‘Creative Industry Can Generate N1trn To Nation’s Economy’

The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) says Nigeria’s creative industry is capable of contributing more than N1 trillion annually to the nation’s economy.

The Director-General of the commission, Mr Afam Ezekude, said this at the 2012 National Creativity Day Celebration in Abuja, last Thursday.

The celebration is an initiative of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to promote Africa’s potential in creative industries.

The Creative Africa Initiative was launched in April 2008 at the 12th session of UNCTAD in Accra.

The components of the industry include arts and crafts, music, dance, film, painting, advertising and fashion.

Represented by a Director at the commission, Mr Mike Akpa, the DG in a paper, said that the study on the potential of the industry was still ongoing.

He said preliminary findings indicated that the contributions of the creative industry to the nation’s economy could equal what was accruable in other big sectors annually if properly harnessed.

Ezekude gave a breakdown of the various sectors and their contributions to the industry, noting that they were currently being underutilised.

“We are in agreement with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) to ascertain the worth of the industry to our economy, but from our preliminary findings, the film sector can contribute N45 billion to the economy.

“The software sector can contribute N250 billion, publishing sector, N100 billion; music sector, N80 billion; broadcasting sector, N25 billion; advertising sector, N20 billion and ICT, textiles and jewelries, N100 billion.”

He said that the true state of the industry’s potential to the economy would be ascertained after the study must have been completed.

Ezekude, however, added that Nigeria would only begin to maximise its potential in the industry if an effective protection and regulatory framework was put in place to protect the creative works from unauthorised users.

He stressed the need for authorities to review existing laws to effectively safeguard the rights of creative work owners in the country.

The Director-General explained that the existence of over 15 replicating plants across the country underscored the need for an effective protection framework to be urgently put in place.

On steps taken by the commission to encourage creativity in the country, Ezekude said that the commission was working beyond its periodic anti-piracy raids.

He disclosed that the commission recently signed an agreement with ICT giant, Google, to encourage creativity in the industry.

Ezekude said that creative work owners would, by the agreement, begin to earn some remuneration for the use of their works.