2011: Defacing the City’s Beauty with PostersBy John Okekwu and Bayo Aka
AS the 2011 general elections draw near and the campaigns by aspirants jostling for elective posts are heating up, our towns and cities are beginning to wear different looks, most of which are offensive to the eyes.
The reasons are not far-fetched. Almost all available objects and space are adorned and decorated with posters of all shapes, sizes and colours. The most affected areas are the roundabouts. The beauty of the roundabouts in Lokoja in particular and several other major towns in the country have been gravely affected by the indiscriminate display of posters. Even fences of major buildings (including Government House), electric poles and railings built for the beautification of the town are not spared. They are all defaced with posters of aspirants.
In some cases, posters of the same aspirant could be spread or concentrated in their hundreds to occupy a whole roundabout. Some desperate supporters create space for the posters of their aspirants by removing the other ones that were there before they come. On many occasions, such behaviours had elicited fights at roundabouts between supporters of rival aspirants.
At times, human factor is not responsible for the removal of political posters but through a natural phenomenon like rain or incessant sun which make the pictures on the posters fade. More worrisome is the fact that display of such political posters have been the source of a quarrel between supporters of two rival aspirants who contend with each other on the available space. They litter the walls of our cities, creat new designs that were not originally part of the architectural design of such buildings. But without any irony, posters on our walls are diplayed in such a way that they are nauseating and not too pleasant to behold.
Last year, during the campaigns for the re-run gubernatorial election in Kogi State, some supporters had to keep guard over the posters overnight so that it could last longer.
In fact, at the Obasanjo Square and the Unity roundabout in Lokoja, it is not uncommon to see new posters of new aspirants every day. The supporters of the aspirants are at work in the night to remove posters already displayed and replace them with theirs. Night after night the same thing is repeated. Hence, it is common to see a new set of posters in these roundabouts everyday or at every available space in the city. The craze for displaying posters is not limited to Kogi State. It is replicated in almost all other major towns, especially the state capitals and the Local Government headquarters. Even in Abuja, where stringent penalties are spelt out for defaulters, posters of prominent politicians still adorn the streets.
Some of the aspirants however deny knowledge of the people behind such posters. A good example is the posters of President Goodluck Jonathan which is being displayed all over the country by people urging him to contest the 2011 election. President Jonathan has since denied knowledge of those behind it.
Similarly, when our correspondent called on the Chairman of Idah LGA to confirm authenticity of the posters and banners in circulation about his plan to contest the Kogi State House of Assembly seat in 2011, he said he was yet to publicly declare his intention and that the posters and banners on display are the handwork of his supporters. The same story is being told by many aspirants whose posters dot the towns and cities in different parts of the country. However, some of the posters were even printed by the aspirants themselves.
In Kogi East, the introduction of banners seems to be taking the shine off posters. Banners tend to carry messages that are not easily reflected on the posters. For example, on a banner hung at the end of Itobe bridge which is the gateway to Igalaland, it is clearly inscribed that staffers of the nine Local Government Councils in Kogi East support the aspiration of one of the aspirants contesting the senate seat of Kogi East senatorial district. Posters may not carry such legibility though the picture may show the face of the person boldly.
At Idah, the latest design is for a whole community that has declared support for an aspirant to hang a banner on the street leading to that community with a bold inscription that the inhabitants of the community are in support of the aspiration of a particular individual.
There are more than 20 of such banners hoisted in different parts of Idah town alone. The banners easily depict the stronghold of aspirants or where his supporters are likely to come from. Posters may not be able to show exactly that. The display of such banners is meant to complement the posters which are also lavishly displayed all over town.
Similarly, some photographs of aspirants are so digitally clear that they could easily arrest attention of passers-by at a glance. An observer commented that if posters can win election, some of them that adorn our major streets and roundabouts could easily do it.
In Kogi West, large bill boards rather than banners are in vogue. It is a common sight to see a large billboard installed in strategic areas of the major towns that constitute the West Senatorial Zone. Bill boards of prominent politicians from the area who want to contest or re-contest their positions in 2011 dot the landscape of the towns and villages.
On the whole, the placements of the billboards are neater and contribute less to the dirtiness of the streets. In fact, some of them are so colourful that they add to the beauty of the town.
