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Outdated laws, bane of Nigeria’s creative industry, says Idigbe

By Joseph Onyekwere
15 May 2018   |   4:23 am
Unclear policies, outdated laws, improper regulation and lack of governmental or substantial private sector investment are some of the drawbacks hindering the maximization of creative industry potentials in Nigeria.

Chief Anthony Idigbe. PHOTO: DNL Partners

Unclear policies, outdated laws, improper regulation and lack of governmental or substantial private sector investment are some of the drawbacks hindering the maximization of creative industry potentials in Nigeria.

That is the verdict of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Anthony Idigbe, in his welcome address at the 2018 Punuka annual lecture with the theme “Building sustainable businesses in film, television and music sectors: challenges for the industry and government.”

According to him, we are in an era in Nigeria where more attention needs to be given to the creative industry to maximize its potentials. “Consequently, there is a need to focus on creating policies for these sectors that prioritize growth and encourage sustainability in order to engineer the transition from a creative industry to the development of a thriving creative economy,” he stated.

Other speakers in the event, where a new corporate logo was unveiled for the 71 year old firm includes the chairman of Silverbird group, Senator Ben-Murray Bruce, former chief executive officer of Lead Capital Plc, Mr. Abimbola Olashore, the chairman of Dragon Africa, Mr. Obi Asika, executive director, Centre for International Trade and Policy, Dr. Ese Stephen Owie, former managing director of Cross River state Tourism Bureau, Michael Dale Williams, immediate past registrar, Advertising Practisioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), Alhaji Garba Bello Kankarofi, Ms. Isioma Idigbe and host of others.

According to Olashore, copyright enfringements, piracy, inability of artists to earn from their works are part of the challenges dogging the industry.

“The problem is that the industry is not structured,” said Bruce who pointed out that entertainment was held back because government did not get involved. He charged government to get involved in entertainment and predicted that the “next entertainment superstar” will come out of Nigeria.

While Owie said there is a governing framework for entertainment, he however insisted, “we have not properly figured out what the legal framework will be like,” adding that lack of state support is a major challenge.

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