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Tag: Jacksonites

  • For UNN Mass Comm Alumni, a new high in alumni-Alma Mater collaboration – By Ikem Okuhu

    For UNN Mass Comm Alumni, a new high in alumni-Alma Mater collaboration – By Ikem Okuhu

    By Ikem Okuhu

    What began as a gathering of graduates of the Mass Communication Department of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, otherwise known as Jacksonites, has gradually begun to bear fruits many did not envisage.  A little over two years ago, some brilliant and successful Jacksonites, ably led by Chido Nwakanma, created a WhatsApp group for products of Nigeria’s pioneer journalism school. Today, the Jackson Alumni Network, as the organization is known, has metamorphosed into an active group, dedicated to the upliftment of the department and continuous professional improvement of all its members.

    Alumni associations, the world over, have always been strong forces of change. Many, as it is the case with the UNN Mass Communication group, make academic, financial and intellectual contributions to their mother department. But it is not often that one finds those who take this further by taking interest in the continuous professional development of its members.

    The alumni of the Jackson Building, as the Mass Communication department has been known for years, have the professional and career leverage to undertake this and even more. But then, so do others from other departments and institutions. What this group has going for it, however, which others might not possess in similar abundance, is the will to share with one another and empower those not equally endowed. Here is a group of people who collectively believe in the democratization of knowledge. With persons of influence and career acclaim in the academia, marketing communications, leadership, consulting and practically every sphere of human endeavour, it is possible to begin to see why it was easy for them to turn what most others utilize for social gatherings to feed their nostalgia, into a portent fountain of community intellection.

    Prof Chinedu Mba, a 1987 graduate of the department, who is the orchestra director of the carefully selected group known as the Jackson Professional Development Series (JPDS), says the whole idea began with the understanding that there was the need to give back to the department.

    “It is the crystallization of the passion Jacksonites have for social responsibility and continuous personal and professional growth.”

    Jacksonites are graduates of the foremost Department of Mass Communication in Sub-Saharan Africa, previously known as “The Jackson College of Journalism” when it was first founded in 1961.

    Prof Mba’s perspective was also shared by another graduate of the department, Celestine Achi, a digital marketing expert who plies his trade in Lagos.

    “The JPDS primary goal is to provide an engaging and impact-driven platform for the personal and professional development of students and professionals in the field of communication.”

    Prior to the birth of JPDS, members of this group had embarked on several other projects to enhance the academic pursuits of students of the department. First, they started with donating books to the department’s library. Then, they scaled this to whole new heights by embarking on fundraising for the construction of a brand-new building for what is envisioned to be a School of Media and Communications Studies. Interestingly, by the time this unique school was being envisioned, the National Universities Commission was yet to come out with the new policy that was designed to break Communications studies in Nigerian universities to about seven departments, covering Journalism, Digital Communications, Film Studies, Advertising and Public Relations. This clearly points to the farsightedness of the leaders of this group of elite “communications” scholars and professionals.

    Loads of credit to what the vision has become goes significantly to some of the youngest members of the group, notably, Mr. Jerry Agada (a 2013 graduate) and Dr. Chidiebere Nwachukwu (a 2011 graduate). It was the two of them that decided to up the ante by organizing periodic seminars for Jacksonites. Prof. Pat. Utomi (a 1977 graduate), the President of Jacksonites Worldwide – the Alumni Association of Jacksonites – was the speaker at the first seminar. Then, the seminars did not have a formal structure and were pretty irregular.

    That was when Prof Mba stepped in.

    Saddened by the waning interest and participation in the seminars, she reached out to Mr. Agada and Dr. Nwachukwu, and mooted the idea of giving the initiative a formal structure and a chance at sustainability. After a couple of meetings, they agreed that a setting up a steering committee would be the first step. The trio drew up a list of potential Steering Committee members and Prof. Mba was given the task of selling the idea. As is her practice, Chinedu went about this task with dedicated passion and conviction and “recruited” eight Jacksonites to steer the initiative with her as the Chair.

