Roads Advertisement: A neglected Site of Disturbance – By Auwal Ahmed

6 Min Read

Nigeria regulatory body of advertisement is more concern on the lucrative areas and left other segments of advertisers to dance to their tune of music.

Road advertisers in Nigeria are so voracious for sell and profit that they only look at their gains and have no concern on the people’s health and comfortability.

Unregistered advertisers congested the business streets selling local medicines in open places while causing lots of noise pollution in serene areas and in market places. The advertisers at times move around with cars, wheelbarrow and sometimes standing in market centres with their loud speakers making more harm than good to the livelihood of people as many reports had shown that such drugs are deadly. Many Nigerians died for taken ungistered and unprescribed medicines, While National Drugs and Food Control Agency, NAFDAC is established purposely to fetch and prosecute the offenders of the laws within its jurisdiction.

It is the duty of NAFDAC as saddled on by the laws of Nigeria to administer and make sure that every producer of consumable food is registered with the agency after the agency is certified with its production.

The advertisement of fake drugs is rampant in Nigeria and people devour on such medicines without care that the medicines are causing them untimely death due to advertising  compelling power that convinces consumers.

Chapter xiv of the Penal Code on offences affecting the public health, safety, convenience, decency and morals stated that, “A person is guilty of a public nuisance who does any act or is guilty of an illegal omission which causes any common injury, danger or annoyance to the public or to the people in general who dwell or occupy property in the vicinity, or which must necessarily cause injury, obstruction, dangers or
annoyance to persons who may have occasion to use any public right. A common nuisance is not excused on the ground that it causes some convenience or advantage.”

Public disturbance is an offence that attracts punishment and the offenders should not be spared to be causing harm on innocent citizens for their illicit gains.

Another public nuisance created by advertisers is the promotion of companies products and services where the advertising agents move to places in market areas dancing in nudity to attracts buyers with amplified music.

This activity is unethical that it is disturbing the passersby and the marketers around them. In this kind of advertisements women are used to dress and dance in either nude or tight clothes to attracts customers and the 1990 Act of advertisement codes forbid the exposure of children to sexual display in the course of  advertisement.

Some advertisers display nude posters that contain viewers disruption of human sensitive organs. They crack expensive jokes with vulgar words as a means of their advertisements.

All the above mentioned forms  of advertisements are not much concern on the public interest and the human universal rights  as they find for themselves suitable places to advertise and use any means of strategy to attract buyers.

The main concern of law to roads advertisement is to curtail environmental pollution and to avoid nuisance in the society.

The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, (NESREA) was established in 2007 with the primary responsibility of enforcing environmental standards, regulations, rules, laws, policies and guidelines which protect and enhance the quality of our environment.

NESREA is a body established to inspect, prosecute and make sure that judgement is done on any offender of public comfortability.

Any offender of noise limit is to be fined that does not exceed fifty thousand naira
(N 50,000) and or imprisonment for a term that does not exceed one (1) year.

The police is also saddled with the responsibility to hear and address issues of noise pollution.

Public nuisance caused by street advertisers is disturbance that effects the mental stability of the people. Psychiatrists have warned that it causes mental disorder and sensitivity in human brains and it is for the reason the laws of public noise limit is enacted to control the behavior of people when it comes to street advertisements.

The street advertisers of goods and services are all around Nigeria with their made drugs selling and it will be good if the agencies responsible to tackle the great menace, step up to put end to such indecency and environmental pollution as they are all put up to protect the safety and health of Nigerians.

Auwal Ahmed Ibrahim, Kaduna

[email protected]

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