•Plans task force on piracy, endowment for the arts
Nollywood institutions, rather than individuals and groups will form the pattern of interaction with stakeholders in the motion picture industry. Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed made this known on Sunday, during an interactive forum with filmmakers at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Media Centre, Iganmu, Lagos.
The minister emphasised the need to strengthen agencies such as the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) and the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) as the true ears and eyes of government rather than the various groups of dissenting voices that Nollywood is known for over the years.
This was just as some practitioners stressed the need for a common platform for practitioners.
Mohammed who spoke with profound knowledge of the film industry; its prospects and challenges, said he will also make moves to bring the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) under the Information and Culture Ministry, because the decision to move the NCC to the Ministry of Justice has caused a major disconnect between the industry and the other sector of the arts.
Alarmed by the spate of piracy in the country, the minister said: “There is no doubt that piracy has become a monstrous disincentive not only to you, filmmakers, but also to the entire arts and the entertainment industry.
“With what I have read and seen, it appears that piracy has almost killed the industry,” he said, adding that there had been instances whereby some films and books were even sold a few days before the official release of the original work.
“This is totally unacceptable! This Administration is determined to fight this scourge, and the good news is that we have the backing of Mr. President!
“In fact, one of Mr. President’s early charges to security agencies was for them to tackle piracy so that practitioners can be able to recoup their investments; and that way contribute to the socio-economic development of the nation.”
Mohammed said the government could not properly diversify the economy if it did not make any effort to end or reduce piracy. He also noted that the present location of the NCC could not allow for international treaties that clearly acknowledge the place of audiovisual performers in the scheme of things.
“For instance, I am aware that in spite of the position we occupy as the giant of Africa in the area of entertainment, Nigeria is yet to ratify the World Intellectual Property (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty, which it signed in 1996. And the more recent Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances, which it also signed in 2012,” he said.
The minister suggested that piracy should be declared an economic crime, while a dedicated National Task Force on Piracy is instituted.
On the aspect of intervention fund for the industry, the minister decried the manner in which the N3billion World Bank, otherwise called Project ACT-Nollywood was administered. He said the fund ought to have been managed through a structure of professionals constituted by an agency like the NFC.
Mohammed however noted that rather than worry about a separate fund for film, music and other creative sectors, the current administration will set up a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), which would facilitate the introduction of tax rebates as incentives for sponsors of the arts.
“Like the American model, we should at this time – when we are trying to streamline spending – think of having a properly established NEA that will service all genres of the arts.”
As part of its massive social intervention policy, the minister said the administration had made available the sum of N500 billion to be accessed by creative people such as movie actors, artisans, market women, unemployed youths and others.
Some of the respondents at the meeting include Mr Mahmood Ali-Balogun, Chairman of Audio Visual Rights Society (AVRS), who impressed satisfaction with the minister’s disposition to the issues confronting the film sector. He urged the minister to create a special task force to deal with piracy, saying; “We need a task force like the Special Anti-Robbery Squad that will only be responsible for arresting people that are involved in piracy. It is only when we have this task force that we can know that piracy will come to an end,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr. Alex Enyengho, President of Association of Nollywood Core Producers, ANCOP, urged that the much anticipated Motion Picture Practitioners Council of Nigeria (MOPPICON) bill be given serious attention, so as end bigotry in the industry.
Enyengho who noted that he was not invited to the forum advised that until MOPPICON takes effect, the ministry should deal with the guilds and associations and not individuals, “who, by the way are members of these bodies. Individuals cannot be bigger than the existing structures in Nollywood,” adding that the half-filled hall was not a true reflection of the various interests in Nollywood.
