Although stakeholders in the movie industry always talk about piracy and the havoc it wrecks on the industry, none has really drawn as much comments as tweets by Gabriel Okoye (aka Gabosky) and Kunle Afolayan.
They said almost the same thing as others, but they were too specific for some people to take. The two filmmakers largely blamed the Igbo traders at the Alaba International Market, Lagos.
October 1, an award-winning film, was pirated and sold on the streets of Lagos. So Afolayan took to the social media, but his tweets came at a time Igbo people were still angry over the ‘Lagoon death’ statement by the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu
Afolayan was accused of tribalism and he had to apologise. But the apology was believed to be arrogant by some of his fans.
For Okoye, an Igbo traditional title-holder, there is no mincing of words. “Igbos constitute 99 per cent of pirates at Alaba International Market,” he emphatically said, because there are no Yoruba names on the pirate list he compiled from all over the country.
No businessman will be happy to lose money, as Okoye said he had lost about N450 million and Afolayan had not recovered the N150 million he borrowed to invest in October 1.
However, in all of this unfolding drama, it is pertinent to leave ethnicity out of it, if the practitioners want to really fight pirates. Okoye has revealed that the people doing piracy now are the big men that you see around; former stakeholders and marketers who longer own shops.
Meanwhile, miffed by the actions of pirates, veteran actor and television presenter, Yemi Shodimu, embarked on a new level of the fight against piracy. He is leading a campaign towards seizing pirated Nigerian films sold in traffic in Lagos, starting with Kunle Afolayan’s October 1 and Ayo Makun’s 30 Days in Atlanta.
Some of the pirated copies of the films, which were forcefully retrieved from the hawker in traffic, were shared on his Facebook page and he also encouraged other anti-piracy campaigners to do the same.
However, his action drew mixed reactions from his followers. While some people applauded his action, which is for the good of the industry as a whole, some others were not impressed.
Soni Irabor referred to the pirates as crazy desperate characters and said everyone must join in the fight. Actor and director, Yinka Akanbi, had also seized pirated copies of the film which he posted on his Facebook wall.
For ace comedian, Ali Baba, the people Shodimu is fighting for still don’t understand the whole concept. He noted that some people who are in the movie industry for the popularity and not to make money or secure their future will put their Stomach 1st, before they think of October 1st.
On the contrary, one Moisili Patrick queried, “When you are buying foreign piracy, you didn’t know it might be your turn someday? Pirated movie is a stolen item, why can’t Kunle and AY gather their family and staff to recover their stolen properties themselves, or are they too big for roforofo fight?”
Another commentator, Tena Oforbike, advised that they should look for a better solution, even as he called on Shodimu to come and seize the ones sold all over London.