Opinion
Threats, Gains Of Advertising
The age of the mass media was first predicted by Robert Louis Stevenson when he said; “soon men will not live on bread alone but by catch words.”
Today, this prediction is made manifest in view of the increasing global competition among marketers to sell their products. Through promotional offers and commercial inducement, humanity is yoked under financial and emotional burden as it waddles between the very option of genuine choice and need and what analyst call “an obligatory commitment to product patronages” in its most ubiquitous sense of offer .
The dynamics of the advertising industry requires that marketers keep constant touch with their client without been slackened or overtaken by other competitors. Humanity is therefore placed at the receiving end of decisions set by large corporations to which we are gravely alienated in suggestion making, but whose overbearing influence and dictates we yearn to satisfy our endless cravings for comfort, convenience, leisure among other necessities that are central to human existence.
Advertising agencies are aware of human’s handicap to get off the treadmill of unbridled consumption of his endless needs. They know that humanity is confronted with the challenges of choice amidst several competitive elements, and as stated by Patrict Rivers, they know that, “humanity finds it difficult to rediscover what his genuine needs are, rather than accept what he is told he desires, or what he allows himself to become lured to demand”.
Advertising therefore becomes the basic parameters for companies and marketers to keep in business and maintain their relevance to the public whose conviction must be based on clearly conceived and intended messages.
To command the confidence of the public, advertisement messages must go beyond mere commercial gimmicks and be truthful and reliable. This is because if language is not in accordance with the truth of things, the messages of advertisement will be valueless.
The need for reliability in advertisement messages is buttressed by the works of Alexis de Tocqueville, who wrote down the basic principles of communication, “A false notion which is clear and precise will always have more power in the world than a true principle which is obscure and involved.”
In compliance with this basic communication principle, an advertisement message intended to be used profitably to achieve a good marketing objectives must be clearly positioned on the basis of conciseness, uniqueness and clarity in addition to a nexus of other creative variables.
Advertising has come to cover the whole range of human needs through the combination of real creative imagination and a deep study of human psychology. This is because it brings to the greatest number of people actual knowledge of useful things, it becomes an essential form of education.
The general raising of the standard of modern civilization among all groups of people during the past half century would have been impossible without the spreading of the knowledge of higher standards by means of advertising. Advertising thus nurses the consuming power of man. It creates wants for a better home, better clothing, better food and other desirous things of life, it spurs individual exertion and greater production.
According to Henry Beechen, “the advertisement in newspaper are more full of knowledge in respect to what is going on in a state or community than the editorial columns.”
You can therefore tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisement. In a way, doing a business without advertisement is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing but nobody else does.
However, the major challenges facing marketers in today’s competitive environment is how to sustain their brand identities through effective advertising and positioning to capture the mind of consumers. This challenges objectives and results to the advertising agencies sometimes making bogus claims which are flouted in the long run.
Doctor Samuel Johnson once wrote: “Promise, large promise is the soul of an advertisement.
But today people are beginning to hold up companies to their promises and claims. They are fed up with having their intelligence insulted and their pockets robbed. They have thus decried other justifiable means of holding these agencies to their sense of responsibilities. The inability of some companies to live up to these challenges has led to the demise of their products while consumers of such brands have diverted to using other brands which may not be as useful as the oscillating brand. As consumer’s taste widens, brand identities also pose serious challenges to marketers who must strive consistently to relay the efficaciousness of their brand to their teeming consumers lest they lose them in the face of such glaring competitions.
Skillful advert practitioners are therefore in the face of this widening competition among brands and products, adopting massive strategies to bait the attention of the public by making flower arrangement of the facts, placing them so that the wilted and less attractive petals are hidden by sturdy blooms. This form of advertisement is designed to delude the public and hold their attention to win them over.
The target of these advertisement practitioners is basically to advance their merits over other competitors.
The secret of advertising is a simple message that everyone can understand and respond to provided it is not a facile move to deceive the audience all in the name of selling a product.
Perhaps, advertising in the final analysis should be news. If it is not news, it is worthless.
A good advertisement message is one that educates the people on the use of product in addition to luring consumers to the point of purchase. However, without any intention to demean the advertising industry in Nigeria, there are glaring indications that the industry is faced with grave challenges. Like every other field, there are professional challenges to grow at pace with modern trends. There are also challenges of strategic breakthrough. Rather than identifying their consumers, and packaging the appropriate messages for them, and the quality of brands to put across, attention is geared towards glamour and humour in advertisement messages, which inadvertently appeal to the public as entertainment programmes rather than capturing their mind.
Thus, most foreign products have taken over the market through qualitative advertisement, reducing patronages of local products. The regulatory body of the industry in Nigeria, the Advertisement Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) has a lot to do in this regard. It has to moderate the industry to respond to global imperatives, and trends. This include an unwinking alert against the activities of infiltrators. Advertisement as a concept is required in our daily life, and it is prone to constant review and update in line with the dynamics of human needs and consumption.
