Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has urged senior Public Relations (PR) practitioners to pass on their knowledge and professional experience to younger colleagues, saying one of the greatest measures of professional success is how many people you help become better.
“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,” the Minister said.
Idris spoke on Saturday 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 Minister said the memorial lecture should serve as an enduring platform for mentorship and a fitting way to preserve the legacy of the late Mallam Bashir Adamu Chedi, FNIPR.
“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.
Idris said no profession could endure if every generation were forced to start from the beginning, stressing the need to transfer experience and preserve institutional memory.
“Experience must be transferred. Institutional memory must be preserved. Yesterday’s mistakes must become tomorrow’s lessons,” he said.
He noted that while young practitioners bring energy, creativity and knowledge of emerging technologies, senior practitioners bring experience, judgement and professional wisdom.
“Young practitioners must not dismiss experience as outdated, and senior practitioners must not regard innovation as a threat.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.
The Minister urged practitioners to uphold truth, credibility, integrity and responsibility, particularly as artificial intelligence and social media continue to transform communication.
He said Mallam Bashir Chedi’s life should remind professionals that their most enduring legacy lies not only in personal achievements, but in the knowledge and values they pass on to others.
In attendance were the President and Chairman of Council, NIPR, represented by the Vice President, Prof. Emmanuel Dandaura, the Chairman, The Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN), Dr Nkechi Ali-Balogun, the former Vice President of NIPR, Dr. Auwal Mohammed Haruna, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, News Agency of Nigeria, Malam Ali M. Ali, the Director General, Nigerian Television Authority, Malam Abdulhamid Dembos, the Director-General, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Dr. Mohammed Bulama, the Director-General Voice of Nigeria (VON), Malam Jibrin Baba Ndace, the Managing Director, Northern Cables Processing and Manufacturing Company (NOCACO), Dr Tunde Orija, the Commandant, Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), represented by the Director of Coordination, Commodore M.S Danjuma, the Commissioner of Police, Kaduna Police Command, represented by the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Finance and Admin, ACP Abdulkadir Yahaya, the family of the late Bashir Adamu Chedi, among other dignitaries.
