Film maker rates fight against piracy in Nigeria low

A film maker, Lekan Ayinde, on Thursday described the fight to overcome piracy in the movie sub-sector in Nigeria as discouraging.

Ayinde, Manager, Wale Adenuga Production (WAP) who spoke in an interview with our reporter in Lagos said “it is not encouraging because government at all levels are not paying attention to it.”

“The newspapers are replete with news of corrupt public officers, armed robbers and traffickers but those who pirate films or movies are not given any attention at all.

“It has been quite a long time we read or hear of any arrest or even trial of film or movie pirates.

“Yet, this criminality is flourishing right under the eyes of government and their agents,’’ Ayinde alleged.

According to him, Nigeria’s movie industry is not benefiting from governments as it ought to, because piracy is on the increase unchecked.

“Piracy is the main obstacle confronting the film sector of Nigeria from realising its economic potential,’’ he said.

On the governments’ foreign direct investment drives, Ayinde said that not much attention was being given to films as a major revenue source for the country.

“We need men and women who know how to use movies to provide employment, enrich our economy and advance our image in the international society,’’ he said.