The Chairman of Arise TV and Editor- in-Chief of ThisDay Media Group, Nduka Obaigbena, Tuesday called for a legal framework that will compel Google, Facebook and other social media platforms to pay for any published intellectual work of Nigerian journalists.
Obaigbena spoke in Lagos on Tuesday while delivering the Lateef Jakande Annual Memorial Lecture.
The lecture organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors, was themed “Rapidly Changing Media Landscape: Media Survival Strategies”.
The occasion attracted veteran journalist and publisher of Vanguard newspaper, Sam Amuka, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, his predecessor, Lai Mohammed, among other media juggernauts.
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In his lecture, Obiagbena called on the federal government to push for a law that will make journalists’ intellectual property bankable.
“Our intellectual property on social media must be paid for. The first thing that I challenge the Minister of Information to do is to ensure that we pass a law that those who use our works online, such as Google, Facebook, and Instagram, must pay for it.
“If we get payment for the work we do every day as journalists, we will be in a far better place,” he said.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, who was represented by the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ali Ali, described Jakande, the first civilian governor of Lagos State, as one of Africa’s pacesetters whose legacies will continue to reverberate.
Idris said Jakande’s legacies, ideals, and leadership styles would continue to inspire unborn generations.
“We must not lose what is real on the horizon. Editors have to be more vigilant and learn from the master who we are celebrating today, one of Africa’s greatest.
“Late Lateef Jakande – his ideals, his leadership as a politician was clearly a pacesetter. He deserves deeper respect,” Idris said.
The minister expressed his appreciation to the NGE for their support to the government of the day.
He said Nigeria was going through trying times, but commended the professionalism of the guild “at a time when fake news has taken front row.”
He said the NGE had been taking its leading place and was contributing to media growth and training while also reshaping editors’ skills.
“Over the years, we have seen how the media has reinvented itself expanding the frontiers of publishing.
“The guild in the last couple of years has actually taken its rightful place from the time it came into existence. I must commend the leadership of the guild for contributing to media growth,” he said.
Idris urged the media to attract the young by spreading out to social media and other platforms.
One of the presidential spokesmen, Tunde Rahman, called on media practitioners to be wary of reports and headlines capable of fuelling the planned nationwide protest.
“They tag the protest “End to bad governance.” I do not think of bad governance at the moment. We have a thinking government.
“The challenges are there. Our economy is in turmoil and this is not peculiar to Nigeria alone. Most of the world’s economies are in turmoil at the moment and the President is doing his best to address this.
“We have to be mindful of the real motive of the people who are calling on us to come out,” he said.
The NGE president, Eze Anaba, said Jakande, along with his colleagues, associates, and students, worked assiduously to create the platform for editors in 1961.
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