Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

By Adegunle Olugbamila

 

President, Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Nigeria (ICSAN), Mr. Mode Ayeku, has said that the more-than-50 year-old institute will soon be rechristened to reflect its mandate on ‘corporate governance’.

Speaking at ICSAN’s corporate headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos, Ayeku, who is the 27th president, said the roles of chartered secretaries transcends the traditional organising and taking minutes of meetings, to being governance professionals.

He said: “About five decades ago, when you mention ‘chartered secretary’, the attention was solely limited to secretaries of companies, and public organisations. In fact, the impression was that they were just there to take the minutes.

“Interestingly, If you look at the emerging trend starting from the 90s, when we started having code of corporate governance, the role of chartered secretaries have changed dramatically. We are now in a strategic role of being governance professionals.

We are no longer people who sit in the background and being given instructions to carry out.  We are now seen as trained professional that will chart a course for best practices in an organisation.

According to him, secretaries  are  expected to be the central source of guardian for the company and other organisations they work for on issues bordering on ethics, conflict of interest and corporate governance.

Ayeku is optimistic that ICSAN

members stand to profit a lot from the proposed name change.

“When you are called a governance professional, it is impossible for anybody to specifically identify who you are. At present, the country has various nomenclatures we have in the economy like secretary, permanent secretary personal secretary, private secretary.

But, because that particular word have been used in various occasions, there is now a confusion when you say you are a chartered secretary.

Continuing, he said: “Chartered secretaries should know they are now dealing with the economy in terms of management and governance of companies and therefore guiding an organisations into doing things that are proper and right.

So, when there are issues in a corporate organisation, everyone knows its either the chartered secretary did not advise the board properly or the company in question refused to heed his advice.

Although he hopes the rechristening might happen sooner than Nigerians expect adding that  there is no way the new mandate would not reflect once a new name is conjured. “I can assure you it will not be long,” he said.

He assured that it will be in line with what obtains globally. “Our entire institutes have ‘corporate governance’ (in their new names).

So, by the time the name is finalised, it will show the whole world particularly our stakeholders here that this is the institute saddled with entrenching corporate governance. The name will tell you at a glance that this is a group comprising governance professionals.

We are doing it via the normal process. We have an enabling Act. The name cannot be changed overnight. We have to recourse to the National Assembly to explain to them the new strategic role,” he noted.

Our Reporter

 

The  Governor of Plateau State,  Simon Bako Lalong, has promised to thrill guests with a world-class cultural centre during the NAFEST 2020 slated for October this year.

He made this assertion while hosting the Director-General, National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Segun Runsewe, during a visit to the Government House in Jos.

The Deputy Governor, Prof Sonni Tyoden, who represented Lalong, praised Runsewe for doing well at the council, “before now the council has been in existence but little was heard about the organisation but at your arrival, a lot is been done through your visionary and effective dynamic leadership’’.

He lauded the culture helmsman for giving the NAFEST 2020 hosting rights to the state.

He promised to that basic requirements to make the event a success would be put in place, assuring his guest that Plateau State, being home of hospitality, tourism and peace, will host the ‘mother’ of all NAFEST by all standards.

Read Also: Ekiti is NAFEST’s most creative, innovative state

 

Acknowledging that Plateau State has been inflicted with all manner of conflicts, Lalong said: “The time to reposition the state and take our rightful place in the sands of time is now through the promotion of huge culture activities during the national event.”

Earlier, Runsewe praised the governor for agreeing to host the event before discussing it with him. He said he was not surprised having known the governor to be a man that wants the best for his people. “Your exceptional leadership can be seen visibly in all you do,” Runsewe said.

Going down memory lane, the  Director-General said in 1996 when the state first hosted the festival, over six African countries participated. This time around, all the 17 local governments of the state are expected and the entire states of the federation. He added that it is one national cultural event that fosters unity among the states.

