Udeme Ufot bags advertising legend award

One of the iconic professionals cum entrepreneurs in the Nigerian advertising industry, Mr. Udeme Ufot, MFR, the Co-Founder and Group Managing Director of SO&U Limited, a foremost integrated marketing communications Group in Nigeria has been honoured with an Advertising Legend award.

The well-deserved honour was bestowed on the advertising guru by MARKETING EDGE, Nigeria’s leading, award-winning and globally acclaimed magazine at the recently held 2023 edition of its annual Brands and Advertising Excellence Awards, now christened EDGE Awards.

The event which marked the Grand Finale of the iconic publication’s 20th anniversary celebrations, took place at the prestigious The Podium Event Center at Lekki, Lagos.

On hand to present the award to and confer the honour on Ufotwas another legendary advertising professional and entrepreneur, Sir Steve Bamidele Omojafor, OON, the Chairman of the STB McCann Group who was the Special Guest of Honour at the Awards Nite.

In zeroing in on Mr. Ufot for the prestigious award, the organisers of the EDGE Awards took a very deep look at the very scintillating, greatly inspiring and highly impactful professional trajectory and entrepreneurial odyssey of this man of history.

Reading his citation, they (the organizes) disclosed that UdemeUfot holds a BA in Industrial Design from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Certificate in Management from Swedish Institute of Management and Chief Executive Programme of the Lagos Business School (LBS). He worked in Insight Communications from 1984 to 1989 where he left as Deputy Creative Director (Art) to join CASERS in 1989 as Creative Director.

Six months later he co-founded SO&U in 1990, now one of Nigeria’s leading marketing communications groups with a strong reputation for professionalism and creativity where he is currently Group Managing Director. At SO&U, Udemecontributes to policy formulation and management.

It was also emphasized that Udeme has held several executive positions in the Association of Advertising Practitioners of Nigeria (AAPN) including Vice President and President in 1997 and 1999, respectively. He serves as Board Member of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Nigeria’s leading public/private sector economic think tank where he chairs the board communications & media subcommittee. He is also a private sector Co-Chairman of the Policy Commission on Tourism, Hospitality, Entertainment, Creative Industries and Sports, (THECS) of the NESG.

He is a member of the Leadership team of M&C Saatchi Africa.He is also Chairman of the Advisory Board of School of Media & Communication, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos. He is a past President of the Lagos Business School Alumni Association (LBSAA), past Chairman of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), as well as member of the Board of Special Olympics Nigeria.

Notably, too, Udeme is the immediate past Board Chair of LEAP Africa, Nigeria’s leading non-profit for development of leadership and entrepreneurial skills amongst youth in Africa.

He is also Chairman of the board of Ibom Icon Hotel and Resort, Uyo, one of Nigeria’s leading conference, golf and leisureresorts.

Significantly, in recognition of his services to the nation in the Corporate Sector, he was awarded Member of the Order of the Federal Republic, MFR in 2014 by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

He is married to Dorothy Udeme Ufot, a Professor of Law and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN; and they are parents to Aniekan and Dorothy Jnr.

Interestingly, while presenting the award to this distinguished adman, Sir Omojafor declared matter-of-factly speaking, that for Udeme, it was a well-deserved honour and one that could not have come at a better time than it did. He recalled all the great strides which the awardee had recorded and the indelible footprints which he had been leaving on the sand of time.

Omojafor recalled that Udeme it was that took the baton from him as the (then) President of the Association of Advertising Practitioners of Nigeria, AAPN, now Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, AAAN; and he (Omojafor) disclosed that history would soon repeat itself in a very positive way when in November, this year, the same Udeme would take over from him as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the same umbrella body of advertising agencies in Nigeria.

He therefore commended the Board and Management of MARKETING EDGE and the entire members of the EDGE Awards Board for such a very accurate and very significant choice.

On his part, Udeme Ufot, a man of gentle mien and humble disposition, thanked the organisers of the EDGE Awards, stressing that the conferment was both humbling and exciting to him. He added that the honour could only be an impetus for him to keep doing his best to positively impact the advertising industry, the Nigerian nation and humanity.

Joining hands with Sir Omojafor to present the award to Mr. Udeme Ufot were Professor (Mrs.) Dorothy Ufot, SAN the awardee’s wife; Prince Dozie Mbanefo, Managing Director, New Crystal Communications who was the Chairman of the occasion; as well as Mr. John Ajayi, Publisher/CEO, MARKETING EDGE and his wife, Mrs. Olubunmi Ajayi.