How Piracy Destroyed Nollywood

Stakeholders in the Nollywood industry on Wednesday took turns to relay their plights in the hands of film pirates giving details of how some of their people have either been wounded or sent out of the business.

Desmond Elliot

According to them, these pirates have formed themselves into a cabal with an association that is even stronger than the normal associations in the industry.

The pirates have also become very ruthless, according to these stakeholders, who were at the Lagos State House of Assembly to fashion out a way to strengthen the industry and rid it of corrupt elements in the system.

Those who spoke before the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, and a team of lawmakers including Desmong Elliot, revealed that these pirates have the backing of military officials from the Ojo Cartonment who assist in transporting the pirated compact disks to agents vendors.

Though they pleaded to remain anonymous, they also revealed that the vendors on the various roads in Lagos have agents who pay them commission to market the pirated films.

One of them revealed that every evening, small buses stocked with pirated films file out to various roads where the vendors come to pick copies.

They also accused officials of the Nigeria Copyright Commission (NCC) of romancing the film pirates; thus becoming powerless.

Film producers, marketers, distributors, actors, and stakeholders pleaded with the Assembly for a law, banning the sales and purchase of pirated films in the state.

Apart from this, they also want the state government to come into the industry by building cinemas in major areas of the state so as to help producers recuperate what they expended in film production and also help the government generate revenue.

While addressing stakeholders, Speaker Obasa said he was prepared to assist in every area he is called upon for assistance as long as it tallied with the law.

Obasa called piracy a war that must be fought together and urged those in the industry to strengthen it and come up with a concrete plan for government’s support.

Elliot, who is the brain behind the meeting, also said though he was not in a hurry to start sponsoring motions, he would ensure that he does his best to make the industry more viable so that people would be encouraged to invest in it.