By DEJI AROLOYE
Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), has stated that Nigerian artistes and stakeholders in the entertainment industry have benefitted immensely from the recent growth of the internet in Nigeria.
NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo, articulated this view at the 2016 edition of the Nigerian Entertainment Conference (NEC), which was held on Wednesday at the Landmark Event Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.
He said: “We need to go back a little bit to what took place in this country in 2001 when the NCC licensed mobile operators. As that time, we only had 50, 000 Nigerians on the internet. As at today, we have 97million Nigerians on the internet. There are a lot of people using smart devices and watching movies on the go, downloading movies and music.
“You can’t talk about YouTube without the internet. For instance, a musician can use the platform to get to the world. What we have done in telecoms by providing an enabling environment for ICT sector to thrive in Nigerian is behind a lot of success stories today. Between MTN and GLO, about N9b has been paid out to Nigerian artistes just for ring tones only.”
Responding to the issues of high cost and download speed associated with internet usage in the country, Ojobo, gave assurance that more broadband service providers would be licensed.
Commenting, cvonvener of the conference and Publisher, Nigerian Entertainment Today (NET), Ayeni Adekunle, tasked the Nigerian Government to pay closer attention to the entertainment industry because of its enormous potential.