Wole Soyinka explains why revised NBC code will strangle creative industry, as NECLive writes Buhari
Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has joined the growing list of Nigerians who have condemned the revised 6th edition of the NBC code.
He described the code as strangulatory and an economic sabotage directed towards thousands of practitioners.
This is as organisers of the Nigerian Entertainment Conference (NEC Live) have written President Muhammadu Buhari demanding his intervention for a review of the code.
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the government agency regulating the Nigerian broadcast industry, recently released the revised 6th edition of the NBC code, which seeks to take away exclusivity in the broadcast industry, enforce content sub-licensing and also empower NBC to regulate the prices at which content is sub-licensed even to direct competitors.
“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 some of the regulations are well intentioned, I shudder to imagine unintended consequences such as backhanded censorship in the age of digital media,” Soyinka said in a statement.
He noted that some provisions of the revised code restrict intellectual property rights and their scope of exploitation with whomsoever one chooses to collaborate.
“It is economic sabotage writ large, directed against thousands of practitioners. Regulatory? This is strangulatory in effect!” the Nobel laureate declared.
Citing Chris Ihidero’s article “Why does the NBC Want to Kill Local Content in Nigeria?” Among many other writings in protest against the code, Soyinka said “If I may invoke a contemporary tragic image to render graphically what Ihidero and others have pleaded on behalf of both creators and consumers of this artistic productivity: Let government kindly take its knee off the neck of this industry. Please – let it breathe!”
Since the announcement of the revised code, several industry stakeholders have raised their voices against it and said it will frustrate investors in the broadcast and creative industry in Nigeria.
Organisers of the Nigerian Entertainment Conference (NEC Live), Lagos Film Academy (LFA), Jason Njoku of iROKOtv, Chris Ihidero of PinPoint Media and Publisher of The Cable, Simon Kolawole have all pointed out the sections of the code that will kill businesses and send investors out of the country and called on NBC to review it and also consult stakeholders.
Despite the increasing outrage against the bill, NBC is yet to take any action that suggests it is ready to review the grey parts of the code.
NEC Live in a letter to the President signed by Conference Coordinator, Henry Ekechukwu, highlighted some of the defects of the revised code and how it will have a negative impact on the industry and the Nigerian economy.
According to Ekechukwu, global streaming service providers like HBO, Netflix, Sony Pictures, Disney, Amazon Prime, and others may consider halting further investments in the Nigerian content industry and this could amount to a loss of about N636.4bn.
He added that if the controversial code is implemented, the local content and production industry would lose about N49.5bn, there would be loss in investments in new media businesses to the tune of N57.1bn and the Nigerian Government would also lose accruable taxes to the tune of N40bn
“If implemented, this new development will affect the means of livelihood of about 2 million Nigerians who are directly and indirectly dependent on incomes generated from the industry,” the letter read.
NEC Live called for amendments that would accommodate the concerns of operators in the sector and prevent the looming crisis the implementation of the code will plunge the industry and economy into.
According to Ekechukwu, reviewing the code will make the industry operate on fair grounds, and support the growth of both state and private broadcasting companies.
NEC Live advised the government to partner with stakeholders to develop and support a thriving broadcast industry. This engagement, it said, will continue to unlock huge potentials for wealth creation, adequately reward creative talents and provide more employment.
NEC Live further recommended that: “Government considers approval of a stimulus package for the broadcasting industry in Nigeria through tax rebates, including an intervention fund for the industry to access long term capital from the financial market at a single digit interest rate.”
The letter further read:
“It is important for the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to be transparent and receptive to innovative ideas from stakeholders of diverse orientations as well as investment interests. The inclusion of stakeholders in various agenda of the Commission at this time will be supportive to related development and the country’s economy.
“The government should unleash the creative capacity of the entertainment industry by completing the broadcasting digitization process.”
