Piracy Is Rendering Practitioners Bankrupt- Sola Fajobi

The scourge of piracy has continuously been discouraged following the recent outrage and protest by moviemakers over the negative impact it has to the purse of scores of filmmakers who have been shortchanged by the sharp activities of pirates.

Lending his voice against the backdrop of recent protests by moviemakers and other movie stakeholders, Sola Fajobi, a major player in the Nigerian entertainment distribution sector who also doubles as the C.E.O of Digital Interactive Media Limited, NollywoodR and E-FORCE says piracy is rendering movie practitioners bankrupt.

 “The menace of pirates and piracy in all spheres of the Nigerian life has eaten deep in to our system. From beverages, to fashion to almost every item is being pirated or counterfeited today un-abated. Piracy in Creative Arts Industry is rendering the practitioners bankrupt and the Pirates are smiling to the bank. It seems there is no solution in sight. But I strongly believe with the cooperation of key stakeholders the Government and all Security agencies; we can smile once again.

“Prior to 2014, it was generally believed that the absence of major distribution networks and models gave room to the pirates to operate fully, hence, two major companies namely G-Media led by Gab Okoye [Gabosky] and E-Force led by Sola Fajobi opened Shop,” he informed.

The prolific producer also offered useful tips and possible solution that’ll effectively curb the scourge which is making intellectual property owners have sleepless nights.

“The reality of piracy is not new, it has bitten so deep into the Creative Arts Industry to the extent that most practitioners are no more interested in the industry and that is why largely you see a lot of entertainers chasing after politicians for money.

It is not just about October 1^st movie, it is only the latest, hence our approach cannot just centre on the movie, however, we can use the movie as a reference point for action. As we are speaking, the pirates are in production of new works to be released soon.

“Government should set up a sustainable institution dedicated and empowered to deal with Piracy and Intellectual Property Theft for Nigerian Works and all Other Foreign or African Content. An Anti Piracy Board or Commission is urgently required by an act of Law with the following mandate; registration and licensing of all film makers, marketers, distributors and film shops, enforce all anti-piracy laws and ensure prosecution of arrested practitioners, eradicate, ban and clampdown on all creative works sold on the streets and traffic, design a Code of Conduct for resellers to include that even foreign movies or works are not sold in shops without licensing, set up undercover teams to disguise and penetrate the cartel, monitor and take stocks of the film stores,  mop-up Alaba, Idumota and Trade Fair and all the Marketers, relocate the film market to a central place i.e. Arena in Oshodi among other stringent measures.

“Of course, the above is not exhaustive, it’s a work in progress and key stakeholders need to meet and proffer additional ideas and directions that will work in the short term and long term.” Sola added.