Entertainment
Okoroji calls for revisit to amended broadcasting code
BY NICHOLAS ABE
Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji, has lent his voice to calls by stakeholders in the creative and broadcast industries for a revisit to the recently amended 6th edition of the National Broadcasting Code.
Okoroji said he believed that the objectives of the code which were aimed at offering more Nigerians the opportunity to participate in the creation and dissemination of broadcast contents, were commendable.
He however observed that the amendments have been crafted in such a manner that they were unworkable and unenforceable and would lead to unending litigation and even significant divestment in the creative space.
Speaking on both the STV flagship public affairs program, News Scope With Patrick Doyle and The Morning Show on Arise News, Chief Okoroji said that the drafters of the amended code may have acted ultra vires their legal mandate as they appeared to have strayed beyond their limited powers to draft a subsidiary legislation and usurped the powers of the National Assembly to make laws.
According to the author of the authoritative intellectual property compendium, ‘Copyright and the New Millionaires’, some of the provisions in the amended broadcast code may indeed be unconstitutional.
He singled out the provisions for exclusivity, advertising and payment of royalties for musical works and sound recordings and said that the provisions in the code may be overreaching as they seem to have ignored the rights of the parties to a contract to agree on their terms.
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The erstwhile PMAN president who is a much respected expert in Intellectual Property and in his own right, a content producer, expressed concern that the views of a lot of key stakeholder groups who will be affected by the code were not sought before or during the amendment process which he said took place during the coronavirus lockdown when the movement of many people was restricted.
On The Morning Show on Arise News, Chief Okoroji said that he suspected that the hold that Multichoice DSTV had on the English Premiership was driving some of the provisions in the revised code. He suggested that rather than going it alone, Nigerian broadcasting stations should pull their resources together and challenge Multichoice DSTV.
He advised against the penchant by Nigerians to attack local companies with foreign origins, saying that such behaviour may lead to serious divestment in Nigeria and massive loss of jobs held by Nigerians.
He argued: “Multichoice DSTV may have originated from South Africa but Multichoice Nigeria is a Nigerian company, the Chairman of the company, Mr. Dewumi Ogunsanya, is a Nigerian, the CEO, Mr. John Ugbe is a Nigerian. Thousands of Nigerians make their living through Multichoice. What do we gain by hounding the company?
“Alhaji Aliko Dangote is presently investing in many countries across the African continent and providing jobs in these nations. How will Nigerians feel if those investments are threatened simply because the initial promoter of the business is a Nigerian?”