The greatest threat to Nollywood

Afribiz highlights the poor state of Intellectual Property (IP) governance in Nigeria using the case of the Nigerian film industry:

‘The growth of Nollywood has been impeded by the inability of filmmakers and industry stakeholders to secure complete IP protections for their investment in time and capital. Piracy stands to be the greatest threat to Nollywood, as it is estimated that for every legitimately sold movie, more than five are sold illegitimately. Some sources report that as high as nine out of every ten CDs, DVDs, VCDs, and other copyrighted work is pirated. Pirated works represent at least twenty-five percent of the entire market place…

‘Ineffective enforcement of IP laws and weak anti-piracy efforts provide a breeding ground for the prevalence of piracy.

‘However, achieving a successful creative industry will require political commitment to prioritize the creative industry’s needs. While Nollywood stakeholders are enthusiastic about the future of Nollywood, the lack of government support could cause a detrimental impediment to the industry’s success.

‘Enacting IP laws and anti-piracy campaigns is necessary, but insufficient. Proper oversight is essential and a decrease in corrupt practices is vital. Corruption in Nigeria’s business climate is the hobgoblin of economic under-development, as it deters foreign investment and weakens trust in government. Anti-corruptive campaigns will be as essential to the continued success of Nollywood as will anti-piracy campaigns. But most importantly, an overall commitment to these campaigns will provide a stable and reliable environment wherein Nigeria may harness its creative industry.’

Elie Smith comments on the longstanding tradition of ephemeral political alliances in Cote d’Ivoire:

‘It has to be pointed out that alliances in Ivory Coast seldom last. In 2000, it was the alliance between the left-leaning FPI party of Laurent Gbagbo and the Conservative RDR party of Alassane Dramane Ouattara that propelled the first to power. But as soon as Gbagbo reached the presidency, the alliance fell apart. Similarly, late General Guei is alleged to have entered into an agreement with Laurent Gbagbo, in which, the first would become president in 2000 elections and the second will be his prime minister.

‘Both men are reported to have agreed to exclude Alassane Dramane Ouattara and Henri Konan Bedie from the 2000 presidential elections bid. General Guei who was killed in a counter coup operation in 2000 by loyalist forces, did not know that as he was negotiating with Laurent Gbagbo how best to sideline Ouattara and Bedie, the same Laurent was also plotting with Ouattara on how to hoodwink the Christmas Day coup plotter. It is also rumored that, the 1999 coup d’état was sponsored by Alassane Ouattara in revenge to what Henri Konan Bedie did to him in 1995. Ten years later, the Henri Konan Bedie and Alassane Dramane Ouattara, who are or were former foes, have now united to oust from power, Laurent Gbagbo, the one whom both consider a dangerous impersonator. But will their alliance last? Will it overcome the deep suspicions and resentments it has created. Will members of Konan Bedie party follow loyally the orders of their leader to vote for the man they derided yesterday?’

Kate with Dreadlocks, a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Guinea, gives an overview of the recent elections in that country:

‘As of late Monday night results are IN from the November 7 Presidential run-off!! As the results were announced, an unexpectedly late storm pounded Conakry, rain washing the streets clean. Symbolic? We can only hope. The Electoral Committee cleverly released the results on the eve of the Fête de Mouton, or Eid al-Adha, one of the largest Muslim holidays of the year, when people are expected to be visiting friends and family, eating sheep (in memory of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, before the sheep handily stepped in), and generally, not violently protesting. Most folks seemed to stay close to home yesterday, celebrating the Fête on a scaled-down level.

‘Guinea’s Supreme Court now has eight days to confirm the election results. Once things are calm, we’ll head to our posts. It’s true that there has been unrest in Conakry, I can hear the gunshots, but I’m happily hunkered down in the Peace Corps house with plenty of reading material and a very large stash of yogurt (although no sheep). Hopefully, the supporters of the losing candidate, Diallo, who have been quoted as saying “Victory or Death!” will take another look at that stance… I’m encouraged to know that the roughly 2,000 election observers from the Carter Center, the European Union, and local groups did not find the “massive fraud at all levels” that Diallo has accused. I’m equally curious to see if Condé, the winning candidate, will make good on the pledge both candidates made prior to elections to include the other in a unity government, and if extending the olive branch would quiet the street riots.’

