By Tony Edike
STAKEHOLDERS in Nigerian publishing, music and recording industries have expressed concern over the alleged non-commitment and insincerity by operatives of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, NCC in the fight against piracy in the country.

The stakeholders including the Music Label owners and Recording Industries Association of Nigeria, MORAN, made this known during an interactive session between stakeholders in the South East and the Director General of NCC, Barrister Afam Ezekude in Enugu. National President of MORAN, Mr. John Udegbunam disclosed that past efforts by the association to wage war against pirates could not yield the desired result due to lack of technical support required for such activities.

He said: “MORAN had attempted raid in 2010 which we consider a major failure. The target, as identified, is reputed to be the next biggest piracy hotbed in Nigeria after Alaba market in Lagos. We have worked successfully with NCC operatives on various occasions, however, it is our assessment that a major reason for failure of the said raid is that we did not receive the level of technical assistance we had expected from the NCC.

“This of course resulted in significant financial losses to MORAN and its members. Apart from the failed raid, we regrettably have to report that there is also a state where we have found it difficult to obtain any co-operation from NCC officials.” The association pointed out that the fight against piracy is the core reason why NCC was established and huge national resources had been committed towards maintaining the commission and its personnel.

“We are therefore very unhappy that NCC appears never to have any money to pursue this vital objective for which it was set up. Innocent and traumatised stakeholders have sadly been placed in a position where the haggle with officials of NCC to pay for the slightest input to every anti piracy raid in which the commission is involved.”

The MORAN president, who appealed to the NCC Director General to address the issue promptly, stated that there was a growing feeling among members of the group that the priorities of the NCC may be faulty and that its resources are being committed to areas that have very little benefits to the copyright community.

The association also appealed that NCC should stop dealing with people in the music industry who are not part of the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) because the commission’s continued dealings with them set a bad precedence and creates an impression that lawlessness pays. “We believe that the time has come to stop the romance between the NCC and those who have chosen to challenge the authority of the commission and flagrantly disobey the law.

To sanitize the industry, they should be fully prosecuted and made to bear the consequences of their actions,” the association demanded.

In his remarks, Ezekude assured the stakeholders that he would look into details of various issues raised by MORAN and advised them that those who have issues with staff of the commission should get in touch with him. Ezekude expressed delight that a lot of issues that formed the basis of the vision of his administration have been brought forward by the stakeholders and described his stay in the commission as a new era in the copyright system in Nigeria.

The Director General announced that the focus of his administration would be more proactive NCC that would commit reasonable resources to enforcement as enforcement would be the bedrock of his administration.

Ezekude observed that why stakeholders were fed up with the commission was because the focus was probably different and stated that his focus would be to hunt criminals, prosecute and send them to jail.

He added that NCC cannot achieve its goals without the support of the stakeholders and commended them for their collaboration in anti piracy activities and prosecution.