It is said that great men find ultimate meaning not in their material possessions or in the power they wield, but in the praise and recognition bestowed on them by those who appreciate their efforts.

Amiable Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode as well as 27 other distinguished dignitaries are set to be honoured with  the prestigious BJAN Marketing Excellence Awards in recognition of their immense contributions to the marketing communication industry over the years at the Annual Brand & Marketing Conference & Awards scheduled to hold on Friday, 23 November at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI House, Nurudeen Olowopopo Drive, Alausa, Lagos.

According to the BJAN Chairman, Mr. Goddie Ofose, the gesture, after careful consideration and scrutiny, is in appreciation of how the awardees have over the years been efficiently and aggressively putting efforts in taking the marketing industry to greater heights.

Aside the Lagos State Governor, other recipients of the awards include Udeme Ufot MFR, the Group Managing Director of SO&U Group, a leading marketing communications and advertising agency in Nigeria.

He is a Fellow of APCON (Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria) and Member, National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (MNIMN). He is also a board member of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and past President of Lagos Business School Alumni Association (LBSAA). He remains one of Nigeria’s most revered figures in marketing communications.

Also to be honoured is the ‘Baale’ of the advertising industry, Mr. Jimi Awosika. He is the Group Managing Director of Insight Redefini; a group of six integrated marketing communication companies. Mr. Awosika also serves as Vice Chairman and Director of TROYKA Holdings Limited, easily regarded as West Africa’s biggest marketing communications group. Mr. Awosika co-founded Insight in 1980 with Mr. Biodun Shobanjo.

Other recipients of the Marketing Excellence Awards include Feyi Olubodun, the Managing Director/CEO, Insight Publicis Nigeria, Adekunle Ayeni, MD/CEO, BHM, Emeka Oparah, Vice President, Corporate Communications & Corporate Social Responsibility at Bharti Airtel Nigeria Limited, Alhaji Garba Bello Kankarofi, the immediate past Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, APCON, Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, the Group Chief Executive Officer CMC Connect and Onyekachukwu Onubogu, the group Executive Director in the TGI group.

Others are Kunle Onime, the MD/CEO of Marketing & Promotions Concept, Martin Mabutho, the General Manager, Sales and Marketing, MultiChoice Nigeria, Simon Kolawole, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cable Newspaper, publishers of The Cable, Tolu Ogunkoya, Regional Managing Director at mediaReach OMD,  Babatunde Idowu Adedoyin, Chief Executive Officer, Media View and  the president of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), David Arome Okeme, Chief Commercial Officer at Remita, and Dr Ken Onyeali Ikpe, Group Chief Operating Officer of Insight Redefini among others.