    This committee held several meetings lasting into the wee hours of the morning. At these meetings they crafted the name, mission, and vision as well as a strategic plan. With these in place, they presented the idea to the Jacksonites Worldwide late in 2020. Three working groups (Logistics, Publicity & Mobilization, and Sponsorship) were set up in line with the strategic plan. Since its set up, Jacksonites Professional Development Seminar (JPDS) series has held 4 well -received and attended international virtual seminars. Experts in various fields of communication and human capital development have helped share profound knowledge in various fields. They include, Prof Pat Utomi of Centre for Values, Lagos, Nigeria; Prof Nduka Otiono of Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada; Dr Marcel Mbamalu of Prime Business Africa, Lagos, Nigeria; Mr. Obi Emekekwue, formerly of Afrexim Bank; Dr. Isah Momoh of Ed-John Institute of Management & Technology, Ikorodu, Nigeria; John Klocke of St. John Paul II Catholic Schools, North Dakota, USA; Prof. Bartholomew Okolo, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria Nsukka; Prof. Ladi Adamu of Ahmadu Bello University, and Prof. Yakubu Ochefu of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors, Abuja, Nigeria, Professor Emeritus Charles Okigbo of  North Dakota State University, USA, and Chido Nwakanma.

    The JPDS has added two new brands, Knowledge Hub and MediaUp Conversations, to its stable.

    Knowledge Hub, as the name suggests, is dedicated to the creation and exchange of interdisciplinary research-based knowledge and processes that advance scholarship, solve societal problems and accelerate development. To date, Knowledge Hub has held 5 well-attended international research seminars facilitated by globally respected academics such as Dr. Nuhu Gapsiso of University of Maiduguri, Dr. Kathrine Tulibaski of North Dakota State University, Dr. Adeniran of Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria; Dr.  Mustafa Malan of Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria, Prof. Victor Ayedun- Aluma of the University of Jos, Dr. Karen Okigbo of University of Chicago, and Prof. Rotimi Olatunji of Lagos State University, amongst others.

    Jerry Agada, a journalist and perhaps the youngest member of the team of eggheads thinks the project has been of immense value to the group, saying that sharing knowledge enables society to be better.

    “As a personal philosophy, I believe the sky is big enough for all birds to fly. Additionally, the Ubuntu philosophy drives what we do at the JPDS, where we believe that together, we are better; where the development and success of an individual is hinged on the collective and vice-versa,” Agada stated.

    Prof Mba, it seems, may have been responsible for invoking this “Ubuntu” philosophy in her team and by extension, the entire body of the UNN Jacksonites. In various interactions with her, she echoes this uniquely African philosophy and has always ensured that she signs off all her emails, with the word as compulsory mention. Could it be just her life choice, or is there a culture graduates of the department imbibe that makes them appreciate the values inherent in living, one for all, and all for one”?

    Whatever is the reason, the project, which Mba described as a “child of destiny” is a success story worth sharing and which even the drivers believe should be scaled to impact more people.

    Dr Nuhu Diraso, a friend of the JPDS, and faculty member at the University of Maiduguri, thinks the project should go beyond the alumni circles. For him, a lot more Nigerians should know about it, not just for the benefits of sharing professional and academic knowledge but also to spread the message of selfless giving to more Nigerian universities.

    “There is dearth of knowledge among students of Nigerian universities today and this has been because nearly all the people with valuable field experiences that could shape the foundational lives of students, are out there in the field, far removed from where they would help shape the minds of students in their critical formative stages of adulthood. But if this project is enhanced for wider participation, I think it will lead to a replication by the alumni of other departments in other universities, the end will be a more empowered graduates, and ultimately, a more employment-ready workforce,” Dr Gapsiso said.

    Not thinking too differently, Agada would want more direct interactions between the members of the alumni club and students.

    Says he: “The JPDS can organize campus tours in collaboration with other alumni associations, where academics, professionals and students converge in what will be a meeting point between town, gown and the academia, across different campuses. The experience will be beneficial to all parties as such a convergence.”

    Agada further suggests that the JPDS is ripe for physical events such as conferences and symposia, This, he believes, will pave the way for a transformation into a global hybrid and authoritative platform in the global communications landscape with annual referenced industry report.

    With the depth of intellectual resources at the disposal of the Jacksonites, there is no doubt that these are achievable, if the same will and willingness that brought the JPDS and the Knowledge Hub into existence are applied.

  • Experts identify best research approach to seeking solutions to societal problems

    Experts identify best research approach to seeking solutions to societal problems

    A group of university dons and research experts under the aegis of Jacksonites’ Professional Development Series – Knowledge Hub – has identified Action Research (AR) as the most applied, practical problem-solving research approach to seeking solutions to societal problems.

