By joshua PROFESSOR ELIJAH EBENEHI OGBADU ADVOCATES MARKETING FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
By Bello Rukayyat Bisola.
Professor of Marketing, Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba, Professor Elijah Ebenehi Ogbadu, has advocated the deployment of marketing principles beyond profit-making to create value, promote societal wellbeing and address Nigeria’s socio-economic challenges.
He made the call while delivering the 25th Inaugural Lecture of the University, titled “Marketing, A Societal Saviour: Charting the Course for Future Nigeria,” at the University Auditorium.
Prof. Ogbadu explained that marketing had evolved beyond buying and selling to become a philosophy focused on creating value and promoting societal wellbeing.
He identified poverty, corruption, kidnapping, terrorism, banditry, cultism, unemployment, environmental degradation, fake and adulterated products and declining trust in institutions among the challenges confronting Nigerian society.
The Inaugural Lecturer identified social marketing as a major tool for promoting positive social change, while explaining that countermarketing and demarketing could be deployed to discourage harmful products and behaviours such as illicit drugs, cultism and other social vices.
Prof. Ogbadu also advocated business grants, entrepreneurship training and MSME financing opportunities for young graduates to encourage self-employment and reduce dependence.
He stressed that national development is a shared responsibility between government and citizens, calling for effective leadership, responsible citizenship, transparency and accountability.
He noted that government must provide essential services and infrastructure, including water, electricity, ICT, transportation, healthcare and education, while citizens must obey the law, promote peaceful coexistence and contribute actively to national development.
Prof. Ogbadu identified the gap between policy formulation and implementation as a major challenge, stressing the need for stronger execution, monitoring and accountability.
He called for transformational leadership anchored on integrity, unity, clear goals and positive social behaviour, while recommending the adoption of marketing principles to promote customer satisfaction, entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainable development.
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Salisu Ogbo Usman, congratulated Professor Ogbadu and described the lecture as intellectually stimulating and socially relevant, reaffirming the University’s commitment to research, innovation and interdisciplinary scholarship.
Prof. Usman expressed confidence that the lecture would contribute to academic discourse, provide useful perspectives for policymakers and practitioners, and inspire research that responds to contemporary societal challenges.