Our problem isn’t thinking out of the box, but lack of enabling environment – Ajufo
By Felicia Nwosu
Emmanuel Ajufo, President of the Out-of-Home Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), has said that outdoor practitioners are professionally and creatively prepared to deliver cutting-edge services once there is provision of an enabling environment for them to practice.
The president stated this in a recent interview with MARKETING EDGE, Nigeria’s foremost brand-centric platform. He said his members are mentally, skilfully and creatively equipped for the job, but are constrained by environmental hostility associated with the outdoor advertising ecosystem.
Mr. Ajufo revealed that various conferences held by both OAAN and some of its practicing members in the outgoing year were all geared towards reshaping and repositioning the notable association.
“Any conversation that we have had, the belief is that it would help those who hear us to understand us better. That was why I appreciated the organisers of various events this year, because the government must, as a matter of urgency, listen to us. If they understand that we are not enemies, things will become better for both of us. A good enabling environment will make our business thrive.
“People talk of thinking out of the box, but if you think out of the box and do that wonderful thing, and the government removes it as they have done in Kaduna – what happens to that thing that you have done out of the box? Our problem is not about thinking out of the box, our members are enlightened and we are willing to do great things; but the problem is having an enabling environment,” he said.
Ajufo painfully recalled how outdoor boards belonging to his members in Kaduna State were destroyed, and reaffirmed that they have not been able to recover from such ill-treatment.
“We have been hurt by what happened in Kaduna when somebody woke up one morning and removed all the boards in the state. It has never happened except in 1991 in Lagos, and that is what I feel we should start talking about very seriously. So, all those conferences held within 2022 were geared towards one thing, which is to make the government understand us better,” he said.
The O0H marketing expert explained that the Heads of Advertising Sectoral Groups (HASG) are unanimously seeking a permanent solution for the victims of the Kaduna State Urban Planning Development Agency (KASUPDA), while also seeking peaceful resolution on the matter.
“We are also willing to write to the government about the situation, and have even gone to court. There is nothing wrong in also talking about peaceful resolution; someone has suggested that we reach out to the government, suggesting that it is possible the government is not aware of the matter,” he said.
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