    Led by renowned Professor Emeritus of Strategic Communication, North Dakota State University, USA, Charles Okigbo, the experts dimensioned Action Research in terms of its meaning, rational, utilization, essence and economic benefits and concluded that it was a very important approach to continuous research and can boost researchers’ earnings.

    At the 2nd edition of the Knowledge Hub seminar of the Jacksonites’ Professional Development Series, held virtually on August 5, 2022, Okigbo and his colleagues – Nuhu Gapsiso of University of Maiduguri and Katherine Tulibaski of North Dakota University – noted that Action Research is more than just common sense knowledge but involves repeating and revising procedures and interpretations while using the proper research methodology such as a sophisticated experiment or a basic focus group discussions (FGD).

    The university dons further stated that Action Research leads people to take specific actions which use both qualitative and quantitative research methods to come up with solutions to pressing problems of the time; they added that AR is recursive because it operates in a nonlinear manner by employing a repeating pattern – Looking – Thinking – Acting – a process they described as the interacting spiral.

    Highlighting some of the key benefit of Action Research for Management Consultants, the experts said that the recursive nature of AR method made it suited for education and communication research because, “the problems in these areas hardly end with finality; One solution can lead to new problems that yield new data and new results that are applied as solutions that can lead to new problems.”

    “Action Research is not neat, like a simple survey, not oddly like a simple interview neither is it linear like one simple experiment but rather it is a process of repeating and revising procedures and interpretations because our results address the situation as it is today and when we implement our results, we will get a new situation that will require us to collect a new set of data and do a new analysis to come up with new recommendation that will be implemented” the experts said.

    Highlighting the economic benefit of AR to researchers and consultants, Okigbo called on university academics who are presently under the burden of strikes to consider engaging in consulting. “We hope that Nigerian lecturers and professors of communication will adopt Action Research in consulting because it entails using our skills to address problems that are germane to the interest of our clients.”

    He pointed out that it was important for the lecturers to know how they can use the research methods, particularly action research methods, to address pressing problems that will get them rewarded financially.

    In their separate presentations, Prof Nuhu Gapsiso, Head, Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri, said that Action Research is an ongoing process of renewal that can help an organisation to come up with new approaches to some of their challenges in order to enhance their performance and also develop interventions that can help address them.

    Prof Katherine Tulibaski of the Department of Management and Marketing, North Dakota State University, USA said that the purpose of action research is to address those important organizational community and social issues together with those who experienced those issues. “It has to come from a group of people experiencing that issue or who wants to be involved in the change,” she informed the audience.

    The Knowledge Hub seminar series is a monthly knowledge sharing initiative of the Jacksonites Professional Development Series, moderated by Dr Chuks Odiegwu-Enwerem and coordinated by Professor Chinedu Mba.

  • Former UNN VC Bartholomew Okolo, Charles Okigbo, others to deliver Papers at Jacksonites 3rd Lecture Series

    Former UNN VC Bartholomew Okolo, Charles Okigbo, others to deliver Papers at Jacksonites 3rd Lecture Series

    The former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof. Bartholomew Okolo, will join an expert panel at the third Jacksonites Professional Development Series (JPDS) seminar, on March 23 at 3 p.m. GMT+1 through the Zoom platform.

    The seminar titled: “Fundraising for Educational Institutions,” will examine the principles, strategies, and tactics for planning and executing effective strategic communication campaigns to raise funds for educational institutions in Nigeria.

    The seminar series is organized by the Jacksonites Worldwide Forum, an alumni association and professional development network of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).

    The Jacksonites Professional Development Series Steering Committee Chairman, Prof. Chinedu Mba of Algonquin College, Ottawa, Canada, said that the focus of the seminar is to provide relevant stakeholders in Nigeria’s higher education the opportunity to learn effective and efficient fundraising methods to address funding gaps faced by Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.

    “It is no secret that higher education in Nigeria is underfunded and this unfortunate state is threatening its survival. Now, the government appears to have forbidden the use of 26% funding formula for education recommended by the UNESCO. Otherwise, how does it explain the non implementation”, Mba queried, adding that “the domino effect of this failure is that Nigerian tertiary institutions are unable to provide effective teaching, research and development (R & D), as well as critical wide-ranging services to their students and respective stakeholders”.

    Mba cited poor funding as one of the reasons given for the recent one month warning strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). But to provide a good-natured atmosphere for effective teaching, Mba said “Nigerian tertiary institutions require funds for capital and recurrent needs that would include but not limited to having the right lecturer to student ratio, research and development funding and provision of critical infrastructural amenities”. She stressed that these facilities are important because “learning environments affect the type and quality of teaching as well as academic achievement of students.”

