New Era Beckons as PRCAN Holds AGM

The Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN) appears set to usher in a new chapter as the reigning executive set to make way for new ones. With the all important AGM in sight, members look forward to an election that will propel the association to greater heights. Kenneth O. Eze writes

Recently, Ejike Agwulonu, the executive secretary of the Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN), the umbrella body for professional PR consulting firms in Nigeria , put its members on notice for an all important Annual General Meeting (AGM) billed for Friday June 18, 2010 at the Renaissance Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos . The all important meeting is set to define the future of the association.
The notice is also warmly welcomed by many members. Some who spoke to M2 recall that Nn’emeka Maduegbuna become the president of the association in 2001 and perhaps, because of some landmark achievements achieved under his leadership, Maduegbuna returned to office unopposed, making it seem that he had been sentenced to a life presidency. A new era appears certain with the elections underway.
Maduegbuna, in a telephone chat with M2, confirms that he will not running for office. Agwulonu affirms that it is not a child’s play leading industry moguls. Speaking with M2 on telephone, he says that Maduegbuna has had to commit his personal funds to sustaining the association. “The president has had to personally foot the bills of facilitators flown in from outside the country for courses put together by the association,” he says. He also notes that PRCAN’s website is being sustained at the personal expense of the president.
Chido Nwakanma, another member points out that the association has grown from existing by permission of NIPR’s byelaws to being an incorporated entity limited by guarantee. In an emailed response to M2, he states “the Emeka Maduegbuna executive committee set out to rescue PRCAN from irrelevance into acceptance and right standing with members. It has succeeded in its mandate.”
The growth of PRCAN means that members are looking forward to more successes, as Nwakamma further states, “the upcoming election is important as it marks a formal transition from one executive committee to another.” He advises that people aspiring to step into the shoes of the current executive should prepare well as there is work to be done. Reiterating that the current executive has delivered, he states that incoming executives should be ready “to build on this foundation and apply the tools of public relations to the profession of public relations consultancy itself.”
One of the things he is expecting to see from the new executive is the development of “a strategic plan to enhance the economic viability of public relations consultancy in Nigeria , improve perceptions on the practice and ensure it gets first call in communication management tasks in the country from the public to the private sector.” He is of the opinion that the democratic dispensation presents PRCAN with ample opportunities to move ahead, stressing the need to strike while the iron is still hot. He emphasizes that “the time is now.”
Agwulonu maintains that members’ indifference has slowed down progress; “issues of irregular meetings are down to members’ lukewarm attitude to meetings. All members should share part of the responsibility.” Nwakanma adduces likely reasons for the apathy and other issues that have come up with it. According to him: “Experience over the past five years shows that standards, ethics and such concerns, while very important, pale into insignificance where member firms are battling for survival. It is safe to say that attendance at meetings has been affected by the imperatives of survival for many member firms.”
With the new era beckoning, Agwulonu is sure that things are getting better with PRCAN. “We are ready for the meeting,” he asserts. As executive secretary, he has sent emails and reminders to members, stressing the need to update their financial status with the association to enable them qualify both to vote and be voted for to enthrone the leadership that will take the association to a height that members will be proud of.
On his expectations for the meeting, Nwakanma states: “One expects the AGM to produce a leadership that has proper appreciation of where the association is coming from and where it should be headed. It should be visionary, yet pragmatic and focused. Turnout should be high, as we also encourage member firms that have yet to pay their dues to do so. By our memorandum of association, they cannot vote or be voted for if they are not up-to-date financial members.”
To reinforce its resolve to live the spirit and letter of the memorandum and articles of association of PRCAN, the present executive has constituted an electoral committee comprising Mike Meze and Bolaji Okusaga, backing it up with a plea to members to support the committee communicated via email.
It is yet to be seen if members have keyed into the zeal of the executive. Vincent Oyo, in a telephone chat with M2, affirms knowledge of the coming AGM and elections. He says that, “Nobody has tried to woo me on any of the positions available.” He is also not presenting himself for election into any of the vacant posts. “I am not running,” he says.
When asked if the low level of enthusiasm among members would not impact adversely on the AGM, Oyo assures that the fact he is not being wooed by anybody does not mean that electioneering activities are not in top gear. He believes that the more active members of PRCAN may be neck-deep in the process.
A very interesting angle is the fact that members might be scared of shouldering the enormous responsibilities of the association or stepping into the big shoes of the outgoing executive. Oyo reasons that the enormous achievements of the Maduegbuna presidency might be a reason why people are not so eager to take over the mantle. In his opinion, “it represents the confidence the people repose on the current president under whom PRCAN has made giant strides.” Driving home his point, he says that Maduegbuna has committed more of his personal funds to keep the association afloat than the association itself.
However, it is not all positives for Maduegbuna and his team as despite all its achievements, PR Review, PRCAN’s publication which, as Nwakanma notes, “set out to serve as a tool for the propagation of public relations and the practice of consulting,” is now published on an irregular basis. But Agwulonu maintains that “it is not rested.” He attributes the irregularity in publication to the level of support coming from members by way of adverts and otherwise. Economic and industry realities seem to be impacting on the publication as M2 gathers that the supposed quarterly has similarly suffered from the non-committal attitude of members just like its publisher, PRCAN.
PRCAN came into being in 1983 under Bye-law No. 3 of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and moved under the leadership of Madugbuna to become a legal entity and a company limited by guarantee with its rectified Memorandum of Association, registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in 2007. With the attainment of legal status, M2 gathers that PRCAN is now a member of the International Communication Consultants Organisation, ICCO, giving it and member agencies a face internationally. “Strong leadership has kept PRCAN alive and relevant, such that it has become a rallying point for taking the profession to the next level,” says Nwakanma.
With a new era knocking at the door, hopes are very high that the June elections will usher in quality leadership that will take PRCAN to higher heights.