The unveiling of the logo and theme of the 30th anniversary of the Nigerian Copyright Commission surprisingly brought together warring stakeholders, Mayo Ayilaran (MCSN) AND Tony Okoroji (COSON), on the one part, and Okoroji and Efe Omoregbe, both members of COSON, but no longer sharing same views on the issue of leadership, on the other hand. Other stakeholders praised the maturity displayed by these men, even as the Director-General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, Mr John Ohi Asien, has asserted that the Creative Industry will soon become a major player in the nation’s economic sector as it has been showing positive signs already.
At the unveiling of the logo and theme, held at Omenka Art Gallery, Ikoyi, Lagos, recently, Asien praised the efforts of stakeholders, who, for the past 30 years, have contributed positively to the growth of the Creative Industry. The D-G, however expressed hope that the next 30 years will witness another level of growth in the nation.
Describing Nigerians as one of the most creative in the world, he expressed his dismay at the inability of creators to benefit significantly from the industry. “But we are in our significant stage and are doing everything we can to position our people to benefit from the industry after carrying out some reforms that will ensure that we are better off in few decades,” he said.
Speaking at the press conference, the deputy governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr Moses Ekpo and pioneer D-G of NCC, he described the period his team and the other friends of the Commission had to grapple with as “confusing, if not chaotic,” because its legal framework was weak and people got away with infringement of copyright.
“This scenario also impacted negatively on the nation’s international reputation as Nigeria was operating outside the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) framework. Our first assignment was therefore directed at correcting these anomalies.”
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We succeeded when we embarked on massive enlightenment campaigns with right owners and users. Today, as we gather to kick off this 30th anniversary celebration, nothing should hinder our commitment to ensuring that Nigeria catches up with global best practices in the area of intellectual property protection as it is obtained in the advanced polities.”
Dr Tonye Jaja, chairman of NCC Board said the copyright industry in Nigeria has done a lot in terms of fostering a global image of our culture and must strive to build respect for the right of authors and creators as their contributions to our nation building efforts are indeed enormous.
“We shall continue to engage with our stakeholders to promote effective rights management, proactive enforcement against rights violations, and building linkages at national and international levels to ensure the visibility of Nigeria as a leading nation on copyright and intellectual property protection.”
The three-month long celebrations will continue on August 27 with several activities slated for Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Onitsha, Ibadan and the grand finale gala and award in Lagos on October 25