    The target audience for the free event includes administrators in the education sector, alumni groups, fundraising volunteers and coordinators, and other public personalities.

    Other speakers at the event are Prof. Charles Okigbo, professor emeritus of Strategic Communication Analytics at North Dakota State University, Fargo, USA; Mr. John Klocke, CFRE, Advancement Director/Planned and Major Gifts at St. John Paul II Catholic Schools, Fargo, North Dakota ; Betsy Birmingham, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada , and Prof. Ladi Sandra Adamu, professor of Broadcasting at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. Prof. Yakubu Ochefu, Secretary General to the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities will serve as the event respondent.

    The first lecture in the series was held in July 2021 and was delivered by Dr. Nduka Otiono, an associate professor at the Institute of African Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, while the second was in November 2021 and was delivered by Obi Emekekwue, former director and Global Head of Communications and Events Management at Afreximbank, with the title: Crisis Survival in Today’s Viral World: The Communications Conundrum.

    Participants at the second seminar included Dr Marcel Mbamalu, editor-in-chief and publisher of Prime Business Africa; Barrister Kingsley Osadolor, renowned media expert, as well as lecturers and students of the Mass Communication Department of the UNN.

    Registration for the March 23rd seminar opens up on February 23rd. All inquiries can be directed to jacksonitiespdseries@gmail.com.

  • Otiono, Osadolor, to play key roles in Jacksonites’ inaugural professional development meet

    Otiono, Osadolor, to play key roles in Jacksonites’ inaugural professional development meet

    Two distinguished Nigerian public intellectuals – Dr Nduka Otiono and Barrister Kingsley Osadolor – are billed to champion discussion in the inaugural professional development meeting – an exhaustive intellectual discourse – being planned and organized by alumni of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka also known as Jacksonites Worldwide Forum.

    Dr Nduka Otiono, an Associate Professor at the Institute of African Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, will be leading discussion on the subject: A ‘Captured’ Media in an Insecure Nation: Democracy and Free Speech on Trial? Dr Otiono brings to the table a bouquet of intellectual and professional excellence in various areas of his endeavour. He is the Graduate Programme Supervisor at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada and also the author/co-author of 10 books on creative writing and academic research. As a former journalist and General Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Otiono is upbeat about the subject which is of particular interest to him as it “speaks to the present realities in Nigeria.”The Chairman of the Professional Development Series SteeringCommittee, Chinedu Mba ,a Professor at Algonquin College, Ottawa, Cañada, who shared thoughts with Otiono, revealed that Otiono feels highly honoured by the invitation to lead discussion on such an important subject in the life of the nation, noting that Nigeria was indeed at a crossroads.

    Similarly, veteran journalist and ace broadcaster, Mr. Kingsley Osadolor, has been tipped to moderate the first special professional development series. Mr. Osadolor, a lawyer, comes along with decades of professional and intellectual accomplishments in the media and communication sector as well as political advisory. Currently he anchors the influential ‘Good Morning Nigeria’ programme on Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). At various times, Mr. Osadolor was the Deputy Managing Director, Guardian Newspapers; former Commissioner for Information, Edo State and Special Adviser to the Minister of Information. He is a Fellow, Nigerian Guild of Editors and once Editor of The Guardian on Sunday. Osadolor said, “This is familiar territory. But the subject matter of media capture in Nigeria has not received the rigorous interrogation it deserves in the context of the country’s sub-optimal democratic experience and aggravated security challenges that now gravely imperil life and livelihoods.”

    The Steering Committee for the Professional Development Series of Jacksonites Worldwide Forum said that the Professional Development Series is intended to assist professionals in media and communication to keep abreast with developments in their career in a fast-changing world. The Committee Chairman, Prof. Chinedu Afigbo said, “So much is lined up for the 30th of July and afterwards. The Jacksonites Forum as a departmental alumni association, is happy to champion the design and delivery of a well-thought-out programme to keep members and other interested professionals on the cutting edge of their profession. The Chairman added that the media and communication industry being dynamic, professionals need to be on top of their games to be able to continuously deliver on their mandate.

    The first in the series of the development seminars will be held on Friday, 30 July via virtual platform. Participants will be expected to register in advance through a link that will be shared. The PD series is a community development initiative of the alumni of the department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.