Over time, journalism has continued to evolve in various publication formats. However, only a few professionals have harnessed their multimedia skills with experiences cutting across different platforms including; print, broadcast and digital media. In this piece, City People’s Kelechi Okorie… takes a peep into the odyssey of Hilary Damissah, an exemplary Media and Public Relations strategist.
Recognition by peers and professional colleagues in the corporate world is usually a testament of exemplary feats and hallmarks of achievements of a person’s commendable contributions to his field of endeavour and society.
For Hilary Damissah, his footprints and contributions in the media and public relations field continue to draw attention and celebrate his resourcefulness, professionalism and industry in the media communications space spanning over two decades of excellence with experiences cutting across print, broadcast and digital media ecosystems.
His dedication to service has brought him honours from colleagues, mentees and the wider society. In the space of the last one year, he has been honoured by the student media body of his alma mater The Megaphone News Agency in collaboration with the Association of Campus Journalists (ACJ), Obafemi Awolowo University, who conferred on him ACJ Media Legacy Award -2024. Also, his alumni body, Great Ife Mainland Metro (GIMM), OAU Alumni Branch, Lagos conferred on him the Outstanding Alumni Service Award (GIMM) -2023.
Most recently, the highly coveted Techlife Impactful Media Personality of the Year 2024 which has become a reference point within the media circles due to its uniqueness based on its very competitive selection process and positive reviews was conferred on him.
Over the years, Hilary Damissah has built a strong reputation for training and grooming young media talents through his unwavering commitment and dedication to multimedia capacity development programmes including script writing, reportorial, media ethics, events planning and management. His efforts to see young media folks grow in careers as seen him facilitate internship opportunities for media trainees through collaboration with other media organisations. He has developed a vast portfolio of media consultancy for government institutions and his rich global experiences and reportage over the years across the continent of Africa from West, East, Central and Southern Africa, the Middle East, far Asia, Europe and America from the information technology sector to business, arts and tourism to sports and entertainment, Hilary has left his marks on the annals of journalism in Nigeria.
In 1994, he began his career trajectory as a Library Assistant at the Hezekiah Oluwasanmi Library, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife Osun State, Nigeria. The passionate media aficionado was quick to discover his media inclination while at the University as he became the Editor-in-Chief of The Megaphone News Agency in 1998. He was also the
President of the Student Sports Writers and Commentaries Association of Nigeria from 1998 to 2000 during which he excelled at the coverage of several top sporting events both locally and internationally including, the Nigeria Universities Games (NUGA) Unilag ’98, The West Africa Universities Games (WAUG) 1998, Benin Republic, FIFA under 20 World Cup, Nigeria ’99.
His broadcast experience began at the Nigerian Television Authority, (NTA) Ibadan as a two-time intern in 1996 and 1998. He nurtured his post-graduation journalism skills as a freelance journalist with different publications including Star Beats Weekly Newspaper, Lagos and Abuja PM News among others. Between 2007 and 2010, Hilary worked at Royal International Magazine and later as Managing Editor, Elation Communications. He joined Tribe Media Company in 2010 and became the founding editor of Cyber Africa News in 2011 and was Associate Producer of Infotech Network on Africa Independent Television (AIT), Nigeria’s first private broadcaster. He was instrumental to the growth of the organisation’s media portfolio with the birth of new publications including Horizons Africa, an entertainment and tourism-focused medium and Enterprise Africa – an SME and business innovation medium. He is presently the Chief Operating Officer/Editor, DigiVation Network an IT, innovation, business and lifestyle programme on Africa Independent Television.
As a seasoned media professional, Hilary has demonstrated exceptional expertise which has seen him serve in different capacities with key roles in public policy initiatives and several consultancy duties spanning almost two decades. From 2017 to 2020, he was a member of the Senate Committee Expert and Media Advisory Group on ICT and Cyber Security, headed by Senator Foster Ogola in the 8th Senate, under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. As a highly sort after public sector media, public relations and strategic stakeholders’ management expert, Hilary as handled numerous duties consultancy services and projects some of which include; Team Lead for special publications, productions, events for different organizations among following; Production Manager, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Telecom Weekly TV/Radio Programme (2022 to 2024), Production Coordinator, National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA Impact TV production (2019 to 2021) and Pioneer Editorial Consultant of the agency’s monthly publication, NITDA Impact Magazine, Team Lead National Identity Management Commission, NIMC in Focus TV on DigiVation Network 2016 to date, NIMC Media/PR Training and Consultancy, Team Lead, Code of Conduct of Conduct Bureau (CCB) Media Consultancy, (2018 to 2022), Team Lead Nigeria Postal Service, Inside NIPOST TV Production 2012 to 2021.
He has also served as the Publicity Secretary of the Nigeria Internet Group (NIG), having been elected in 2016 and Executive Director, Centre for Cyber Awareness and Development (CECAD), He was a member of the Local Organising Committee of eNigeria (now Digital Nigeria) Conference, a flagship annual international event of the Information Communications Technology event of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). He is a very active member of the Great Ife (Obafemi Awolowo University), a global alumni association where he has served in different capacities including Public Relations Officer of the Great Ife Mainland Metro (OAU) Alumni Branch, Lagos, Vice President of the GIMM Multipurpose Cooperative Society and other several committees on which he has served.
Hilary has also overseen a number of different sectoral high profile Special Projects and events. He is the Team Lead and Project Manager of DigiVation Future Summit and Award, the Nigeria Mobile Economy Summit and Awards, (NIMES), he was the coordinator Nigerian Digital Innovation Conference, (NDIC), Cyber Nigeria Forum, (CNF). He is the co-initiator/coordinator of the Ghana/Nigeria Tourism and Culture Showcase, (GHANIGTCUS) the first privately organised bilateral arts and cultural forum in West Africa.
In 2016, he coordinated Nigeria’s first official participation at CABSAT in partnership with the Dubai World Trade Centre, United Arab Emirates. CABSAT is the number-one event in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia region for all industry professionals within the Broadcast, Satellite, Content Delivery and Digital Media sectors.
Hilary who hails from Afowah, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria graduated from the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University with a Bachelor of Arts in English Language in the year 2000. He later returned to the same university and obtained a Masters of Public Administration (MPA) in 2007. He also holds a training certificate in Sales and Business Management from the Enterprise Development Centre, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos (2014). He became a Fellow of the Institute of Information Management (FIIM, Africa), in 2017. He has a certificate in Digital Literacy and ICT Journalism organized by the National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA) 2021. He has a diploma in Public Relations from the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations, Lagos (2022). He has served as a volunteer for different organisations including as the Director, Information and Strategy, Int’l Youth Congress, Nigeria, a Charter of the defunct IYC Inc. USA since 2016.
Hilary is an ardent sports fan with so much passion for football and has been a staunch supporter of Arsenal for almost three decades. Aside football, he is a lover of athletics, wrestling and tennis.
Hilary has authored two books: Nemesis at Crossroads, a fictional piece and Society, Conflicts and Media, an x-ray of the influence of media in shaping conflicts and driving societal change.
He is happily married to Marian Damissah and they are blessed with two girls, Ogiegie, Oshioze and a boy Omokhogie. He enjoys travelling and has visited over 15 countries span across Africa, Asia, Middle East, Europe and America. In Nigeria, he has travelled the length and breadth of the country having visited 34 out of the 36 states including Abuja the Federal Capital Territory.
Kelechi Okorie
