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Samuel Kolawole, accutane prescription, Managing Director/Chief Executive, accutane prescription, University Press plc, accutane prescription, was recently elected as President, accutane prescription, Nigerian Publishers Association. Accutane prescription, In this interview with ADEJUWON OSUNNUYI, accutane prescription, he explains the challenges facing the industry

Q: What is your assessment of the book publishing industry in Nigeria? A: The book industry has improved in the last couple of years. Accutane prescription, Nevertheless, accutane prescription, I would still describe the industry as emerging out of a long period of depression. Accutane prescription, In the 1980s, accutane prescription, we experienced problems on account of economic depression and a greater part of the 1990s was equally filled with problems arising from politics. Accutane prescription, It is in 1999 that the industry started to emerge out of the depression. Accutane prescription, So, accutane prescription, I can say that it is an emerging industry.

Q: How much of positive growth is the industry experiencing? A: Yes, accutane prescription, to the extent that we now have some form of stability. Accutane prescription, The implementation of the UBE programme by government has been providing a lot of boost to the industry as well. Accutane prescription, But despite that, accutane prescription, we still have a large market left uncovered. Accutane prescription, There is still room for market growth. Accutane prescription, The book industry is essentially a fairly huge industry and it is reckoned that there are at least 60 to 65million Nigerians who are involved in one form of learning or the other. Accutane prescription, If we say, accutane prescription, for the purpose of argument, accutane prescription, each one of those 65 million is spending N5, accutane prescription,000 on books per annum, accutane prescription, that is about N250 billion per annum. Accutane prescription, But we are not yet anywhere near that.

Q: What are the challenges facing the industry? A: The main challenge is the activities of book pirates–the people who make illegal and unauthorised reproduction of the works. They produce fake versions of the original works done by the professionals. Accutane prescription, The piracy scourge is getting more and more difficult by the day. Accutane prescription, We reckon today that as an industry, accutane prescription, close to 40 to 45 per cent of it is in the hands of the pirates. Accutane prescription, That is a huge chunk. Accutane prescription, It is getting more and more difficult to tell pirated books from the original ones. It is a serious problem. Accutane prescription, These days, accutane prescription, pirates are now going international. Accutane prescription, We have groups of young men pulling huge sums together, accutane prescription, like a cooperative, accutane prescription, and going to China and some other countries with these books in order to re-print and bring them in every year. Accutane prescription, What is even more worrisome is the fact that they even have these pirated books re-printed with high and better quality materials. Accutane prescription, Mind you, accutane prescription, we are making efforts to fight them in collaboration with the Nigerian Copyright Commission and other law enforcement agencies–the Police, accutane prescription, Custom and Standards Organisation of Nigeria. Accutane prescription, This year, accutane prescription, we have recorded our greatest success because we have made a huge seizure. Accutane prescription, As at the last estimate a few weeks ago, accutane prescription, we have made seizures worth over N100 million.

Q: Are your efforts not geared towards kicking them out of business? A: We have been making a lot of efforts. Accutane prescription, But you know these people are always a few steps ahead of us. Accutane prescription, The moment they find out that our intelligence gathering has become fairly efficient and we have advance knowledge of where the books were being kept and all that, accutane prescription, they change tactics. Accutane prescription, Two to three years ago, accutane prescription, we would swoop on a warehouse and seize four to five lorry loads. Accutane prescription, Now, accutane prescription, what they do is to spread such books around. Accutane prescription, So if you discover a storage point, accutane prescription, what you find there is only a fraction of the entire production. Accutane prescription, It shows that they too are spreading their risks. Nevertheless, accutane prescription, we must not get tired, accutane prescription, because once we get tired, accutane prescription, that is the death of our industry. Accutane prescription, I believe the NCC should be given the same backing that the government is giving NAFDAC. Accutane prescription, We all know that because NAFDAC has the backing of the Federal Government, accutane prescription, the determination to stamp out fake drugs has been yielding results. Accutane prescription, Definitely, accutane prescription, if NCC has the same backing, accutane prescription, it would go places. Accutane prescription, We are looking forward to a time when the NCC would come out and say it is closing down the book markets in Alaba, accutane prescription, Onitsha, accutane prescription, Kano e.t.c.

