Guinness Nigeria Plc, concluded its “ember months” Responsible Drinking Awareness Campaign recently with a rally attended by International football star, Thierry Henry, at the Ojota Motor Park in Lagos. The former Arsenal and France national team captain is a ‘Guinness Made of Black ambassador’.
Thierry Henry, who is in Nigeria as part of the ‘Guinness’ Made of Black’ campaign, joined officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and other partners and road users at the event marking the end of the campaign to educate road users on safe motoring.
This year’s campaign which was flagged off at the Agege Park in Lagos has already made stops in Benin and Abuja.
Speaking at the Ojota rally, Managing Director/CEO, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Peter Ndegwa said: “Through our ember month’s campaigns, we aim to play a part in helping consumers make the right choices. The message we deliver to consumers through our annual campaigns is consistent with our values at Guinness Nigeria.
“For this event, it is also great to have such a well-known and respected person as Thierry Henry who is an ambassador for our brand but also a great advocate for the responsible use of alcohol.”
in partnership with the FRSC for 13 unbroken years, Guinness has been running the ‘ember months’ campaign which has blossomed into an impactful platform, making it possible for both parties to jointly deliver life-changing, responsible-drinking messages that annually reach millions of Nigerians.
Thierry Henry, who met fans and hosted the winners of the Guinness ‘Be a Front Row Fan’ promo, watched the English Premier League match between West Brom and Manchester United.
Popularly called “Igwe” by Nigerian by fans, Henry noted that he is very impressed with how Guinness Nigeria has, via the campaign, provided opportunities for engagement with hundreds of thousands of people on the facts about alcohol, educating and empowering consumers to make informed decisions around if, when and how to drink, especially if they have to drive.
Corporate Relations Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mrs. Viola Graham-Douglas, who also addressed journalists at the closing ceremony said: “As a leading manufacturer of alcoholic beverages, Guinness Nigeria Plc makes effort to promote responsible drinking and work with other stakeholders to combat alcohol misuse.”
On his part, Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Commission, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, commended Guinness Nigeria Plc for sustaining this giant stride for the past 13 years, while taking into cognisance the fact that road safety is a shared responsibility.
Dr. Oyeyemi further remarked: “In Nigeria, the last four months of the year are often referred to as ‘ember months’ and have been greatly associated with increased incidence of road accidents and casualty. Due to the festivities in these months, particularly in December, there is an upsurge in movement of people travelling to various destinations, thus increasing the traffic on the roads.
“As we officially close this year’s ember months road safety responsible drinking campaign, I charge everyone to re-direct their minds toward good road use by obeying all rules and regulations. It is our collective responsibility to eradicate or reduce the ever-increasing volume of road crashes on our roads.”