MIPAN outlines expectations from new Information Minister with optimism
By Felicia Nwosu
Femi Adelusi, President of the Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN), has extolled, with optimism, the appointment of the new Minister of Information and Orientation, Alhaji Idris Mohammed Malagi, who is also a strong industry thought leader in the Integrated Marketing Communication space.
Adelusi emphasised the need for sectoral groups to engage the Minister over ongoing industry conversation to enable them chart a path for new horizons while outlining some of the associations’ expectations from his ministry. He stated this during the 2023 MIPAN’s Annual General Meeting with the theme: “Key Enablers to Running a Healthy and Profitable Agency Business”. The AGM was held in Ikeja, Lagos.
Adelusi said his association looks forward to engaging with Malagi on various areas that will deepen the broadcasting landscape by providing better access to content, promote local participation as well as reduce capital flight to accelerate industry growth. He noted that the advertising industry has been reckoned as one of the sectors that grew the most in the service sector, contributing immensely to the growth of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2023.
“One of the challenges and outcomes is the need for us to properly quantify the contributions of our sector to the GDP so that we can have a voice at the table. So that we can also play a role in the way we influence policies and decisions in Nigeria. While we welcome the Minister very warmly, there are three key areas of the sectoral body that we are very hopeful about and will be engaging in.
“Number one is audience measurement. We believe that this is very critical in terms of the way we work. When we think about it in terms of technology, we need to be able to measure very accurately the decisions that we are making. We need to make decisions based on facts and on science. Of course, the fact is important.
“We need data that allows us to make those decisions. And we also need to support various stakeholders. For example, content developers, who need to also prime their content appropriately, stations that are doing very well and need to also prime their time appropriately. This is because, at the end of the day, everything adds up to growing our industry and growing our GDP contribution. But we all need data across these various ecosystems to be able to grow the economy. We will continue to engage in this area.”
The MIPAN President also called on the Minister to revisit some of the uncompleted existing projects initiated by the former Minister by confronting some of the bottlenecks and erasing barriers that are militating against their full implantation to reposition the industry for growth and economic development.
“Number two is the area of the Digital Switch Over (DSO). There has been so much promise in the last, maybe five to eight years in terms of what is possible, and so many timelines and deadlines have almost become mobile. But that still needs to be done. Even if it is to isolate the top three to top five commercial centers in Nigeria and deliver the DSO in these two cities, it will be very important.
“Number three, the area is around the participation of our association, and of course, other key sectoral bodies in decision-making. One of the things we will also be advocating is the set up and the composition of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), so that rather than reacting to policies, or our opinions being sought when significant progress has been made, we want to be part of that decision-making from the beginning.”
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