PR TIMES AFRICA PRTimesAfrica (March 2016) | Page 42

PR IS THAT
FACTOR EVERY
BUSINESS NEEDS,
TO BUILD LOYALTY
AND GOODWILL.
Professor Andee Iheme
Professor Andee Iheme is a consummate Public Relations Practitioner, with years of experience serving
in different sectors of the Nigerian Economy. Unassuming and warm in demeanour, he is ever cerebral
and articulate in expressing his positions on issues. PR Times Africa caught up with him to get his views
on a range of issues relating to the practice of PR and the larger economy:
PRT:
Tell us about yourself.
AI:
I was born on June 11 in Port- Harcourt, River State. I started my primary education at Township
School, Port-Harcourt and finished at Baptist Primary School, Marine Beach, Apapa, Lagos. I was in class
one when the Nigeria/Biafran War broke out in 1967. At age 14, I joined the Army and fought in the war.
I had my WASC in 1974 with a division one pass and proceeded thereafter to the University of Nigeria to
study Mass Communication. I consider myself as coming from a privileged background with a father
who was numbered among the first five in my town, Egbu Owerri, to have gone to England in 1958 and a
mother who was Nigeria’s first British – trained hair-dresser and cosmetologist. I did everything children
did in my days – I fought with other kids, I had a catapult, I told lies, I had lessons after school, I played
street football, I sneaked out of school once in a while, I experimented with smoking cigarette stubs from
my father’s ash-try, I teased little girls my age, I flew kites, I played koso, I climbed trees, etc. I had a full
childhood.
PRT:
How did you choose Public Relations as a career?
AI:
Naturally, I am a people’s person. I’m naturally endowed with inter-personal skills. My NYSC
posting to the Public Relations Department, Nigeria Police HQ, Kano, aroused my interest in Public Re-
lations. After my NYSC, I had a stint with NTA, Bauchi, where I appreciated the nitty-gritty of media rela-
tions. As a young man, I had always liked organizing events like parties, bachelor’s eves, etc. I was also
a consummate master of ceremony coupled with the fact that I had satisfactory communication skills
42 | PRTIMES AFRICA MARCH 2016