The biggest headache book publishers contend with is the piracy of their books by unscrupulous practitioners. Book pirates are stealers of intellectual properties and are despoilers of dreams and lives. Book piracy is evil. It is robbing genuine actors and participants in book publishing the lawful rewards of their efforts. It is anathema to creativity. Fights against book piracy should be collective, all-inclusive; from writers, book assessors, editors, typesetters, illustrators, indexers, lithographers, printers, book publishers themselves, sales representatives, marketers, agents and booksellers, all joining hands to fight the evil threatening to suck blood out of what sustains their livelihoods.
Book piracy involves illegally producing and distributing books without the consent of authors and/or publishers. There is the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) saddled with the responsibility of stemming the tide of book piracy in Nigeria, working under the provisions of the Copyright Act of 2022. It is an offence, a criminal one, to reproduce, import, sell, or be in the custody of infringing copies of work(s) under copyright.
As reported by the International Intellectual Copyright Alliance (IICA), piracy rate in Nigeria is among the highest in the world. And, these pirated books are found sold in bookshops and schools while the most common category of books pirated is educational book. Book Piracy is a clog in the wheel of progress of publishing business and education as it discourages creativity and negatively affects authors, publishers and other participants who earn their living through the processes involved in book publishing.
Perhaps, no publisher has suffered more in the hands of book pirates than Dr Sunday Obiyinka, Chairman/CEO, Extension Publications Limited. Though this assertion may be arguable, what could be more established is the fact that his publishing firm has had its bitterer share of commercial piracy of its books, both educational and literary. And, with the available reports, Dr Obiyinka has always been in the forefront of the fights against book piracy, using his personal resources even when his firm is not the one affected. He believes that if the incidence of book piracy can be curbed or reduced to the barest minimum, it will have overall positive effects on book publishing in particular and education in general in Nigeria. Authors will reap remarkable rewards on their creativity. Publishers will recoup immense profit on their investments. Pupils and students will have quality books to read and there will be overall growth and development in the Nigerian educational system.
It is for this reason that Dr Sunday Obiyinka, in his quest to lead Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA), is making concerted fights against book piracy a major part of his leadership agenda for the Association. Renowned as a pursuer of good causes who abhors half measure in getting things done, Dr Obiyinka is ready to collaborate with relevant authorities (NCC, NLN, etc) and other stakeholders in book publishing to ensure that book piracy is made unattractive to the practitioners of the evil practice. He will embark on intense campaigns against the practice to schools, bookstores and booksellers to sensitise them on the dangers of book piracy. Dr Obiyinka understands that unless book piracy is wiped out or made incapacitated, the evil practice is poised to snuff life out of book publishing practice in Nigeria. When voted in as the next president of NPA, Dr Sunday Omoniyi Obiyinka will not only preach against book piracy, he will lead by example, from the front, to kick book piracy out of book publishing practice in Nigeria.
