Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU) has condemned an offensive billboard advertisement portraying people of ilorin as drunk
The group said the billboard advertisement, which promoted a specific brand of beer, purposefully represented the residents of Ilorin as inebriated.
In a statement released on Friday in Ilorin, the union, an umbrella sociocultural organization, underlined its worry.
The press release bearing its National Publicity Secretary’s signature, Nurudeen Ibrahim, called on relevant authorities to order those responsible for the alleged offensive advertisement to swiftly remove it.
The union said the advertisement, promoting a particular brand of alcoholic beer on a billboard along Offa Garage Road, Ilorin, deliberately portrayed the people of Ilorin as drunks.
According to Mr Ibrahim, the message contained in the advertisement, made reference to Ilorin and its people as drunkard, “to si e gege bi Omo Ilorin”.
He said that the information was clearly offensive, stressing that the advertisement is deliberately planted to provoke the people of Ilorin emirate.
Mr Ibrahim said the advertisement was a liberty taken too far, and called for its removal “to discourage a resort to self-help from the concerned members of the community”.
He stated that it is always best to avoid advertising for goods that appear to offend a particular community’s culture.
According to Mr. Ibrahim, the billboard’s association of alcohol with the largely Muslim residents of Ilorin was an intentional act of provocation.
The union urged the relevant government bodies to take down the advertisement and issued a warning to advertising firms to provide careful services.
However, Mr. Ibrahim urged the residents of the Ilorin Emirate to maintain their composure and harmony while the required steps were being taken to resolve the situation.
