BY OSA AMADI

Minister for Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has submitted, based on the discussions during the 2-day Creative Nigeria Summit that the creative industry cannot survive with stringent regulations nor can it survive without strong collaboration with intellectual property lawyers, IT experts, and financiers. The minister made this submission while addressing a press conference at the end of the 2-day summit which held at Eko Hotels & Suites, Lagos.

Lai Mohammed

“We had a very rewarding 2-day summit on financing the creative industry. It has been two days of robust exchanges, and of new vista in the industry. We had resource people from every part of the world: America, Europe, India, and Nigeria. And we have addressed issues such as financing film industry, music industry, issues of intellectual property, and enforcement of laws. We also addressed the issue of piracy and infrastructure,” said the Minister.

According Lai, The good thing about this 2-day summit is that it has opened our eyes. It has reduced the gap between the government (regulators) and the stakeholders. We have also been able to make the stakeholders (practitioners, actors, producers) appreciate the fact that today, the creative industry cannot survive with strong regulation, without strong collaboration with intellectual property lawyers, IT experts, and with the financiers. At the end of the summit, it became clear that the creative industry does not only need better protection from government, but also needs to examine the old way they have been doing things.

“In the area of financing,” said Lai Mohammed, “the take away is that no longer can we use the old financing system to finance this industry. We must now use venture capital. And to this extent, I am happy to announce that I have decided to invite 20 people to invest $50,000 each in the venture capital which will be used to help upcoming artists. And as at this evening, we have had 8 people who have accepted to invest in this venture capital. Venture capital is not a grant, and the people are investing and not donating the money. And it will be used the way venture capitals are used to develop such industries elsewhere.”

Continuing, the minister said, “We have also set up a committee that will follow up with the resolutions and decisions of this meeting arising from the stakeholders, and we left this meeting, more resolved that there will be modal and more cooperation between the government and the stakeholders.

Clarifying on a statement he made previously, the minister said:  “When I visited COSON (Copyright Society of Nigeria), I said I will work to amend the NBC code to ensure that if a program is designated as a Nigerian content program, it must be produced in Nigeria. I did not say (as I was later wrongly quoted) that hence forth all music and films must be produced in Nigeria. Let me also say that I am going to ensure that the NBC code is amended in a manner that if any company today invests a million dollars to promote or support any team outside Nigeria, I would want the broadcasting code not to allow that program to be aired unless that company also supports a certain percentage of the Nigerian league, because we cannot continue to develop the economies of other parts of the world with the sweat of Nigerians at the expense of our own economy.”