Posters: Defacing public space

 IT is a common practice in Nigeria that building and structures are use for advertisement of billboards posters, flyers, printed bulletins, writing on the walls, pamphlets, handbills etc are mounted at any given space to catch the attention of the public.

Recently, Jos Metropolis has witnessed a lot of printed posters of different kinds ranging from politician posters, church programme posters, employee in search for workers flyers, burial posters etc.

The defacement of public places with illegal posters and advertisement has become a thing of concern to the citizens, which has succeeded in defacing and making the environment unattractive.

Built environment generally is made up of structures such as market stalls, shopping malls, hospitals, schools religious building, residential ,government offices etc

With the general elections coming up next year February 2023, is drawing nearer. While  the political landscape is thickening and now politicians are employing every means to ensure that their candidate carries the day, it has become a field day for defacing structures.

Apart from campaign promises, pervading the mass media, social platforms, campaign posters are also seen as a veritable means of reaching out to the  electorates soliciting for their vote, especially in a cosmopolitan state like Plateau with a large population naturally being exploited by politicians placing posters or signs without permission from the relevant authority.

However, the entire landscape  is awash with posters of different kind of candidates from various political parties virtually taken over the buildings, fences, bridges across the state.

Most importantly, the posters and advertisements bear the names and details of the institutions, individuals who are responsible for defacing the environment and action is not taken to penalize such behaviours.

On the other hand, advertisement is one of the money spinning industry in Nigeria that forms part of our everyday culture, adding value to our business by information and entertainment to the general public by using other means of advertisement of billboard that are large and can be seen by vehicular traffic and pedestrians.

Most times, a billboard would show catchy captions with witty slogan, creative graphic images to pass the advertising message across to citizens and advertising through billboards can aesthetically beautifies a city when appropriately design and place.

In addition, there are other forms of advertisement through digital billboard that is designed to show varieties of images either motion or static and animated made in a static position to display images mostly two face.

Wall drape billboard, is also another means of advertisement, designed in a large format to be display on the wall, tall buildings or against a fence, fencing a high traffic road.

Posters are on the increase on a daily basis and is defacing our environment by indiscriminately pasting of campaign posters, defacing the environment mostly the urban centers

On this note, regulatory agencies should do the needful to curtail the indiscriminate placing of  posters of different kind from citizens in public space, which turned out to deface the environment with unregistered advertisement by activities of man .

Aforementioned of a clean environment can be achieved by citizens” efforts to stop polluting the environment by recognizing and identifying area that need not to daface with posters rather using the modern way of placing advertisement through the right channels.

To this end, citizens need to protect and manage our built environment in other to maintain our dignity and a civilized nation.

Government should put in laws to stop citizens from defacing public space with unwanted posters, failure of ministries, agencies to monitor such human activities would continue to deface the environment that is meant to be enjoyed by all.