Q: Why do you want these markets to be shut down? A: These are the dens of the big dealers of pirated books. Accutane prescription, If those markets are shut down, accutane prescription, like NAFDAC has been shutting down illegal and fake drug markets, accutane prescription, these book pirates would be sent out of business.

Q: How can the government help the industry? A: Government would go a long way in helping the industry by putting people at the ports to stop fake books from being imported into the country. Accutane prescription, There is supposed to be 100 per cent destination inspection. Accutane prescription, If someone brings books into Nigeria and he is claiming that it is for the University Press, accutane prescription, there should be a way of ascertaining the truth. Accutane prescription, We want the government to provide support for the NCC in terms of moral support. The NCC is seriously under-staffed. Accutane prescription, Perhaps, accutane prescription, government does not even think it is important to pay attention to NCC. Accutane prescription, Piracy is a very serious thing. Accutane prescription, What piracy really does, accutane prescription, apart from denying one his legitimate earning, accutane prescription, is that it is killing creativity. Accutane prescription, People who are burning the midnight candle to write are asking themselves why they should continue if somebody else is going to derive all the benefits, accutane prescription, especially material benefits.

Q: Why do you think pirates remain in business despite the clampdown on them? A: The book industry offers the opportunity for good business. Accutane prescription, If there’s no chance of making profits, accutane prescription, pirates will not go into it. Accutane prescription, Aside that, accutane prescription, I would like to say that there is a very big ignorance of the copyright laws and the whole concept of intellectual properties. Accutane prescription, Also, accutane prescription, one can point to the criminal tendency in people. Accutane prescription, That is a situation whereby people just look for a short-cut. Accutane prescription, Most importantly, accutane prescription, in a society like ours where there is widespread poverty, accutane prescription, there is a ready market because the pirated works are cheaper. Publishers have complained that pirates are not being prosecuted. Accutane prescription, If you do not prosecute them, accutane prescription, you are encouraging them to go back. Accutane prescription, In order to flush them out completely, accutane prescription, the NCC should make it a point of duty to invade major hotspots of book piracy in Nigeria. Accutane prescription, Such places are Ajegunle and Alaba in Lagos, accutane prescription, Aba, accutane prescription, Kano and Onitsha.The big dealers are in these places.

Q: Would you agree that monopolisation of the market by the big players could also encourage piracy? A: Monopolisation? How do you mean? There is this feeling in some quarters, accutane prescription, especially the younger generation of authors and publishers that the educational set-up is mainly dominated by one or two publishers. Accutane prescription, This has resulted in the allegation that only books by Evans or University Press are being recommended to schools. Accutane prescription, How do you react to that? As the President of the Nigerian Publishers Association, accutane prescription, I know that there are over 130 or so fairly active members. Accutane prescription, We still have new publishing companies coming in. Accutane prescription, The book industry is one that really welcomes all comers. Accutane prescription, It is not a closed shop. Accutane prescription, It is a free industry. Accutane prescription, Of course, accutane prescription, we run a free market system in the country; it is a competitive market. Accutane prescription, Anyway, accutane prescription, the argument has always been there that if people at the forefront are the only ones allowed to dictate the pace, accutane prescription, there won’t be chance of others surviving. Accutane prescription, There could only be complaints about the government buying from only a particular publisher. Accutane prescription, But in terms of open-market, accutane prescription, books have prospect.