Runsewe said:”Posterity will be unfair to him if during his tenure as Director-General, Plateau State did not host the event being one of the Dubai states in Nigeria, with conducive weather, clean roads free of pot-holes and regular power supply, the state is eminently qualified to host the event. Runsewe implored the governor to complete the theatre arts being one of the edifices that will give employment to over 500 people when completed. As the world anxiously looks up to Plateau come October this year, Runsewe said all golfers, business entrepreneurs are planning to come to the state during the event.

Customised gifts such as biro, exercise books, calendar, T-shirts with various inscriptions promoting the festival were presented to the governor.

Runsewe reiterated that one veritable tool that would be used to foster unity, peace, hospitality and togetherness during the festival was cultural diplomacy .

The Lagos State Chief Resilience Officer, Gbolahan Oki, says the resilience document released in February is drawing global attention. Blessed with a people who are naturally resilient, the strategy document, according to Oki, has helped collate the huge opportunities and potentials of the state. Oki spoke with our Correspondent, excerpts:

 

What does Lagosians stand to gain being a member of the Resilient Cities Network?

Lagos has a whole lot to gain from being on the network of resilient cities founded by the Rockefeller Foundation, a United States- based non-governmental organisation. On its own, Lagos State is resilient and I will give you some instances. Let’s take it from the grassroots; those hawkers almost every day are cleared away from the roads.

Most times their goods are seized and they at times arrested. But the following morning, these persons are back on the roads. That is resilience. They would not be sulking but seek to bounce back from any crisis. What is the meaning of resilience? It simply means the ability to bounce back from a problem without having cause to feel devastated.

Which means that challenges are not the end of life. Even the dumbest person in Lagos State, faced with a dire situation, looks for something else to do. Let’s take again, traffic. You won’t say because there is traffic which takes you six hours to get to your office, then you won’t go to the office the next day, you will be the first person to wake up in a bid to beat the traffic.

You won’t say that because armed robbers visited your home and carted away all your belongings, you won’t equip your house again? So Lagos on its own is a resilient city, from different perspectives and that is why the state government brought in so many innovations into the state, you found out that things are going on simultaneously.

Undoubtedly, it brings with it untold hardship but you are seeing a government that is working on all its six agenda at the same time. There is no way you are going to do anything good that you will not face any hindrance.

Resilience Office is not an implementation office, we don’t implement, but we are to put each and every ministry on their toes.

How are you achieving this?

Before now, all the ministries are working in silos. None is seeing how their activities connect with others.

Take for instance, if ministry of education intends to build a school, before now, it just goes ahead to construct without linking up with others, but right now, such a project will involve the ministry of works, where you have all the architects, engineers and other professionals, who will work on the project, once this has been done and the structure is in place, the ministry of education will then put the human and other facilities in place and invite LASPARK to plant trees or plants that supports education such as football fields and trees. It puts in environmental plants that will make the structure conducive to learning.

The Resilience Office has put a stop to the issue of all agencies working without consideration for other agencies of government.

Have these MDAs been cooperating with this novel idea to ensure that government business is no longer the same?

All MDAs have been cooperating because this government has made it known that all agencies that are working with us key into the vision of the government as contained in the THEMES agenda. What we did in this office was that we took the government agenda to the grassroots and ensured the buy-ins of every ministries and agencies and departments.

We looked at the quick wins, as well as their long term projects. This, which we called the Resilience assessments and these, is what preceded the Strategy document and we got everyone to say what they wanted from the government to provide.

It was this assessment that showed that transportation is key, among the needs of Lagosians, electricity is another, housing, solid waste management, building collapse, accident, fire are all part of the areas the people requested government intervention.

Is there any difference between a smart city and a resilience city?

The two concepts are interwoven. Whereas a smart city addresses how the city deploys technology to ensure a livable city, whereas what resilience dwells with are the value adding that comes with each of the facilities that gives living a meaning.

Take for example we lived without phones until 2002, and many of us were asking why does the government think we need a phone? We were forced to be asking questions like, what is the implications of these phones, how do we maintain the phones? These are what resilience is all about.

