Nigeria’s Creative Sector Takes To The Streets As MultiChoice Leads Anti-piracy March In Lagos

Lagos witnessed an unusual kind of procession recently. No red carpets. No film premieres. Instead, actors, filmmakers, writers, regulators, students, and everyday Nigerians walked through the Ikeja axis with one mission. They came to defend the country’s creative future.

MultiChoice Nigeria led the walk, starting from Ikeja City Mall, in a renewed push against the silent rise of piracy. The march formed part of a growing national advocacy effort that calls attention to the damage caused by illegal content distribution, a problem that many say is draining the industry of jobs and revenue.

Veteran actor Saidi Balogun was among the first to sound the alarm. He described piracy as a quiet storm that destroys the work behind every film. He said that people admire glamour but rarely see the long nights, the investment, or the teams whose income depends on each project. According to him, pirating a film does not only steal profit. It steals dreams.

Filmmaker Obi Emelonye echoed the concern. He warned that piracy threatens the next generation of storytellers. Emelonye noted that if the problem continues, young creatives may grow into an industry with no structure and no reward for their craft. He said that the future must not be allowed to collapse before it even starts.

From the regulatory side, Charles Amudipe of the Nigerian Copyright Commission reminded the crowd that piracy is a criminal offence. He highlighted a less discussed angle. Many consumers who download pirated content expose themselves to malware, identity theft, and financial scams. Amudipe urged Nigerians to think beyond entertainment and consider the personal risks they take when they use illegal platforms.

During the outreach, several passers-by raised concerns about affordability. The team explained that legal and cost friendly alternatives exist, and that responsible entertainment is possible without turning to illegal channels.

MultiChoice Nigeria’s Executive Head of Corporate Affairs, Caroline Oghuma, said that the walk builds on continuous community education. She pointed to a recent school sensitisation exercise at Kuramo Senior College, Victoria Island, where students learned how piracy affects creators. Oghuma said the goal is simple. Take the message to communities. Reach families. Shape habits early.

She noted that the survival of Nigeria’s creative sector depends on collective responsibility and that protecting intellectual property is no longer a niche conversation. It is a national priority.

Industry groups, lawyers, media executives, and fans of Nigerian entertainment joined the walk, creating one of the largest multisector mobilisations against piracy in recent years.

MultiChoice reaffirmed its readiness to collaborate with regulators and industry bodies to strengthen policies, boost public awareness, and ensure creators earn fair pay for their work. The company said the fight against piracy is not a one-day campaign but a long-term effort to secure Nigeria’s creative economy.