By Florence Israel, Abuja
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Monday in Abuja, inaugurated the Anti-Piracy Committee, charged with working out the modalities to tackle the piracy of creative works in the country.
The inauguration followed last week’s visit to the Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, by the Minister to solicit the support of the foremost security agency in the fight against piracy.
Members of the committee include the Director General, National Film and Video Censorship Board, Mr. Adedayo Thomas, Chairman of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Chief Tony Okoroji, Deputy Inspectors-General of Police in Charge of Criminal Investigation Department Hyacinth Maidugu and that of Operations Joshak Habila, President, Motion Picture Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MOPAN) Abdullahi Maikano Usman, Ms Tundun Aderibigbe of the House of Tara and
Mr. Tonye Princewell, a movie producer.
While inaugurating the Committee, the Minister said the time had come for a decisive action against piracy in the country.
“This is the first meeting between the police and the major stakeholders in the Ministry of Information and Culture as well as the Creative Industry (on piracy). This meeting is evidence that this is not just about mere talk, but about action,” he said.
Alhaji Mohammed tasked the committee to devise a pragmatic approach that will ensure a regular and sustained enforcement, with a view to putting an end to the menace of piracy.
He said if piracy was not tamed now, it would become a monster that would destroy the creative industry.
In his remarks, Chief Okoroji described the inauguration of the committee as a milestone in the creative industry.
“This for us in the creative industry is a historic and momentous day,” he said, pledging the commitment of members of the committee to putting their best in articulating a strategy that would stamp out piracy of creative works in the country.
On his part, the Deputy Inspector General of Police in Charge of Criminal Investigation Department, Maidugu, assured that the police would carry out the necessary investigation and enforcement of the
extant laws against piracy as well as prosecute offenders.
The DEFENDER had reported the Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, had said that he was not appointed into office to develop the economies of other countries at the expense of the economy of Nigeria, insisting that all motion programmes that must be used by Nigerians must be produced here in Nigeria.
Although this did not go down well with some partakers of the creative industry who kicked against the decision of the minister not to want to see works meant for Nigeria produced abroad therefore creating jobs that Nigerians should have for people of other land, Alhaji Mohammed’s resilience has been commended for waxing stronger with the policy even in the face of heavy criticism by people that would be the bigger beneficiaries.
A respondent told The DEFENDER that, “For a long time in this country that creative works had suffered setback due to the handwork of pirates who had always been the ones making money while the major producers lived in penury without past governments knowing what to do to stop the piracy. If anybody is saying he does not see change in this government, can we point this out to them that the change is in the fact that if the new anti-piracy committee set succeeds, Nigeria’s owners of creative works will now begin to benefit from the fruits of their own sweat,” he said.
