Tolulope Medebem, Brenda Nwagwu, Stephen Onaivi, Fatiu Akiolu and 41 others inducted as ARCON Fellows
The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) recently held a landmark ceremony at the Sheraton Hotel, Lagos, inducting forty-five leading advertising professionals as Fellows of the profession. This Fellowship represents the highest status of membership, reserved for practitioners who have significantly impacted the development of the field.
Among the prominent professionals conferred with the honour were Tolulope Medebem, President, Experiential Marketers Association of Nigeria (EXMAN); Brenda Nwagwu, Vice President, Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN); Prince Fatiu Akiolu, MD/CEO, Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA); and Stephen Oluwatoyin Onaivi, Managing Director, mediaReach OMD. These four, alongside 41 other distinguished members, were officially welcomed into the exclusive Body of Fellows.
Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, the Director-General of ARCON, underscored the significance of the conferment in his welcome address. He noted that members of various professions are identified and categorised according to the height they have attained, and for many fields, the Fellowship is “defining as the zenith of professional attainment”.
Dr. Fadolapo explained that the status is conferred “according to the measure of a person’s knowledge, experience, competence and impact in the thesis and praxis of the profession”. He reminded the inductees that ARCON exercises the authority, on behalf of the profession, to confer this recognition at a public ceremony.
He further charged the newly inducted practitioners, stating that they are expected to “conduct themselves and their marketing communications practice with appropriate dignity and distinction as well as serve as pillars of support and leading lights for the profession”.
The establishment of different categories of membership, including the Fellow status, followed the promulgation of the Advertising Practitioners registration, etc, Act in 1988, which has since been replaced by the ARCON Act 2022. To qualify, practitioners must be registered full members who have consistently engaged in the practice of marketing communications for a minimum of fifteen years, met specific academic requirements, and shown involvement in outstanding marketing communications campaigns, among other criteria.
The process begins with applications submitted by practitioners who believe they meet the stringent criteria. Emmanuel Ajufo, the Chairman of the Fellowship Selection Committee and immediate past president of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), delivered a goodwill message and detailed the rigour involved.
Mr. Ajufo noted that his committee received a total of 48 applications for consideration. Following the screening, 45 applicants were deemed “worthy of being conferred with the fellowship of our profession”.
He wished the new inductees success and urged them to “maintain the high standard of excellence, integrity and professionalism that earn them this new honor in the advertising community”.
The induction ceremony was marked by inspiring messages from key industry leaders, all stressing that the Fellowship is not a time for complacency but a renewed commitment to shaping the future of advertising.
Steve Babaeko, Vice President/Area Director for Africa, International Advertising Association (IAA), described the honour as the “pinnacle of this very beautiful profession of arts”. He likened the status to being a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in the law profession. Mr. Babaeko insisted that being inducted is “a call to duty. It’s a call to service. It’s a call to rededicating ourselves to seeing how we’re going to take this industry forward”. He also pointed out that in another three years, advertising will officially reach its 100th year in Nigeria.
Lanre Adisa, Chairman, Heads of Advertising Sectoral Groups (HASG), echoed the sentiment of responsibility, emphasizing that being a fellow is “a privilege, a very invaluable one”. Mr. Adisa re-emphasised that the honour must be taken “as an invitation to contribute to more”. Acknowledging the current climate, he stated that while the industry is facing “a lot more challenges today,” practitioners must remember that “today is the age of ideas” and everyone is needed to contribute.
Tolulope Medebem, EXMAN President and one of the inductees herself, expressed her excitement for the honour. She congratulated everyone involved and insisted that this is “not time for all of us to rest on our oars; this is time for us to actually get working and to do more”.
Brenda Nwagwu, Vice President of MIPAN and a newly inducted Fellow, reflected that the industry is “truly living on the shoulders of giants”. Nwagwu stressed that the status is “more of a responsibility” and committed, on behalf of her colleagues, to carry on the work of those who came before “diligently and do it properly”.
Including this latest group of 45 new Fellows, the total number of practitioners who have been conferred with the Fellowship status now stands at one hundred and seventy.
List of ARCON’s New Fellows
The forty-five professionals inducted into the Fellowship of the Advertising profession are:
1. Onwuheckwa Chinwike
2. Agu Emanuel Chukwuemeka
3. Idowu Banji Julius
4. Mouka Reuben Ejike
5. Ojo Oladapo Mosope
6. Makinwa Angela Tolulope Ndidi
7. Ogunmefun Adekunle
8. Osugo Gerald
9. Alonge Fadeke Grace
10. Osubor Okoh Fillius
11. Nwagwu Brenda
12. Okere Bidwell Nkemakolam
13. Okoro Nnayelugo
14. Ehihuemen Felix Ehichoya
15. Ebatamehi Kayode Andrew
16. Odesanya Adeola Olutomiwa
17. Adewuyi Ojo Oluwagbenga
18. Udenze Anthony Ifeanyichukwu
19. Plumptre Adesubomi
20. Obi-Okoye Amira
21. Fagade Abisoye Ayoyinka
22. Otono Azemhobo Lawrence
23. Oyewunmi Oluwaseyifunmi Ebenezer
24. Adheke Adaora Uchechukwu
25. Adeleye Adetunji Oluwasegun
26. Alimi Adesola Olutoyin
27. Ojo Babatunde Adeyemi
28. Olishile Olajide Oladele
29. Adekunle Peter Tade
30. Akande Emme
31. Medebem Tolulope Apike
32. Agenmnommen Julius Elenbalulu
33. Onyibe Evelyn Ngozi
34. Akiolu Fatiu Adegbola
35. Arowa Oladimeji Oladipo
36. Akugha Felix Emamode
37. Taire Maria Abiodun
38. Onaivi Stephen Oluwatoyin
39. Iyiola Ayokunle Musa
40. Obasa Dele Femi
41. Oyekan Babatunde Adekunle
42. Adewuyi Christianah Modupe
43. Nndoim Ambrose Chigoziri
44. Blessing-Kayode Olamide Olawunmi
45. Agbo Susan Ngozi