By Adeyinka Adeniran
The umbrella body of all reputable book publishers in the country, Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA) on Wednesday said the piracy of the works of its members has reached a frightening dimension, as perpetrators have now advanced to the level of mass importation of high quality pirated books into the Nigerian market.
It called on the appropriate authorities to ensure the recently enacted Copyright Law is implemented to the letter with adequate and maximum penalties applied to the perpetrators of the act.
This is as the group said, making books available for accessibility is a collective effort of all stakeholders in the book ecosystem, including: authors, the publishers, distributors/booksellers, and the libraries
The President/Chairman-in-Council, NPA, Lukman Dauda made the disclosures while addressing a press conference to mark this year’s World Book and Copyright Day, the 30th edition since inception in 1995, when the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), declared April 23 of every year a World Book and Copyright Day globally.
He was accompanied at the conference by the Deputy President (West), Dr Olakunle Sogbein, Vice President, Mr Seinde Ogunniyi and an Executive Council member, Mrs Folakemi Bademosi.
World Book and Copyright Day is a day set aside to celebrate and promote the enjoyment of books and reading, recognize the capability of the book as a bridge between the past, present and future, a link between different generations and across cultures. The theme for the 2025 celebration by UNESCO is: “Read Your Way”.
Speaking on theme, Dauda said the book publishers in Nigeria decided to celebrate this year’s anniversary in grand style by organizing this press conference, with the sub-theme: “Access to Knowledge: Balancing Book Availability and Copyright”, noting that in an increasingly interconnected and knowledge-driven world that we live, access to information and educational resources has become an important factor in personal, societal, and economic development.
While calling for respect for copyright, the NPA Chairman noted that, in ensuring that books are readily available and accessible, a balance must be struck between access to information and the rights of the creators of such information.
He stressed that every inch of effort must be deployed to discouraging any unauthorized printing or use in whatever form-physical or digital of the intellectual property of another person or entity, noting that the success of this will encourage creativity and adequate compensation for the owners of the rights.
Dauda said, “In our own environment here in Nigeria, the rate of piracy of the works of others has reached a frightening dimension, to the extent that perpetrators of this evil have advanced to the level of mass importation of high quality pirated books into the Nigerian market.
“While it is convenient to assume the unsuspecting masses who patronize these criminals may be ignorant, instances abound where some knowingly patronize them under the guise of cheaper price. This trend portends a great danger to the publishing industry as it’s capable of ruining the huge investment of genuine publishers in the book business.
“We express deep appreciation to the Nigerian Copyright commission, NCC, for the support at all times, in the fight against book piracy. We will continue to collaborate with the Commission in this regard. It is hoped that in the course of the year, a new initiative of applying holograms to publishers’ books as being worked on between the NCC and NPA will address this area of serious concern.”
Speaking on what he described as unfriendly business environment within which the Publishers operate, the NPA boss explained that, in addition to the menace of piracy which has eaten so deep into the book market, and the epileptic power supply, all core materials for book production come from outside the country.
“This, apart from worsening the already huge capital requirement for publishing business, limits the volume of books that could be made available at any particular point in time.
“But for the recently established paper mills in Ogun state, in Southwest Nigeria, there was no functional paper mill for years. Same goes for other ingredients in the book production process.
“The implication of this scenario is: limited volume of books at high production cost, and invariably, high selling price. Any attempt to import books legitimately into the country is met with high exchange rate, thereby making such unattractive. To stay in the book business now means operating to survive and not necessarily to make profit.”
The Association however urged to government to: “In the area of book piracy, we call on the appropriate authorities to ensure the recently enacted Copyright Law is implemented to the letter with adequate and maximum penalties applied to the perpetrators of the dastardly act.
“With a Gross Domestic Product, GDP of over a hundred billion in the book industry annually, any market/sales lost to the pirate is a loss of revenue to the government.
“While appreciating the efforts of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, NCC, we plead that government should ensure the Commission is adequately funded to be able to significantly make the desired impact in the fight against piracy.
“There is need for proper collaborative efforts between the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigeria Police Force, and other security agencies in the fight against international and cross-border as well as local book piracy. When the heat is applied by all security agencies, the pirates’ activities will be brought to the lowest level.
“Government should create the enabling environment to attract more investors into paper production. This is capable of providing the needed ingredient for core raw material availability and its multiplier effect of cheaper books due to lower production cost.
“Also, for the umpteenth time, we call on government to remove import duties on other printing materials imported for the purpose of books production. Alternatively, the duties on such should be reduced to the barest minimum.”
