Did supporters of President Goodluck Jonathan actually place an advert on a London bus or were the images manipulated for political purposes?
This is the mystery over a video and a photo showing a passenger bus bearing the advert caption, “London for Goodluck”, on what appears to be a street in London, UK.
A concerned Nigerian in the UK had sent the images to TheCable, raising questions on the propriety of such a campaign and wanting an inquisition into the funding source.
Although the simplicity of the message makes it difficult for an ordinary observer to understand its import, the use of the Nigerian coat of arms suggests that it is a campaign for a Nigerian Goodluck ─ and that could only be President Jonathan.
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Given the political season in Nigeria ahead of the 2015 presidential election, it is easy to conclude that the advert is part of the publicity campaign for the re-election of Jonathan.
The advert itself does not contain any overt political message, making it anybody’s guess what the purpose is about.
Since the advert is unsigned, it is also difficult to know who placed it.
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But for what purpose? The Nigerian law does not allow overseas voting, so the campaign would be a waste of money ─ except, of course, a Nigerian living in London would dare to buy a return ticket to come and vote in February 2015.
To unravel the mystery advert, TheCable sent an email to the Transport for London (TFL), which oversees public transport services in London, seeking to know who placed the advert.
In a reply on behalf of the TFL press office, Mr David Edwards wrote: “We have checked with our advertising partner and have confirmed that this isn’t an advert that has been displayed on one of our buses. It appears the photograph may have been edited to include this.”
He explained why the advert couldn’t have been on the bus.
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As such adverts “are so large, they are fitted in sections and the joins would be clearly visible, whereas in this picture they are not”, he said.
In other words, somebody was playing a prank on the computer…
2 comments
This is an imposition for Gawd sake! Do these guys think the Londoners are as gullible as they are? This is computer made simple. They should stop deceiving our politicians through an uncanny method like this. Mr. President is still struggling to win the hearts of Nigerian, the desparado Andrews over there are talking of ‘London for Goodluck’. London ko, Whales ni.
Did the London transport authourity also allege that the video was ‘photo shopped’? Even if the picture is allegedly a computer gimmick, I certainly do not agree that the video I watched contained any trickery.