Taneh Beemene
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Restoring Order, Delivering Good Governance
The political atmosphere in Rivers State has been anything but calm in 2025. Yet, a rare moment of unity was witnessed on Saturday, June 28, when Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, appeared side by side at the funeral of Elder Temple Omezurike Onuoha, Wike’s late uncle. What could have passed for a routine condolence visit evolved into a significant political statement—a symbolic show of reconciliation in a state bruised by deep political strife.
The funeral, attended by dignitaries from across the nation, was more than a moment of shared grief. It became the public reflection of a private peace accord reached earlier at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. There, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu brought together Governor Fubara, Minister Wike, the suspended Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, and other lawmakers to chart a new path forward.
For Rivers people, that truce is a beacon of hope. But they are not content with photo opportunities and promises. What they demand now is the immediate lifting of the state of emergency declared in March 2025, and the unconditional reinstatement of Governor Fubara, Deputy Governor Dr. Ngozi Odu, and all suspended lawmakers. They insist on the restoration of their democratic mandate.
President Tinubu’s decision to suspend the entire structure of Rivers State’s elected leadership and appoint a sole administrator was a drastic response to a deepening political crisis. While it may have prevented a complete breakdown in governance, it also robbed the people of their voice. That silence must now end.
The administrator, retired naval chief Ibok-Ette Ibas, has managed a caretaker role. But Rivers State cannot thrive under unelected stewardship. Democracy must return—not partially, not symbolically, but fully. President Tinubu has to ensure that the people’s will, expressed through the ballot, is restored in word and deed.
Governor Fubara, who will complete his six-month suspension by September, was elected to serve the people of Rivers, not to be sidelined by political intrigues. His return should not be ceremonial. It should come with the full powers and authority vested in him by the constitution and the mandate of Rivers citizens.
The people’s frustration is understandable. At the heart of the political crisis was a power tussle between loyalists of Fubara and those of Wike. Institutions, particularly the State House of Assembly, became battlegrounds. Attempts were made to impeach Fubara. The situation deteriorated into a full-blown crisis, and governance was nearly brought to its knees.
But the tide must now turn. With the Senate’s approval of a record ?1.485 trillion budget for Rivers State for 2025, a new opportunity has emerged. This budget is not just a fiscal document—it is a blueprint for transformation, allocating ?1.077 trillion for capital projects alone. Yet, without the governor’s reinstatement, its execution remains in doubt.
It is Governor Fubara, and only him, who possesses the people’s mandate to execute this ambitious budget. It is time for him to return to duty with vigor, responsibility, and a renewed sense of urgency. The people expect delivery—on roads, hospitals, schools, and job creation.
Rivers civil servants, recovering from neglect and under appreciation, should also continue to be a top priority. Fubara should continue to ensure timely payment of salaries, address pension issues, and create a more effective, motivated public workforce. This is how governance becomes real in people’s lives.
The “Rivers First” mantra with which Fubara campaigned is now being tested. That slogan should become policy. It must inform every appointment, every contract, every budget decision, and every reform. It must reflect the needs and aspirations of the ordinary Rivers person—not political patrons or vested interests.
Beyond infrastructure and administration, political healing is essential. Governor Fubara and Minister Wike must go beyond temporary peace. They should actively unite their camps and followers to form one strong political family. The future of Rivers cannot be built on division.
Political appointments, both at the Federal and State levels, must reflect a spirit of fairness, tolerance, and inclusivity. The days of political vendettas and exclusive lists must end. Every ethnic group, every gender, and every generation must feel included in the new Rivers project.
Rivers is too diverse to be governed by one faction. Lasting peace can only be built on concessions, maturity, and equity. The people are watching to see if the peace deal will lead to deeper understanding or simply paper over cracks in an already fragile political arrangement.
Wike, now a national figure as Minister of the FCT, has a responsibility to rise above the local fray and support the development of Rivers State. His influence should bring federal attention and investment to the state, not political interference or division.
Likewise, Fubara should lead with restraint, humility, and a focus on service delivery. His return should not be marked by revenge or political purges but by inclusive leadership that welcomes even former adversaries into the process of rebuilding the state.
“The people are no longer interested in power struggles. They want light in their streets, drugs in their hospitals, teachers in their classrooms, and jobs for their children. The politics of ego and entitlement have to give way to governance with purpose.
The appearance of both leaders at the funeral was a glimpse of what unity could look like. That moment should now evolve into a movement-one that prioritizes Rivers State over every personal ambition. Let it be the beginning of true reconciliation and progress.
As September draws near, the Federal government should act decisively to end the state of emergency and reinstate all suspended officials. Rivers State must return to constitutional order and normal democratic processes. This is the minimum requirement of good governance.
The crisis in Rivers has dragged on for too long. The truce is a step forward, but much more is needed. Reinstating Governor Fubara, implementing the ?1.485 trillion budget, and uniting political factions are now the urgent tasks ahead. Rivers people have suffered enough. It is time to restore leadership, rebuild trust, and finally put Rivers first.
By: Amieyeofori Ibim
Amieyeofori Ibim is former Editor of The Tide Newspapers, political analyst and public affairs commentator
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