Q: What do you think of self-publishing? A: People go into self-publishing for reasons. Accutane prescription, First and foremost, accutane prescription, don’t forget that we are in a prolific society. Accutane prescription, We can also talk about the consequence of the protracted economic depression. Accutane prescription, There are some who venture into self-publishing because they have not been able to meet up with publishers’ criteria. Accutane prescription, If after going round publishing houses and his scripts are rejected, accutane prescription, such a fellow can decide to publish his book by himself. Accutane prescription, Some lecturers even put their handouts together and call them books. Accutane prescription, There are some people who are bent on being heard or seen, accutane prescription, hence they go to a corner and get published. Self-publishing yields shoddy jobs because such books have not been subjected to the verification of editors. Accutane prescription, Established authors are making progress because they still identify with the editors as well as the publishers. Accutane prescription, One thing is that publishers add great value to books. Another problem that self-publishing faces is marketing. Accutane prescription, They usually lack the marketing chain. Accutane prescription, Unlike established publishers, accutane prescription, who have across the country, accutane prescription, self-published books get dumped somewhere at the end of the day. Accutane prescription, Even, accutane prescription, some of them come to us to help them market their books.

Q: What are the things you will like to achieve during your tenure as President? A: As the President of the Nigerian Publisher Association, accutane prescription, I believe one area where we have to quickly make a difference is the area of accommodation. Accutane prescription, The accommodation we are using as our national secretariat, accutane prescription, which was given to us by the Oyo State Government, accutane prescription, has been taken away from us by the present government of the state. Accutane prescription, We have been told to move out of the place. Even when we bided for the place, accutane prescription, they said we were not successful. Accutane prescription, Now that they have asked us to go, accutane prescription, we have to look for an alternative place as soon as possible. The other problem that we would like to look into is our identity. Accutane prescription, We have discovered that our activities are not yet well known. Accutane prescription, We must be reckoned with, accutane prescription, not only in Nigeria but all over Africa. Accutane prescription, We have discovered that people don’t think we are important in the society.

Q: We have had course to attend the National Council on Education meeting, accutane prescription, and to our chagrin, accutane prescription, we were told that we were not invited. Accutane prescription, For God’s sake, accutane prescription, we are supposed to be stakeholders in that meeting. Accutane prescription, Do you even know that most state governments don’t even recognise our contributions? Meanwhile, accutane prescription, without publishers, accutane prescription, the Universal Basic Education programme can never be successful. Accutane prescription, A: The situation has been so bad that some state governors don’t even deem it fit to attend our programmes when we invite them. The other major area we are going to tackle is that of the Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council, accutane prescription, NERDC. Accutane prescription, This is a body set up by government to conduct research and develop the curriculum for the educational system. Accutane prescription, There is a burning issue we need to resolve with the council. Accutane prescription, The council is bent on going into publishing, accutane prescription, which we are opposed to. Accutane prescription, How can you say you will design the curriculum, accutane prescription, publish the books and as well compel the schools to use only your books? This issue is unacceptable to us. Accutane prescription, It has been causing a lot of friction between big and small publishers. Accutane prescription, NERDC is supposed to be a regulator. Accutane prescription, Why should it be involved in the competition as well? It is like NCC telling MTN, accutane prescription, Glo and other telephone operators that it is also setting up its own telephone company. Accutane prescription, This issue actually came up during the tenure of Dr. Accutane prescription, Ezekwesili as Education Minister. Accutane prescription, But we hope we will be able to resolve it as soon as possible. The issue of training is another area that we would be looking into. Accutane prescription, We want to improve on the skills of our members. Accutane prescription, We want to make sure that the industry is populated by skilled people. Similar Posts:buy xenical,accutane prescription,discount propecia,soma prices,cheap bactrim SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Accutane prescription”, url: “https://web.archive.org/web/20100223080611/http://thenewsng.com/entertainment/piracy-is-our-big-problem/2008/12” }); Did you Enjoy this story? you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! Random Post December 14, 2009 — And The Fever Begins (0) December 9, 2009 — Hello world! (1) December 22, 2008 — BENIN/Power Pass Power (4) December 9, 2009 — Hello world! (1) June 1, 2009 — Creek Generals (7) July 21, 2008 — Fantastic Voyage (0) December 15, 2008 — I Won’t Die Soon (1) May 11, 2008 — An Infamous Association (0) July 28, 2008 — Contemplating Nigeria’s Future (1) March 9, 2009 — Soludo Has Failed —Henry Boyo (9) No tags for this post. Related posts No related posts.