Akeem Oguntayo
26 November 2009
Benin — SOCIETY of Non-Fiction Authors of Nigeria (SONFAN) has raised alarm that Nigerian academic materials writers are losing a minimum of $12 million (N104.3m) from only Belgium besides other countries, as royalties accruing from the use of their intellectual works.
Prof Dan Egonwa, the Acting Chairman of the Society of Non-Fiction Authors of Nigeria (SONFAN) told newsmen in a press briefing, in Benin, the state capital, on Wednesday that the unregulated photocopying of academic materials was also affecting their efforts.
"The few royalties that are repatriated to the country are also held up since there are no organized bodies of non-fiction authors to assess such monies."
He said the association was working on an arrangement, where business centres especially those around campuses across the country were registered to enable such authors whose works would be photocopied for use to be compesated as royalty.
Prof. Egonwa also disclosed that Reproduction Rights Society of Nigeria (RIPRONI), an authorized body registered by government to assist get such monies and distribute to authorized authors was defeated over the absence an organized non-fiction authors in the country.
The chairman said effort has been made by SONFAN to ensure rights in order to correct the body as well as arrange for grants for the authors to publish their works and travel grants for research purposes and even health insurance schemes to empower them.
He said: "Here we are concerned with academic publishing because authors in Nigeria are not adequately rewarded as it stands now. Apart from royalties that trickle in from publishers and some book printers, there are so many other benefits that accrue to authors which they are not able to access now because of not having a united front like an association and because of the systemic arrangement for rewarding authorship internationally.
He argued that "Copyright materials are monitored internationally and the proceeds are shared for the authors. Reproduction Rights Society of Nigeria (RIPRONI), it is a collecting society registered to manage and administer copyright proceeds materials for writers in print. Copyright is not well -protected in Nigeria, while insisting that pirates are working.
"Photocopying has come on, due to increase and advance in technology, anybody can photocopy anything free. Authors realize that the public should have access to their published materials for private and commercial use but at the same time there should be a way of paying those who are the owners of those materials," he added.
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