UNDER MY WATCH AS MACSA UNIBEN PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER

By comrade Precious Umebie

William Arthur Ward once said, “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it”.

I was elected into office as the Public Relations Officer of the Mass Communication Students Association, University of Benin on February 14th, 2020. My flair for media relations was one force behind my contesting for this position. Another, was due to its being in line with my area of expertise. 

In a few days, I will put a full stop to my tenure. Due to the difficulty in individually appreciate all who contributed to my successful stay in the office, I’m using this medium to not only express gratitude but to also take us through a very brief journey of what we have done.

I must begin by giving thanks to all who made my election victory a reality and the entire Macsans for their support during my stay in office.

Deep gratitude to the ever-dynamic and capable President, Oluwatosin Adewale Adepoju who practically made the work a very easy one for me. My heartfelt gratitude to the ever-supportive Executives. 

Very importantly, let me state here that I’ve been so lucky to work with such incredible people: people who are ever ready to work hard and who have great respect and appreciation for one another. The MACSA MINDED NATION Executives is a team I would love to work with again.

I campaigned with the mantra: “MACSA UNIBEN to the World.” And this has been the watchword throughout my stay in the office. I appreciate the Management of Daily News Reporters, The Nations Newspaper, The New Nigerian Voice Newspaper, and Anambra Online blog for their immense contribution in making this a reality.

It is on record that this administration is the first to have a reportage published in a national newspaper (The Nations Newspaper). This patently is in line with our vision of projecting this great association to the world.

We planned, developed, and put into place information and communication strategies that present our noble association to the public and more importantly, promoted good information flow within our organization. This is evident in the establishment of a committee that ensured all broadcasts get to the various class pages.

I must thank the persons in every constituency who worked with me. Space will fail me to mention names but I acknowledge your invaluable input.

The mass media is very important for effective communication between the leadership and the members in/ of any association. Without the media, there will be a complete communication breakdown, which would be terrible for relationships. Underscoring this importance, we ensured a 24/7 online presence on virtually all social media platforms.

I must say that I am impressed with the several programmes initiated by this administration. Notable among them are the Macsa Media Diary, Macsa Digital Hub, and the publication of a blog for the association (www.macsauniben.com)

Strategies are being put in place to ensure the continuity of all these. I must congratulate my fellow executives on this feat.

I am a human and all humans are fallible. I admit every wrong and my shortcomings during my stay in the office. And I sincerely apologize for them. 

I thank again, the entire macsans for this opportunity to serve. This indeed marked a starting point in my career as Public Relations Strategist. I am truly grateful.

I received the MACSA BEST EXECUTIVE AWARD with immense joy and gratitude. I thank all who nominated and voted for me.

Dearest Macsans, Let’s go further.

Together, let’s move MACSA forward.
A stronger MACSA, A better future for MACSA.

Ndubuisi Precious Umebei
Outgoing Public Relations Officer
Mass Communication Students Association
University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State.
February 2020 – June 2021