Expert decries “over regulation” of Nigeria’s outdoor sector
An Integrated Marketing Communications industry expert, Ugochukwu Oborgu has criticised what he called “over regulation” of the outdoor advertising sector in Nigeria, saying that the development was impacting negatively on profitability and professionalism.
Oborgu who is Chief Innovation Consultant, Audience and Brands Consulting Limited, is particularly troubled concerning the various level of interventions in the regulatory process by governmental agencies at different levels, including the local, state and federal governments.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with MARKETING EDGE in Lagos, the outdoor media specialist lamented the inimical activities of “social urchins (area boys)”, community youth members among several others all of which were placing high cost on the building and management efforts of brands.
“So many vested interests are beginning to affect both profitability and the practice itself. For instance, when you put up a billboard, you pay the omo onile’s; in some areas they call them community youths. Another set of them may come out as social urchins and you have to deal with it.
“You may have to hire police or even get the military involved; you may have to invite traffic control depending on the size of the board to help you manage traffic while installation is going on; depending on the location you may have to involve Federal Aviation Authority if it’s on their route,” he said.
He continued: “Then states are beginning to come out with consultants and agencies that you have to pay to. As a company you will still have to pay to Federal Inland Revenue service for your tax, and then you have other costs on illumination, power generation, name it. So, by the time you look at all the costs put together the brands are already getting worried at the price you want them to pay.”
He was, however, full of praises for steps taken so far by the industry regulator, Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) towards sanitising and ensuring compliance to standard of the practice.
“OAAN as a body is doing everything to make sure that out-of-home advertising remains part of the general integrated marketing communication body in Nigeria. What we do is not just local, it’s international. What is obtainable today in the streets of Lagos could be seen in the streets of London or New York depending on how you think of it.
“Let’s face it, most of the electronic boards you see around do run on generator, the ones you see on the streets of New York don’t. That tells you the level of efforts we are making. Yes, we cannot even produce screens; everything here is imported, every component in that structure even the steal I can tell you is imported.
“So, apart from ordinary labour, all the major components of an electronic billboard are imported either from China, Europe or America. There is none that is from Africa. In Africa the closest that you may think of is South Africa,” he explained.
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