‘How endowment bill on arts, literature will liberate industry’

The Senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Senator Shehu Sani has revealed how the National Endowment for Arts and Literature bill will liberate the nation’s creative industry.

Sani, who is the chief promoter of the bill, made the disclosure at the opening ceremony of the 2017 Nigerian International Book Fair, Lagos which he attended as the chairman.

According to the Senator, the endowment bill has an allinclusive approach that addresses issues of intellectual property rights, making the industry more competitive and rewarding for practitioners. It will also ensure that there is a special endowment funds for the creative sector.

“The bill is now in the second reading stage. We hope to have a public hearing on it soon so as to give members of the public the opportunity to make inputs. When passed into law, it will ensure that there is an endowment fund for arts and literature.

“It will also ensure that individual rights in the book publishing chain, for instance, the publisher, editor and authors, are recognised and rewarded,” Sani said.

The Senator assured that detailed issues addressed by the bill will be made known to the public after the public hearing even as he expressed optimism that the bill would experience smooth and quick consideration from fellow lawmakers.

The immediate past Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Dibu Ojerinde who spoke on the topic, ‘Book Chain, Government Policies and the Promotion of Reading Culture in Africa’, asked publishers and authors not to be discouraged about the dwindling fortune of book reading in Nigeria.

Similarly, the chairman, Nigerian International Book Trust (NBFT), Alhaji Rilwanu Abdulsalami said practitioners in the book industry need partnership with government to survive in the industry.