PROTECTION FOR NIGERIAN WRITERS
Piracy kills creativity. There is need to fight it
In commemoration of the 2026 World Book and Copyright Day, the World Literacy Foundation (WLF) will today in Lagos host an international event. Titled ‘Turning Pages, Changing Futures: Connecting Nigerian Stories, Literacy, and Education to the World,’ the event is expected to bring together educators, authors, publishers, policymakers, and other stakeholders to highlight the role of books and literacy in shaping educational opportunities for children and young people in the country. The whole idea, according to the WLF Senior Manager, Global Operations and Partnerships – UK and sub-Saharan Africa, Naomi Nwagboso, is to demonstrate “that sustainable, community-driven approaches can strengthen education outcomes for children and communities”.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 1995 recognised April 23 every year as the World Book and Copyright Day, in honour of the day William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, and several prominent authors died. “It is a time to celebrate the importance of reading, foster children’s growth as readers, and promote a lifelong love of literature and integration into the world of work,” UNESCO charges. “Through reading and the celebration of World Book and Copyright Day, 23 April, we can open ourselves to others despite the distance, and we can travel thanks to the imagination.”
Despite the benefits that literary and artistic works have brought Nigeria, it is unfortunate that the creative and knowledge industries are increasingly being undervalued. And this is a country that has produced the late Chinua Achebe (author of the globally acclaimed ‘Things Fall Apart’), Wole Soyinka, (the first African to win a Nobel prize in Literature as far back as 1986), and award-winning writers like Ben Okri and Chimamanda Adichie, among others. On such a day as this, it is important to advance the protection of intellectual property.
In Nigeria today, the publishing industry is not only suffering under the weight of piracy and other copyright abuses, but the return on investment is barely sufficient to guarantee its sustainability. There is need to fight the scourge of piracy that has become a serious epidemic in the country. Authors, publishers, producers and artistes spend a lot of time, money and effort to produce such intellectual works. Yet within a few hours, and with relatively cheap electronic equipment, the pirate, working from the comfort of their house, can make thousands of copies of such painstaking works. These unscrupulous characters thereafter sell the pirated works for a fraction of the price pegged by the authentic producer or author.
Apart from the huge financial losses incurred by the owners of these intellectual properties, nothing kills creativity as fast as piracy. More disturbing is that huge intellectual theft goes on daily in full public glare. Most of the people behind the crime are also known to the authorities. But they continue because there is no serious commitment to fighting piracy. Armed with ever-changing cutting-edge technology, the pirates appear to be one step ahead. Today, it is not uncommon to find several celebrated writers and artistes living in penury as pirates ride piggy-back on their intellectual works to fortune.
Understandably, the threats posed by the digital environment would easily overwhelm a copyright system that was designed for an analogue world. There is therefore the need for a total overhaul of the regulatory and administrative framework of our copyright system in line with global best practices and the country’s international obligations under the relevant treaties. To fight this scourge, we need to strengthen the enabling laws and seek more efficient ways to track and punish offenders. Also, the Nigeria Copyright Commission (NCC) should be better funded. Above all, the people also need more enlightenment on what damage they do to creativity when they patronise pirated works.
