Federal Government was, yesterday, urged to enforce the law on piracy in the country to enable authors and book publishers benefit from their labours.

President of the Christian Book Sellers Association Nigeria, CBAN, Mrs. Modupe Ehirim, made the call in Lagos at the opening of the 2012 convention and book fair.

She said the book publishing industry was confronted with activities of the pirates on a scale much larger than anything the country had ever experienced.

Mrs. Ehirim said the challenging operational environment has made many a book-sellers to rethink their call to the Christian book trade, adding that the association had embarked on enlightenment and advocacy on the dangers of piracy.

The CBAN President also called for the creation of a conducive environment to encourage reading culture in the country, stressing that libraries and the reading of books would not only improve literacy, enhance careers, raise pleasant children but also ensure marriage success.

She said: “The reading habit of Nigerians is very poor. The environment does not encourage reading and children no longer have libraries.”

Mrs. Ehirim noted, however, that the Federal Government had launched the Bring Back the Book programme, while the Rivers State government had succeeded in making Port Harcourt to become the book capital of the world this year.

The week-long convention and book fair, on the theme Tell the News, which features the exhibition of Christian books and inspirational recordings at the Shepherdhill Baptist Church, Obanikoro, Lagos, will end Saturday.