Investment Forum on Nigerian Creativity Sector In Los Angeles

REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT AN INTERACTIVE INVESTMENT FORUM ON THE NIGERIAN CREATIVITY SECTOR WITH US-BASED ENTERTAINMENT OUTLETS, MEDIA & INVESTORS HELD IN WALDORF ASTORIA, LOS ANGELES, HOLLYWOOD, USA, ON TUESDAY, 10TH JULY, 2018 PROTOCOLS I thank you all for being present here today. For us, this is an important meeting, and the last meetings had been around trying not just to sell the Nigerian creativity and technology industry, but more importantly, to get some sense of where we ought to be going. So, I’m here with members of our advisory group on technology and creativity, which is a national group. It is a group which we instituted specifically to get to understand what the best practices are all across the world and to find a way of getting everyone together to sit together to think through and work through policies together. We understand how dynamic the environment is, both in technology and creative arts. But we think that the way to go will be to work with those who are actually in the industry, those like yourselves who are putting in their money, their resources, time, and energy into this, and trying to do our regulations in such a way that we are competitive practically with anyone else in the world. So what we have done so far is that we’ve been looking at what the specific issues are, and there are quite a few. Some want to know about what we are doing in terms of Intellectual Property protection, investment guarantee, and all of that. But I think that the most important thing, really, is that we have a government, a lot of those who work in our agencies, who are determined to work through this, day by day, piece by piece, to make sure that we get our environment right, and we get the right type of investment environment. And we are quite happy to continue to engage with everyone who is here, and as you’ve heard, especially from the financial sector, we are prepared to match your investment in some respect, if you’re making the investment in the country. Just also very quickly to the question of the treaty that we signed; we are signatories to the major Intellectual Property treaties, both the Paris and Berne conventions. And we are also signatories to practically all the investment treaties; we are meagre members and all of that. I think the most important thing to bear in mind – I can offer this free advice as a lawyer – is that because you are not necessarily doing business with the government, your bilateral agreements are probably more important, the agreement that you draw with whoever you are going to be doing business with is more important, making sure that you have the right arbitration agreements and all of that; one that is adequately provided for. We have a robust enough commercial law adjudicatory system that ensures that these things are resolved properly enough. So, I don’t think that there is much to fear about how protection of intellectual property rights in that way. ************************** The official YouTube Channel for Oluyemi Oluleke Osinbajo, Nigerian Lawyer and Politician who served as the Vice President of Nigeria from the 29th of May 2015 to the 29th of May 2023. Before this, he served as the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State from 1999 to 2007. With a background in law and governance, he currently chairs the Climate Action Platform for Africa and serves as a Global Advisor for the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet. He's also the Guardian of the Timbuktoo Africa Innovation Foundation and Chair of Future Perspectives. Follow Prof. Osinbajo online: Website: www.yemiosinbajo.ng Facebook: Professor Yemi Osinbajo Twitter/X: @ProfOsinbajo Instagram: @ProfOsinbajo LinkedIn: @Prof. Yemi Osinbajo