Lambom’s Vuvuzela feels that it is time for Africans in the United States to establish a political caucus to defend their interests:

‘In the last election cycle, the huge Hispanic turnout in key battleground states paid off; Harry Reid, for example, the most endangered senator in the last election who had his seat on life support owes his victory in part to the Hispanic vote angered by Angle’s anti-immigration ads.

‘In the light of the foregoing, one may rightly ask – where are the Africans?

‘Africans are surely lost in the madding crowd of “African American” and are more concerned with bread-and-butter issues. Most of us are on the wild goose chase for the dollar...

‘In seeking to navigate US political landscape, the African Diaspora must borrow a leaf from the Hispanic caucus. Three lessons worth drawing on are first, Hispanics have made their voices heard and articulated their plight; next they have put their money where their mouth is, and lastly they are an organized bunch.

‘Many [Africans"> may not be able to vote, but let none hear any idly saying there is nothing they can do. Making the African voice heard in the very crowded supermarket like US politics needs the vuvuzela of grassroots mobilization. The moment is opportune and the time is ripe.’

Gay Uganda writes about the burden of being gay in Uganda:

‘Sunday, a friend came and told me that he had tested, and was HIV positive.

‘There is nothing like that shock, when you realise a friend is so burdened...

‘He is gay.

‘And, closeted…

‘Double closeted, that is what my gay friends who are positive have to be. They cannot tell members of our community that they are HIV positive. And, they cannot disclose outside the community that they are gay. Of course HIV still has a huge stigma. Yes, despite the “enlightened” attitudes now. It is still a stigmatizing condition, despite the drugs...

‘Now, for those of you not in the know, Uganda is a worldwide leader in HIV prevention. You will hear that in HIV circles. No, I am not lying.

‘And, Uganda does not have an HIV prevention programme for gay people. Again, I am not lying.

‘People like Ssempa, teaching and preaching Abstinence and Being Faithful have huge influence with the Uganda AIDS Commission. Ssempa is on record saying that we can’t have an HIV prevention programme for gay men. Because we gay people are illegal...

‘No. I am NOT kidding you.’

Myne Whitman explains the impact of Ken Saro Wiwa’s death, 15 years after he was put to death by the Abacha regime in Nigeria:
‘I had previously ignored the military regime of the now late Gen. Sani Abacha, but I was forced to consider how they stifled free speech, and how this might affect my own writing, my life. It was not an encouraging picture I saw...

‘In the years in between Ken Saro Wiwa's death and today, I read two more of his books of his experiences during the Nigeria-Biafra civil war. Sozaboy: a Novel in Rotten English, of a naive village boy recruited into the army; and On a Darkling Plain, his personal diary… Both books and most of his others made references to the abuse he saw around him, as the oil companies took riches from beneath the soil of Ogoni land, and in return left them polluted and unusable. The fed into my world view of how the world worked, and why I needed to tell my own story however I could.

‘Today, 15 years later, I am more grown up and socially aware. I live in the United States by choice and will travel to Nigeria in the next couple of weeks. I am a full time writer, editor and author. My book, A Heart to Mend, has also been published and is doing very well in Nigeria. In March of this year, I established and currently serve as managing editor for a critique website for Nigerian writers called Naija Stories. The aim of the website is to provide a platform of opportunities to aspiring Nigerian writers and get them telling their stories on their own terms. In a press release yesterday by the Niger-Delta Restoration of Hope, two of Naija Stories members had won in a writing competition held to commemorate the death of Ken Saro-Wiwa. Their entries were appropriately titled "Road to Martyrdom" and "Life before Death”.

‘Ken Saro Wiwa had died for speaking out and making his voice relevant. I, and others, will continue speaking.’

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* Dibussi Tande blogs at Scribbles from the Den.
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