Nigeria’s Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has kicked against the sixth National Broadcast Code recently released by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), saying it will strangulate the producers of artworks.
In a statement Tuesday, the novelist said the federal government was declaring war against the arts and producers of art works.
“I think it is about time the government comes out openly and admits that it has declared war against the arts and its producers, instead of its present tactics of piecemeal attrition.
“Just when we were reeling from the action of the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports in joining hands with book pirates by providing a free-loading portal for the works of Nigerian authors, among others, along comes a new regulatory hit against the cinema and video enterprise, and its operators,” he said.
The renowned writer and author of many first-rate books however commended the Director-General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission for promptly responding to complaints by Nigerian authors on the threat to their copyright.
While noting that some of the amendments are well-intentioned, Soyinka stated the code is the equivalent of a knee to the neck of the creative industry and carries the potential of economic sabotage.
“And now it is the turn of a sister industry to be placed under siege! I have just read excerpts of the newly proposed NBC broadcasting code and become aware of some potentially dangerous aspects of the code.
“Whilst one concedes that, I shudder to imagine unintended consequences such as backhanded censorship in the age of digital media. These restrict intellectual property rights and their scope of exploitation with whomsoever one chooses to collaborate,” he said
