Nigeria music icon, Innocent Idibia, popularly
known as Tuface, has urged Nigerians to shun
pirated intellectual materials, just like
adulterated drugs. “If pirated copyright materials do not have
people to buy them, they will stay on the shop
shelves and the shops will eventually close. “But if we continue to patronise them, the
pirates will continue to sell,’’ Idibia told the
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. He also implored the government and agencies
saddled with the enforcement of anti-piracy
laws, to be decisive in the clamp down on
culprits. “They are criminals, just like the thieves we
catch on the streets,” he said. According to him, the agencies should go all
out and eliminate piracy as no crime syndicate
should be stronger than the government. “We know that it cannot be wiped out in one
day, it will take time, but we all should come on
board and start on the right path. “ To be honest with you, corruption is the
reason why piracy is still a major issue in
Nigeria. “If radio stations are not paying royalties,
government should know that they are losing a
lot. They should help artistes get royalties, so
that we can also pay tax for the nation’s
development. “ If the government knows that these artistes
have to pay heavy taxes and they are going to
make a lot of money from collecting these
taxes, they will do something,” he said. Idibia expressed disappointment that the police
could not see people who sell pirated compact
discs and other copyright materials as
criminals. “If you complain, the police will look at you, just
like you want to deny these boys of their
means of livelihood. They do not even know it’s
a crime, and it is a punishable offence; so, it is
a serious issue,” he said. Idibia said that his desire was to see the return
of high quality music to Nigeria in terms of
production and its packaging. “When this happens and you sell it for the
appropriate price, we will be able to make more
money and be able to compete with our
counterparts in other parts of the world.” (NAN)
known as Tuface, has urged Nigerians to shun
pirated intellectual materials, just like
adulterated drugs. “If pirated copyright materials do not have
people to buy them, they will stay on the shop
shelves and the shops will eventually close. “But if we continue to patronise them, the
pirates will continue to sell,’’ Idibia told the
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. He also implored the government and agencies
saddled with the enforcement of anti-piracy
laws, to be decisive in the clamp down on
culprits. “They are criminals, just like the thieves we
catch on the streets,” he said. According to him, the agencies should go all
out and eliminate piracy as no crime syndicate
should be stronger than the government. “We know that it cannot be wiped out in one
day, it will take time, but we all should come on
board and start on the right path. “ To be honest with you, corruption is the
reason why piracy is still a major issue in
Nigeria. “If radio stations are not paying royalties,
government should know that they are losing a
lot. They should help artistes get royalties, so
that we can also pay tax for the nation’s
development. “ If the government knows that these artistes
have to pay heavy taxes and they are going to
make a lot of money from collecting these
taxes, they will do something,” he said. Idibia expressed disappointment that the police
could not see people who sell pirated compact
discs and other copyright materials as
criminals. “If you complain, the police will look at you, just
like you want to deny these boys of their
means of livelihood. They do not even know it’s
a crime, and it is a punishable offence; so, it is
a serious issue,” he said. Idibia said that his desire was to see the return
of high quality music to Nigeria in terms of
production and its packaging. “When this happens and you sell it for the
appropriate price, we will be able to make more
money and be able to compete with our
counterparts in other parts of the world.” (NAN)
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