Resilience seeks to ensure that apart from planning for now, as well as your plans for the future. We talk about traffic in Lagos State, and we have seen that besides the rehabilitation of all roads in the state, government is also investing in other modes of transportation as well as large capacity buses and ferries that now make our waterways attractive.

The resilience advantage of that is that very soon the pressure on the roads would be reduced because people will drop their car. This will largely reduce significantly the stress that people go through in living in the state. What the Resilience Office has been able to do for the state is that we have been able to put together a document, which we can liken to the Bible, which documents all of government’s visions and aspirations as well as the lead agencies in charge of the various initiatives of the government and opportunities that are available to investors.

The resilience document gives the international community and funders an opportunity to see what the government itself is doing in all these sectors before they come to add to it. This assures them that the sector is profitable.

The strategy document is so detailed that we even put names of institutional partners that any funder can approach. Look at Waterways, we listed LAGFERRY and LASWA as some of the lead agencies that investors can partner, if it is environment, we have the key implementing agencies that could be partnered by any investor.

Do you have timelines for any initiatives under the resilience document?

Yes we have, our initiatives are divided into two -the short as well as the long term strategies. When you are looking at the long term, we are thinking of the Blue light rail and the charting of more routes on the waterways, while the short term are the quick wins, such as the road rehabilitation which has seen the government rehabilitating 250 roads, and the clearing of all the drainage before the May/June rainfall.

The resilience office will on each of these projects do more than monitoring and evaluation, to ensure the value adding that would make sure that the project is impactful and sustained. The office looks at the social, economic importance of the project to the people of the state. Resilience is therefore an all-inclusive office that considers all the sides to any project.

Holistically, how can the state survive the shocks and stresses of the city of Lagos?

A wonderful policy of this present administration is the continuation of all the projects of his predecessors. This in the long run will bring so much relief to the people, another example is the Traffic Radio that was established by Mr. Babatunde Fashola a former Governor, which has become a success today as a result of the advisory role it has been playing to sanitise the roads.

If Lagos roads are still like this even with the Traffic Radio, can we imagine what we would have been going through without such radio that advises people on travel routes? Lagos has been largely proactive and this is why so many things are happening now that makes the state attractive to other states of the federation.

The beautiful thing is that this government is looking at everything holistically and attending to all the items on his agenda simultaneously in order to ensure that nothing is left unattended to.  He is taking the quick wins across the board as well as the long terms across the board and is addressing them simultaneously.

The resilience office has been incubating the resilience human chain initiative. What is the human chain all about?

The human chain first took place in Bangladesh to draw the attention of the world to the challenges of under development plaguing the nation and the Guinness Book of Records recorded them for pulling five million human chain. It is the longest human chain.

They used that to topple a government, what we want to is to create awareness that an average Nigerian or Lagosian is resilient. We want to have a human chain to demonstrate our resilience. We want to show to the world that our claim as a megacity is not a fluke. We want to show that we have the people and to enter the Guinness Book of Records, we want to stand between the hour of 8am and perhaps 12 noon maybe on a Saturday, Lagos State can stand between seven to nine million people to form a human chain in relating to the resilience of the state.

Lagos State is like America, hardly is there no tribe that is not present in Lagos. Lagos State is very accommodating. The human chain is for people to appreciate Lagos for all that it has been doing for the black race. We want to achieve this latest the second or third week in May.

Is there anything the resilience office is doing in the area of population and what is the fate of abandoned projects in the state?

The present administration is ensuring that there is no abandoned project in the state, that is why the entire state has been turned into a construction yard. But beyond this, we have come up with a strategy document that has streamlined the activities of government and its policies and programmes which is out in the open for global funders and investors to see and to buy into.

On transportation, we have the cable cars and the blue light rail and the Fourth Mainland Bridge are some of the long term projects that the state is looking for private sector partners. The human chain will also help address the hanging question of the population of Lagos.

If we can have 10 million standing just for an office, it goes without further question that such as state is more than 20 million and may actually be heading beyond megacity to becoming a gigacity, a term coined by the resilience office to address the state’s population.

What does Lagos stand to gain from becoming a member of the Resilient Cities Network?

