OKOROJI PREDICTS BUMPER YEAR FOR THE NIGERIAN ENTERTAINMENT
INDUSTRY
Chairman,
Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Chief Tony Okoroji has predicted that the
Nigerian entertainment industry will witness a bumper year in 2017. In his New
Year message to the industry, Chief Okoroji asked practitioners and investors
in the industry to have faith and take every necessary step to professionalize and
that as better value is placed on Nigeria’s entertainment products resulting in
significant growth, the industry will play a key role in revitalizing Nigeria’s
struggling economy in 2017.
According
to Okoroji, his optimism is based on the fact that the government is finally
beginning to understand the huge potentials of the creative sector and has
shown the willingness to effectively activate a number of initiatives that were
scandalously ignored in the oil boom days.
In the
words of the former president of PMAN, “just before the end of last year, the
Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation assured me that he will take all
necessary steps to ensure that the Private Copy Levy scheme is activated
without further delay. That will bring a new stream of income to musicians,
movie makers, authors, publishers, etc. The AG also promised that the Nigerian
Copyright Commission will be revitalized and given the muscle to protect
producers and investors in the creative industries. That should have a major impact
on income.
“At
the end of 2016, we began a major conversation with MTN, the biggest
telecommunications company in the country. We do have a significant meeting of
minds with Airtel. I am looking forward to what has so far been an adversarial
relationship with the telecommunication industry becoming a virile partnership
in 2017. Imagine the possibilities if we begin to speak with one voice with the
‘telcos’ and work together to harness the huge potentials of the Nigerian
entertainment industry for the benefit of all the parties and our country”
Chief
Okoroji also said that he has had several conversations with the Minister of Information,
Culture & Tourism, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and that he is convinced that the
Minister is ‘pumped up’ and wants to take those steps that will energize the
industry. Said Okoroji “the Minister is
clearly taking steps to get the National Endowment Fund for the Arts up and
running. This should provide badly needed funding for different projects in the
sector. There is the growing engagement with the Tony Elemelu Foundation which
the minister is supporting. Anybody who knows Tony Elumelu, knows that he has
no business with failure”
With
respect to COSON, Chief Okoroji said that renovations and installations will
begin shortly in the newly acquired ‘COSON HOUSE’ in Ikeja and that in the
second quarter of 2017, COSON should move its operations from Opebi to a fully
paid for ultra-modern edifice with the space and technology to properly drive a
forward-looking organization. He also said that he is looking forward to
starting discussions soon with the John Momoh led new Executive of Broadcasting
Organizations of Nigeria (BON) on the significant debt owed COSON by broadcasting
organizations in Nigeria and ensure that an agreement is reached and the debt
redeemed.
Chief
Okoroji assured all members of COSON that the organization will robustly
protect their interests in 2017 and work towards increasing the distributable
income to members. The Chairman vowed to do everything in his power to make
sure that COSON continues to be an exemplary Nigerian organization, maintaining
complete transparency and accountability and safeguarding
the culture of respect for intellectual property rights which it has vigorously
promoted in Nigeria.