One of Governor Ibrahim Idris aids, Hon. Austine Medaiyedu, who is a specialist in bill board making, said as the world go digital, politicians in the course of making their intention know are also going a step further by introducing bill boards. Such bill boards, Hon. Medaiyedu said are made with big iron plates and placed in strategic places to serve as a constant reminder to the electorate of the intention of the person on the Bill Board. “So come rain, come shine, the bill boards remain there”, he added. According to him, it is not easily washed away and nobody places another thing on it as it is sometimes placed very high for every body to see. Hon. Medaiyedu maintained that the durability of the bill board surpasses that of posters while its big size helps it to accommodate messages better, adding that such messages are also printed boldly for everybody to read. “The words of the prints on the billboard are captivating”, he asserted.
Politicians are unanimous in their acceptance that posters, billboards and banners are necessary and indispensable aspects of electioneering campaigns, though some of them disagree with the reckless display of the posters to the extent of defacing the beauty of our streets.
Hon. Aduku Ojodale acknowledges the fact that the display of the posters actually creates the feeling that the electioneering season is in the air. It gives the electorate the opportunity to know their aspirants and assess their suitability for the posts they are vying for. But he is of the opinion that the posters can be neatly displayed if large notice boards which should be strategically positioned in the cities for that purpose are provided. Supporters he said, could easily be convinced to paste posters of their aspirants on such notice boards rather than doing so indiscriminately.
Alhaji Babadoko, a political stalwart from Lokoja and an aspirant for Kogi State House of Assembly said the aspiration of some contestants would never have been known if their posters were never displayed. He also stated that some politicians get to know their opponents for the first time when their posters are displayed. He therefore advised that people could be guided on the civilized way of displaying the posters rather than call for its outright banning because its advantages far outweighs the disadvantages.
It is also a season of abundance for printers who are having their hands full with contracts for churning out posters. Mr. Gabriel of GAB Printers, Lokoja said that sometimes he has to keep sleepless nights to meet demands and deadline for posters.
The Graphic correspondent spoke to some youthful supporters who were busy displaying the posters of some politicians. Some overzealous ones said it is their own way of making money from the politicians at this point in time and warned the government not to contemplate banning it else they will “explode”. Some of them said they keep night vigils at roundabouts to ensure that the posters of their candidates/aspirants were not removed overnight until they are sure that it has created the expected impact and the beneficiary acknowledges it. Others say it is only seasonal, and it happens when the elections are approaching. They therefore advised the Town Planning Department and the Sanitation Agency to exercise patience and prepare to do the clean-up when the elections are over.
The Graphic also spoke with the General Manager of Town Planning Department and the Director General of Environmental Sanitation Agency.
The Director General, Kogi State Sanitiaton and Waste Management Board (KSSWMB), Alhaji Yusuf Yahaya on his part described the development as nuisance to the beautification project of the State government.
Alhaji Yahaya who asserted that KSSWMB is not responsible for the removal of such illegal posters and bill boards, said Kogi State Town Planning and Development Board (TPDB) is responsible for granting permission for the erection of bill boards and subsequently the removal of illegal bill boards, and related ones.
According to him, the General Manager of TPDB, Mallam Abdul Odaudu, recently pleaded with the public (on the television) to desist from such practice and announced a three-man committee that would go round to remove such posters.
The Director General said his Board has no planned policy to remove such posters, adding that there was a time his staff removed some posters and some politicians came to threaten them in the office, saying the Board has no right to remove posters. According to him, the politicians described the removal of posters by them as an attempt to be bias and support for a rival camp.
He, however, suggested public education and advocacy that would make politicians understand and respect public opinion on this matter.
Speaking with The Graphic, the General Manager of Kogi State Town Planning and Development Board, Mr. Abdul E. Odaudu, described the situation as worrisome, saying pasting of posters anyhow deface the environment and rather depicts our level of underdevelopment.
Mr. Odaudu maintained that politicians and their agents should know that pasting of posters indiscriminately was not in the best interest of government and the society.
He revealed that the government in collaboration with a private firm (a form of public-private partnership) is working towards the use of other alternatives to posters, like gantry.
According to him, gantry is a big bill board located at a strategic point by an advertising firm, and politicians who want to place posters on it could apply for a space for the placement of their posters by paying prescribed fee.
While stating that Kogi State Town Planning and Development Board has edict 5, 1991 which gives her power to prosecute offenders, he said that hitherto the Board had no court to prosecute offenders until recently when the Chief Judge, Justice Nasir Ajanah, assigned a magistrate court to the Board.
Odaudu who said as soon as things take shape punitive measures would be taken against offenders, advised the public to be conscious of the fact that places with the inscription of “Post No Bill”, means nothing should be pasted there and should be obeyed.