in Lagos, As the flight
touched down at the local airport in Lagos, we both exchanged cards and promised to keep in touch.
Enter George Moghalu, another mentor that God sent my way at a time of need, it began with my quest for a place
to do my summer internships, I had approached his agency (Crystal Functions), considerably the best and only AAPN
registered advertising agency in Aba, George went on to adopt me as a friend and mentee, my tutelage under him
later blossomed into a lifetime friendship, he shared my vision in the setting up of the advertising students association
at the university of uyo and used to do all our printings for free, he also invested additional resources and time
on me and in various ways on the association, George was also a regular in our events including the then ASA annual
advertising awards during which time he bagged the award of the 1992 advertising man of the year .
Our friendship and informal mentor/mentee relationship continued even when George was appointed a Director General
in the Ogbonnaya Onu government, a period that saw me doing stints as his informal PA (personal assistant) during
my national youth service year in 1993.
George's appointment (an Anambra man serving in the government of Abia state) actually showed that Nigerians can
be whatever they wished in their places of normal residence. As George's political career soared, so has our friendship
and mentor/mentee relationship, covering his years as the national secretary of the All Nigerian Peoples Party
(ANPP) and his eventual foray in 2003 into the mad house gubernatorial elections in Anambra state as the ANPP candidate.
Every Nigerian of my generation grew up hearing the name Pat Utomi; he was more of an infant terrible, very visible
and always in a thousand places at the same time, Pat Utomi is one of the rare breed of men that have the midas
touch, turning everything they touch into gold, he has birthed several projects in Nigeria, these projects have
in turn given jobs to thousands of Nigerians. My earliest impressions of him was that of a man with whom I should
always measure and compare my age and accomplishments with, when he became the deputy managing director and subsequently
acting managing director of Volkswagen of Nigeria at the young age of 35, I became afraid, not for him but for
myself and my generation as I really didn't see how I was going to reach that milestone at such age, especially
with the state of our dwindling fortunes and economy.
As the years went on, I continued to follow utomi's career successes but our path never crossed even while I worked
as a consultant in Lagos for a company of which he is a director, I never met him until my career took another
turn and I ended up in London teaching business and marketing. First I needed to fulfil the statutory requirement
by training as a teacher, while doing this at the University of Greenwich, I noticed that almost every Nigerian
I spoke to yearned for some kind of Nigerian association, but no one was really keen on giving up their time and
resources to set one up.
Just as I had learned from my several mentors, about leaving legacies and footprints in the sands of time, God
used me to start the Nigerian students association at the university and our inaugural dinner was also used to
bestow career achievement awards on four notable Nigerians, Utomi
was one of these Nigerians, the others were jay jay okocha, kanu nwankwo and dele momodu, another kind Nigerian
and role model who bestowed the association with so much goodwill including freely publishing the pictures of our
event in his magazine.(Ovation magazine).
Tracking Utomi to inform and invite him to the event was quite challenging, when I finally made contacts with him
in far away America where he was on sabbatical, I remember his surprise on the phone on being selected for the
award, our subsequent banter actually exposed his humility, this confirmed to me the true meaning of the title
of one of his books, To serve is to live. Utomi despite the strain on his resources and the pressure of time actually
came to the event, he was our star billing and his resounding speech that night inspired some of us to think more
in terms of harnessing our brain child for the growth and development of Nigeria, his speech was a wake up call
for us all supported with practical how to examples. When I conceived my elearning project early this year, Prof
Utomi sent me words of encouragement and agreed to serve on the project's board.
Mentee and mentor relationships therefore may be what we need in Nigeria if we want the next generation to climb
the heights we couldn't, these relationships maybe formal or informal as I have demonstrated with some of my personal
experiences, however it is a call on our leaders, parents, captains of industry, bosses in offices and other professionals
to carry and conduct themselves in the most pious and professional manner, this is because without their knowing
it, there may be thousands of Nigerians looking up to them as role models, the lives of these Nigerians are also
being influenced positively and negatively by the things they say and do, and also by the things they fail to say
and do.
For the mentees, people like me who have benefited in several ways from the influences of the mentors, it is a
societal expectation to carry the torch further, to pay this favours forward to other people that have now come
to look up to us, sometimes it is not so much in the big things we do, but in the every day little things, the
words of encouragement, the warm handshakes, the hearty smiles, the listening ears, well wishes and inspirational
guidelines.