Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has urged senior public relations practitioners to mentor younger colleagues and ensure that professional knowledge and experience are passed on to future generations.
Idris made the call in Kaduna at the maiden Bashir Adamu Chedi Annual Memorial Lecture and Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Kaduna State Chapter.
The Information Minister said professional success should not be measured solely by personal achievements or positions attained, but also by the number of people an individual helps to develop.
“Your experience should not retire with you. One of the greatest measures of professional success is the number of people you help to become better,” Idris said.
He described the memorial lecture as an enduring platform for mentorship and a fitting way to preserve the legacy of the late Mallam Bashir Adamu Chedi.
“His greatest legacy was not the positions he occupied. It was the people he influenced, the younger practitioners he encouraged and the professional values he represented,” he said.
He stressed the importance of transferring professional experience and preserving institutional memory, warning that no profession could achieve sustainable progress if every generation was forced to start afresh.
“Experience must be transferred. Institutional memory must be preserved. Yesterday’s mistakes must become tomorrow’s lessons,” he said.
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According to the minister, younger practitioners possessed energy, creativity and knowledge of emerging technologies, while senior professionals had experience, sound judgement and professional wisdom.
He therefore urged both generations to work together, stressing that innovation and experience should complement rather than compete with each other.
“Young practitioners must not dismiss experience as outdated, and senior practitioners must not regard innovation as a threat. Bridging generations means bringing these strengths together,” Idris said.
He also charged public relations practitioners to uphold truth, credibility, integrity and responsibility in the discharge of their duties, particularly as artificial intelligence and social media continue to transform the communication landscape.
Idris said the life and career of the late Chedi should remind professionals that lasting impact goes beyond individual accomplishments.
He urged professionals to strive to leave behind a legacy of knowledge, values and people whose lives and careers had been positively influenced by them.
The event attracted prominent professionals and public officials, including the NIPR President and Chairman of Council, represented by the Vice President, Prof. Emmanuel Dandaura; Chairman of the Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN), Dr Nkechi Ali-Balogun; and former NIPR Vice President, Dr Auwal Mohammed Haruna.