Lagos has been gaining heavily from being a member of the Rockefeller Foundation. A lot of funders are coming into Lagos to see where they could support the state. Areas such a transportation will witness a lot of activity as a result of this.

What are the long term plans for the Resilience Office?

One of the key goals is to ensure that we transform from being an office to becoming a full fledged agency. Resilience Office is going to be opened in all local governments, ministries, agencies and departments. Officers that we will put in all these places will help formulate the resilient culture.

To move this office forward, we are perfecting appropriate laws that will formalise our existence, a law that will be ratified by the Lagos State House of Assembly and assented by the governor. We hope that we will be able to cross this bridge before the end of the year.

As the number of infested cases continue to increase and the world continues to witness more deaths linked to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease) pandemic, major global events and festivals are being scrapped or postponed indefinitely. Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME, EVELYN OSAGIE and NAOMI AGHA write that Nigeria is not left out.

 

 

Minister of Interior raises the alarm over safe distancing

There were fist bumps and Coronavirus-conscious elbow greetings all over the Julius Berger Hall,  University of Lagos (UNILAG) as one  of Nigeria’s widely-celebrated poets, Odia Ofeimun, marked his 70th birthday.

It was held  before the  Lagos State Government announced a reduction in the number of people allowed in public gatherings to prevent further spread of Covid-19. However, a few still engaged in the usual exchange of pleasantry  but with caution.

While there were  sanitiser dispensers for everyone at the entrance to the hall, and guests deliberated on “Taking Nigeria Seriously”, the Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola raised the alarm over the need for safety measures.

“I just pray we succeed in our fight to stay off Coronavirus. We are going to succeed without a doubt, and I commend the work of the Federal Ministry of Health and all other health ministries for their vigilance,” began Aregbesola.

“We must pray that we succeed in our battle to stage off #Coronavirus… Avoid handshaking. Do not shake hands. Maintain social distance of three feet. The times we are in now calls for caution and vigilance. We can’t help it: we are still together but avoid handshake. I would even avoid elbow touch. Social distance of three feet is recommended. Maintain strict personal hygiene rules and social distance, and avoidance of contacts, and wash our hands.”

Currently, in Nigeria, Lagos is the most hit of all the states.

 

 Outbreak stalls arts events, festivals

 

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, late last year, more than 354,454 people have contracted the disease, resulting in more than 15,438 deaths in less than three months, according to the Corona.help on Monday.

The virus has also spread to over 160 countries and regions around the world. From Asia to Europe, America, Africa and Oceania, major global sports events, live tours, conventions and huge festivals have either been scrapped or postponed indefinitely.

Many music festivals, art fairs, biennales and awards shows have either been cancelled or postponed due to Coronavirus. The same goes for movie premieres, as well as production schedules for TV and film. Consequently, players in the creative industry have continued to lose huge sums of money to the virus.

Last week, the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA), an umbrella body of travel agents in Nigeria, has put the losses incurred  by its members at N180 billion since the outbreak of the virus.

This also came on the heels of the announcement by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), that the global aviation industry has lost $200 billion since the Coronavirus broke out in Wuham, China. The body also stated that its members need bailout in form of interest-free loans from banks to cushion the effect of COVID-19.

NANTA National President  Mr. Bankole Bernard, who disclosed this at the World Press Conference on the impact of Covid-19 on travel business and NANTA AGM in Kano recently, said that last year travel agencies sold tickets worth $1 billion (about N360 billion ).

He added that by now travel agencies should be making Easter sales but that cannot happen as a result of the COVID-19.

One of the world’s largest trade shows, ITB Berlin, was cancelled by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of Economics due to the increasing spread of the novel Coronavirus, its organisers, Messe Berlin announced recently.

The trade show was to take place between March 4 and 8 in Berlin, Germany. This is the first time in 54 years that ITB Berlin, which welcomes more than 10,000 exhibitors from over 180 countries, did not take place.

ITB’s cancellation came after Messe Berlin found that it was unable to implement all of the requirements as instructed by the responsible health authority of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf of Berlin.

