Alima Atta takes a final bow

The Managing Director, Sesema PR, Ms. Alima Atta, a foremost PR practitioner and marketing consultant, is dead.

According to a statement signed by Tampiri Irimagha – Akemu, Executive Director, Sesema PR, Ms. Atta died in the early hours of Saturday, June 7^th, 2015 after a long and courageous battle with cancer.

An ardent visionary and a savvy entrepreneur, Ms Atta was the third child of Late Abdul-Aziz Atta and Iyabo Atta. She graduated from the prestigious ivory towers of the University of London with a degree in French and Sociology. However, in her quest for more knowledge and to prepare for future endeavours, she obtained a postgraduate diploma in marketing.

After her ventures with the classroom, Atta began her professional career in the United States and later moved to England, working assiduously and handling various marketing briefs. She also embarked upon other areas of integrated marketing communications such as event management, sponsorship recruitment, and creative thinking.

Perhaps in her drive to move beyond the established mark and do something extraordinaire, Ms. Atta crisscrossed from full marketing to public relations consultancy. She established Sesema PR, a public relations agency with the aim of challenging the status quo in corporate media communications and providing qualitative service to clients. The PR agency which was established by Atta in 2012 has gone on to establish itself as a key player and shining light in PR communications, achieving great landmarks and boasting of a rich repertoire of clients.

Under her dynamic leadership, Sesema PR which is affiliated to Edelman, a global independent PR firm, has expanded its base beyond the shores of Nigeria, offering services to her West African clientele with a subsidiary based in Ghana. The late Managing Director of the agency was also honoured with awards from various organisations; prominent among them is the awards she received from the Lagos State University (LASU) for her contribution towards the development of PR practice in Nigeria.

Ms. Atta was very passionate about the activities and affairs of her primary constituency- Public Relations. She worked tirelessly for the development and growth of PR practice in Nigeria. She was of the opinion of having a stronger, united, and efficient Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN) -the regulatory body responsible for supervising public relations practice in Nigeria. She served as treasurer of PRCAN until her unfortunate death.

A humanitarian at heart, Ms. Atta ran a scholarship scheme which saw the training of young persons fascinated by the lure of PR practice. These young people were adequately trained by her agency and gained practical experience. This was her way of promoting human capital development in her beloved industry.

A strategic thinker and a shrewd business woman, Atta was a regular anchor of Talk Business, a radio programme aired on Smooth FM 98.1. She also developed and anchored a medical radio show called Doctors on Air aired on Classic FM 97.3.