Governments at all levels in Nigeria have been called upon to be more innovative and creative in their search for responsible governance in the country.
Making this plea was the Reproduction Rights Society of Nigeria (REPRONIG) in a statement to mark this year’s World Copyright Day which came up last weekend.
The statement signed by the organization’s Board Chairman, Professor Olu Obafemi and the Executive Director, Jare Ajayi, noted that the killings in the country has soured the celebration.
It said: “Whereas Nigerians ought to join their counterparts in other parts of the world to keep exploring ways of enhancing the frontiers of intellectual property and copyright dividends, the wanton and unwarranted shedding of innocent blood in parts of the country today constitutes the greatest violation of rights that any individual could suffer. For this reason, the kind of celebrative mood we ought to be in as we mark another year of Copyright Declaration is seriously tainted by these ugly incidents that are clearly avoidable.”
Although the body expressed joy that a Nigerian city, Port Harcourt, was the 2014 World Book Capital and that the Rivers State government ably hosted the world on the occasion, the kind of euphoria which this important event deserved was undermined by the mourning mood in which millions of Nigerians were forced into as a result of the inhuman activities of Boko Haram insurgents amongst others.
Repronig said that it acknowledges the sundry efforts being made by the government to tackle these problems but that, “Unfortunately, it looks like the more government assures Nigerians that it is on top of the situation, the more these agents of evils became more daring!”
Speaking against the backdrop of the South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won’s resignation over the passenger ferry mishap in that country, the Copyright organization said that what is expected of leaders in Nigeria “is to put heads together to find solutions to the problems that are daily threatening our corporate existence.”
Finally, the Reproduction Society of Nigeria appealed to heads of educational institutions in the country to respect the copyright of authors and cooperate with Repronig in its efforts to safeguard the interests of intellectual copyright owners.