Among other things, the authority ordered for every trade fair participant to prove to Messe Berlin that they do not come from the defined risk areas or have had contact with a person from the risk areas.

“It is with a heavy heart that we look forward to the cancellation of ITB Berlin 2020, which has now become necessary,” Dr. Christian Göke, CEO of Messe Berlin GmbH, said, adding that the organiser takes its responsibility for the health and safety of its guests, exhibitors and employees very seriously.

Messe Berlin had been pointing out for weeks that the decision to hold or cancel major events can only be made on the basis of the recommendation or instruction of the relevant authorities.

“In their now 54-year history ITB Berlin and Messe Berlin have never before experienced a comparable situation,” the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Messe Berlin Wolf-Dieter Wolf said.

“We would like to thank all exhibitors and partners around the world who have supported ITB Berlin in the past days and weeks, and look forward to continuing our trusting cooperation with our partners in the market,” he added. 2021 ITB Berlin will take place between March 10 and 14, Messe Berlin has announced.

Also, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which closed due to Coronavirus concerns, postponed its Met Gala, with the theme: About Time.

 

 #Stay Safe

 

On the local front, the list is endless. A four-minute video tagged #Stay Safe showing fumigation of the various facilities at the Freedom Park on Broad Street, Lagos provides insight to the content of an accompanied statement from the management of the leisure centre.

They were responses to the Coronavirus pandemic currently ravaging the world and measures the management of Freedom has put in place to promote safety and wellbeing of its customers.

The Chief Operating Officer of Freedom Park, Mr. Theo Lawson, has said all organised gatherings have been closed at the park in accordance with the Lagos State mandate on social distancing.

He noted that the management has intensified measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 by ensuring that all surfaces, gates, handles, tables, chairs, conveniences and entire environ are thoroughly disinfected every morning and night.

“To us at Freedom Park Lagos, nothing is more important than the safety and wellbeing of all our guests, more importantly now, in light of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We hereby announce that in accordance to the Lagos State mandate on practising Social Distancing, Freedom Park will be closed to all organised gatherings.

We wish to express our sincere apologies to all our event collaborators who have worked hard to prepare shows billed to happen in the coming months. We urge all, to kindly put a hold on further publicity measures until this period of uncertainty passes us by.

“Individuals can come for nature and relaxation. The management already intensified measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 by ensuring that all surfaces, gates, handles, tables, chairs, conveniences and entire environ are thoroughly disinfected every morning and night.

Kindly note that groups of individuals exceeding 10 persons are prohibited. Social distances must be maintained at all times, until further directives from the state authorities,” he added.

On how to stay safe while in the facilities, he said posters are around the park that will help customers understand how to prevent the spread of COVID-19. He also provided some tips on how to stay safe this period:

• Alcohol-based sanitisers are available at our gates. Use some on your way in.
• We have adequate hand washing facilities. Wash your hands at intervals with running water and soap. .
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.

Like Freedom Park, Femi Kuti’s music hall, the Afrika Shrine at the Central Business District, Ikeja, Lagos has put all its activities on hold in compliance with the government’s order on social distancing.

 

Prof Wole Soyinka’s book launch/World Poetry Day

 

Two major events linked with Prof Wole Soyinka were also affected by the virus. Soyinka’s book, Beyond Aesthetics scheduled for launch on March 26 has been postponed by the publishers, Bookcraft Publishers.

According to a statement by the CEO of Bookcraft Publishers, Mr. Bankole Olayebi ‘in view of the recent statement by the Lagos State Government advising against large gatherings, Bookcraft Publishers jointly with Prof Wole Soyinka have taken the painful decision to postpone the event immediately. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. A new date will be communicated in due course.’

Similarly, the World Poetry Day with the theme: Voices in cause of Earth, organised in partnership with Providus Bank Plc has been postponed because of the banning gatherings above 50 persons.

 

The annual Greater Lagos Regatta Festival

 

The Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, announced the postponement of the festival, saying it became necessary because of the need to ensure safety of residents and participants.

