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The Out-of-Home Advertising Association of Nigeria has stated that it seeks a professional body to improve excellence and develop human capital, not to replace government regulatory functions.
In a telephone interview, OAAN President Sola Akinsiku told The PUNCH that members, out-of-home media owners, are sponsoring a bill at the National Assembly to gain professional status to advance their profession to higher heights.
“The bill before the National Assembly is requesting the legal body with the statutory mandate to confer a professional status on any group of practitioners,” Akinsiku said. “We are looking at a bill to confer that status on out-of-home media owners. Out-of-home media owners, including the radio and television.
“As a profession evolves, there is a need to advance professionalism and excellence, the need to advance to higher heights, and the need to develop human capital. So that at the end of the day, you are adding value to the group of patrons, the individuals, the audiences.”
Akinsiku reckoned that the practice of owning media used in outdoor advertising has an expanded history in the country and has matured to bring orderliness to the industry, noting, “Out-of-home advertising practice started in 1928 in Nigeria.
Over the years, it has gone through a number of stages to get to where we are today. So, development is an ongoing thing.”
He affirmed earlier attempts at bringing professionalism to the practice, explaining, “Before 1988, everybody that knew to do any form of advertising claimed to be an advertiser or an advertising practitioner, including people who were dancing in marketplaces and market squares. They claimed that they were doing advertising.
“But there were professionals who studied marketing, marketing communication, and advertising. They were also creating advertisements and placing them on the relevant media platforms.
“There came a time when the leading practitioners came together and said, ‘Sorry, this practice deserves to become a profession.’ They took steps that culminated in the establishment of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria. Over time, APCON gave way to the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria.”
Akinsiku explained that OAAN has sustained its promotion of a professional over many years, eventually getting its bill to pass the second reading in 2024.
Speaking on the bill’s progress, he asserted, “It’s an ongoing thing. At the National Assembly, for a bill to become law, it goes through a number of processes. You have the first reading on the floor. You have the second reading and the public hearing. Yes, we have had a public hearing. So, we’re waiting for the report of the National Assembly.”
Meanwhile, Akinsiku recognised that OAAN’s bid for a professional status, which he claimed to allow it to train its members to operate within industry standards, was misunderstood in some quarters as trying to do the work of ARCON or the local government agencies.
OAAN’s president maintained that the association has a good relationship with the regulatory agency and has not sought to take over its role of vetting advertorials before they were displayed.
“The body that we are asking for is simply to professionalise the practice and ownership of out-of-home media platforms. It is not to contend with ARCON.
“ARCON licenses everyone that wants to do advertising. ARCON vets and approves all advertisements that are to be displayed, including the ones on out-of-home media platforms.
“The body we are proposing and promoting is not going to be vetting materials. It’s not going to say you cannot do advertising unless you come and register with us. No.”
He explained that there were legal boundaries distinguishing the local government’s role in issuing permits for where billboards are sited.
He stressed, “Another misinformation is the contention with local government. The law is clear on the functions of the local government when it comes to out-of-home hoardings.
“There is a division of labour between ARCON and the local government. The local government is in charge of locations where billboards can be erected.”
Akinsiku explained that in some states, the local governments have warehoused that consumer provision in signage agencies, including Lagos and Osun States with the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency and the Osun State Signage Hoarding and Advertisements Agency.
He explained that OAAN was promoting would not be allocating sites or vetting materials.
“It is just to organise ourselves and say, ‘Gentlemen, these are the standards,’” he maintained.
Akinsiku decried unprofessionalism in the sector and touted his organisation’s bid as beneficial in the long run, asserting, “Today, you have all kinds of charlatanism in the practice of out-of-home (advertising); welders, anybody and everybody. You drive around in some locations and see billboards that make you want to cry.
“We are saying that there can and should be orderliness, professionalism, and excellence. (With) the kind of professionalism and development (we seek), anyone that is visionary and can see into the future of this practice should know that it is the best thing to happen in this industry in this economy.”
Akinkisu concluded by stating that OAAN was confident of getting the professional body it seeks, adding, “We believe very strongly that we have a very solid ground.”
