Guardian

JOHN Ehiguese’s young look gives a disconcerting impression that he is a decade or so younger. Except, perhaps, the grey beards, all you get from him are youthful energy and zest.

Sporting a T-shirt, trousers and blazers this morning, Ehiguese, popularly called Uncle J, chatted in a way that exuded calm. Even when there was turbulence in the air. He was really calm… Well, the man was actually seated next to me in the aircraft, as we flew. You now know where the interview held: almost 30, 000 feet above sea level.

He chugs on mineral water while trying to relax his nerves, as the aircraft glided through the turbulent cloud. I trembled a bit.

Does he not feel the pressure or is he not scared that something terrible would happen to the aircraft at the rate at which it was thrown around?

He laughs in amazement, as the band of ‘prayer warriors’ went on in their supplication to the Almighty for the turbulence to recede. “I’m not scared; at my age, I know anything can just happen,” he says.

You wonder how old the man is, really.

“It feels good to be 55,”he says with a light, amazed laugh. He continues, with an engaging gurgle, “when I was much younger, 55 used to look like such a long way off. I thank God that I have now arrived there successfully, and it’s not really as bad as I expected.”

Ehiguese, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mediacraft Associates Limited, was born on April 7, 1958. He studied Mass Communication at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, graduating with a Distinction and with specialisation in PR and Advertising. He holds an MBA from the Lagos Business School (Pan African University). He is also an alumnus of the IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Barcelona, Spain.

So, you could say that it was inevitable for him to end up in marketing communication, though he spent most of his early working years post-graduation, doing business. He brought into Mediacraft, over two decades of cross-functional experience spanning sales and marketing, journalism, broadcasting, advertising and public relations (10 of which were in senior management positions).

Doesn’t he think that all these years outside marketing communication was a minus for him, I teased?

With a sense of responsibility that is chiefly for himself, he says, “no knowledge is ever lost; everything I have learnt along the way has come to play in one thing or the other in my profession. I have actually worked a whole gamut of business sphere and that has been a very big advantage to me, because my perspective is a lot broader compared to other people. The reason why I went into PR? I looked at my natural endowment and my talents are aligned with a career in the sector. I thought it was an area I could make impact in the shortest possible time because my vision was and still is to build one of the biggest and the best PR firms in the country. I thought I was more likely to achieve that line of PR. Besides, I also had a passion for what I do. I have no regrets at all that I anchored in PR. I think we have done aggregately well and the vision is very well on course.”

He draws a long breath and says encouragingly, “like every start-up project in such a difficult environment, the early days were quite challenging. I started Mediacraft Associates at the same time as I was doing my MBA at the Lagos Business School. So I had to balance so many things: starting my practice, meeting my family commitments and coping with my MBA programme. But thank God for how far we have come, regardless.”

You wonder what the challenges are being in that field?

Ehiguese, who is a registered member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), says cheerfully, “they are of two types: the environmental ones, which affect businesses in general, and the ones that are peculiar to your specific profession. The environmental challenges are pretty well-known, largely infrastructural, and bordering on our work ethics, in general. As for the ones exclusive to the PR profession, well, there are issues of capacity, standards, and a relatively weak regulatory environment. But the good news is that we, as professionals, are doing our best to address these challenges.”

Over the years, Ehiguese has had the privilege of managing the PR accounts of several high-profile organisations such as NBL, Starcomms, Virgin Nigeria and quite a lot of clients. On July 26, 2010, he was elected the Secretary General of The Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN).

Glancing around and listening silently to the sound of the engine, he says, “the truth is that, with the advent of globalisation, there is no longer a Nigerian standard, but a global one. The practice of PR is pretty standardised, globally. The extent to which we observe these standards is of course another matter. There may be some local cultural and environmental nuances, but the principles are essentially the same worldwide.”

AS an employer of labour, he reflects on the challenges faced by employers, especially in the creative sector, saying in a thoughtful and slightly intense manner, “you have to cope with it, however, a general work ethic could be better. There are obvious capacity issues. Many of the graduates our universities are churning out are simply not employable, especially in my kind of business where good communication skill is an absolute minimum entry requirement. So, you have to invest heavily in training. Sometimes, you face serious cash flow hiccups, because receivables do not come in as and when due.”

He says quietly, “all my life, I have had to deal with challenges, and this has made me a strong person. One thing I have learnt, and which I have translated into a personal motivational ethos is: ‘There’s always a way. Find it, or make one yourself’. If I want something badly enough, I’ll find a way to get it.”

For Ehiguese, his organisation is guided by three pillars — Faith in God, confidence in their abilities and the power of vision. He says from the outset, they have set themselves aside as a very professional organisation that does not compromise with standards.

“I think we are doing very well with our clients in terms of service delivery and we keep getting referrals from our clients. 80 per cent of the new business we got where from referrals and I think most of our clients we worked for are actually happy with what we have done for them and we ourselves are satisfied with that. We are a very professional agency, we take our work very seriously and our relationship with our clients,” he says.

HIS background?                                              “I am an Esan man from Edo. My mother is from Delta State. I grew up in Gusau, Lagos and Sapele. We had to move around because my father worked at Mobil Oil. We had to leave the North because it was at the time there were crises in the area. I attended Federal College Warri in 1973. I was more of a regular child, not too troublesome. One thing about me was that I respected intellectual people. I met my wife in 1986 in Lagos. She was working with a friend then. One thing led to another and we got married in 1990. We have children and they are all doing great,” he says.

Growing up for him was interesting, he tells you. “Things were much easier in those days,” he says in an angry tone. “My first job at the Nigerian Ports Authority, which I got in 1973, when I was less than 16 years old, I got strictly on merit, and on the basis of my School Certificate result. I didn’t have to know anybody.”

Ehiguese is frustrated about the turn of events in the country that his voice tumbles out, “when I rented my first apartment in Lagos (1974) at age 16, the landlord kept my money for three months, without a receipt (because the house was till under construction at the time). When the house was finally ready, he simply looked into his diary, confirmed that I had paid him months earlier, and gave me my keys.”

Do you know, he says almost raising a quizzical eyebrow,  “everything I ever got in those days were strictly on merit, I didn’t have to know anyone. Those were the days! I doubt if all that is still possible in today’s Nigeria.”

On his favourite authors, and his face changes. “Oh, world’s greatest biographies: Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill and Thomas Edison,” he explains.

And for fiction?

He breaks off with a grin that suggests something like, but ‘I told you before’ “Sidney Sheldon.”

For non-fiction, he says, “no one in particular.”

Asked about his favourite books, he says, satisfying his mind: “The Bible. It contains all the principles by which you can live a fruitful and successful life.”

Your favourite perfume?

“None,” Ehiguese confesses.

His style tips?

“Anything I’m comfortable in, that looks good,” he breathes.

What will you not be caught wearing?

“Anything that offends decency and good sense.”

His favourite fashion piece?

“My shoes, perhaps?” he quips.

What’s the greatest regret you have of the age you are living?

“The serious erosion of values in our society today. These days the line between good and evil, between right and wrong, is getting more and more obscure. Sometimes I fear for the up-coming generations,” he reveals.

Which century would you have preferred to be born outside the 20th?

“None other,” he smiles.