She said the Greater Lagos Regatta and Festival would have held from April 10 to 12. According to her, due to the Coronavirus, the state government could make the tourism festival more local and reduce international participation.

”The ministry is aware of COVID -19, and we are working with the Ministry of Health to create washing of hands points, provide hand sanitisers and ensure safety of Lagosians before, during and after the programme,” she said.

Mrs. Akinbile-Yussuf said the programme was aimed at developing tourism, arts and culture and showcasing the state to the world.

According to her, the government will collaborate with Gradient Hill Ltd, a private organisation, in hosting the event. Mrs. Akinbile-Yussuf said that with the partnership, the project would showcase the physical and natural attributes of Lagos. “The event will feature festival village, children’s corner, concerts and talent hunt, among others,” she said.

 

I go dye anniversary show

 

The comedian I go dye has postponed his 25th anniversary show, which was to hold on April 12, Easter Sunday. He made the announcement in a press statement which was shared on social media.

He wrote: “My fourth anniversary on stage, coming silver #igodyestanding,  Kinging With The Kings Platinum Edition, has been postponed. This period calls for concern and sober reflection. It’s a moment of trying times.

I can’t be celebrating now, as cases of coronavirus disease continue to be identified in countries around the world. The effort to stem its spread has kept some 290 million students home from school.

“I feel for those who are affected globally. We may not be directly affected for now, but there are many people globally that are been put under pressure, fear and threat of sudden death. As I pray for lasting peace, I ask for prayers and goodwill to be shared among us.

The life of our neighbours means a lot. We should accept this moment as a divine opportunity to show love to one another. For the sake of my fans, brothers, sisters and all those kept in isolation globally, because of Coronavirus, I share in their pains and I and my partner @primeview label has decided to put down this celebration because of the cases.

I appeal to countries that have created vaccines and working to create a lasting cure to share their discoveries so as to being back peace and hood health to our lives.

In Africa we may not be so lucky with medical advancement and social support, but we can share the little we can as a people, by sharing the information to reduce its tendency to spread, remember #alwayswashyourhand Amb Francis Agoda.” he said.

 

Live in Lagos concert

 

Nigerian gospel superstar, Sinach, has postponed her Live in Lagos concert. She had earlier announced the concert on January 28, which was slated for May 22.  But due to the rise of coronavirus, the event was postponed till October 18,  on March 6.

A message on Ariiya Tickets reads, “Sinach loves her fans, it is for that reason this decision was made to ensure that everybody including our foreign team, special guests, sponsors and the entire public are carried along to execute an excellent and world class concert.

A wholehearted thanks to all our corporate sponsors, special guests, our team, churches, gospel artists, contributors and volunteers who have stepped up and been involved in the organisation of the concert to date, we truly recognise the heartfelt support shown towards organising  Sinach Live in Concert 30 year’s celebration (SLIC30 2020).

Again, Gidifest – the largest celebration of music and culture in West Africa announced yet another edition with headliners such as  Rema, Flavour and Naira Marley.

The event was slated for Easter Weekend, 2020. However, the event has been postponed to October 3 and 4.

A statement from the Eclipse Live reads, “We are sad to announce the rescheduling of The Gidi Culture Festival 2020 due to COVID-19. Your health and safety are of the utmost priority to us and we strongly encourage everyone to adhere to the guidelines and protocols set out by Ministry of Health, Nigeria Centre of Disease Control (NCDC), and other public health authorities.

Thank you for your support and all the love. We hope everyone is staying safe, practising good hygiene and keeping calm. “New dates for the #GIDIFEST2020 will be October 3 and 4 at The Cricket Pitch, Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos.

All purchases for the April dates will be honoured for the rescheduled October dates. You will be contacted in the upcoming weeks on how to obtain a refund if you are unable to attend the new dates. “We will continue to work hard to ensure that the festival is of the highest standard, thank you for your continued support and we look forward to bringing you home!”

 

iREPRESENT Film Festival

 

The organisers of iREPRESENT- an International Documentary Film Festival have postponed their annual festival indefinitely. The four- day festival was scheduled to start on Thursday March 16 till 22 at the Freedom Park, Lagos but was postponed due to the unprecedented health challenge posed by the Coronavirus threatening the globe.

According to the Co- Founder/Executive Director of the festival, Mr. Femi Odugbemi, “the decision to postpone the festival was a hard one because the safety and heal;th of our country and our participants is our topmost priority”, he said.

He also assured that the situation would be continuously monitored and evaluated and a new date would therefore be communicated to the public very soon.

 

The Story Teller House launch

 

Laroka Trust Foundation postponed its fundraiser for the launch of The Story Teller House, a Yoruba Digital Museum Project.

The event was scheduled to hold last Saturday at De Meros Hotel, Ikeja.  According to the founder of Laroka Prince Adekunle Adedigba the event was aimed at using digital technology to capture and present rich traditions of the Yoruba people of West Africa with the central theme being the significance of Ile- Ife in the Yoruba ancestry using compelling and engaging formats, and to deliver a modern Yoruba Museum.

Adekunle told The Nation that the reason behind the postponement was the need to be sensitive about the Coronavirus. According to him, “ It was tough to reach this conclusion as all plans were still going on as at this morning. But because we are socially responsible and must remain so, we have taken this decision. We will announce a new date soon. All conveniences are highly regretted and thank you for keeping faith with us,” he said.

 Evelyn Osagie

 

NIGERIAN Copyright commission (NCC), in joint enforcement operations with the Department of State Services (DSS) in Aba and Umuahia, Abia State, has closed down three broadcasting facilities engaged in pirating the broadcast signals of several right owners, including  Star Times, Communications Trends Nigeria Limited (CTL) and MultiChoice Nigeria (MCN).

The illegal broadcasting stations were sealed and broadcast contrivances impounded for being deployed in the illegal distribution of pay TV channels and unauthorised retransmission of other cable TV’s protected contents in violation of the Copyright Act, said NCC.

“Based on intelligence and surveillance reports, the broadcast facilities of Popular Broadcasting Service (PBS) and Modern Communication Limited (MCL) being used for copyright infringement activities were confiscated on Thursday, March 12, 2020 while employees engaged in broadcast piracy were arrested during joint enforcement operations by three separate teams of NCC and DSS operatives.

“Following months of surveillance and intelligence gathering, the illicit broadcast operations at the three facilities located in Aba and Umuahia, in Abia State were interrupted when Copyright Inspectors from NCC and DSS operatives raided the facilities,” the State Coordinator of NCC Rivers State Office, Mrs. Ifeoma Ezinma, said.

Equipment found on the premises of the illegal broadcasters included those for the retransmission of Star Times, Communications Trends Nigeria Limited (CTL) TV and MultiChoice Nigeria (MCN) contents. Also recovered were broadcasting decoders for Ben Sports, Canal Plus and other contrivances used for their illegal activities in violation of the provisions of the Copyright Act.

At the raid,  the NCC Director-General, Mr. John O. Asein, who was represented by Mrs. Ezinma, stated that the commission was out to fight copyright piracy in various industries.

He thanked the DSS  Director-General for the operational and logistic support that made the raid and arrests possible. In his words, “The joint operation is a demonstration of a common objective of relevant agencies to ensure that the laudable economic policies being introduced by government are not thwarted by the illegal activities of unscrupulous persons”.

According to Asein, the ongoing efforts of the Federal Government to reposition the broadcast industry and ensure a safe and investment- friendly legal framework call for a more-proactive copyright enforcement strategy. He assured investors in the creative sector, particularly the broadcast industry, that the commission would continue to ensure that they enjoyed safe corridors to guarantee returns on their investment.

He said investigation into the activities of the suspects would commence soon, and any copyright infractions would be prosecuted while other criminal activities would be reported to relevant agencies for further action. He appealed to the public to desist from patronising copyright pirates and urged them to report suspected copyright violations to the commission.

One of the arrested operators, who claimed that he once had a broadcast licence from the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), however, confessed that the licence had since lapsed.