Blind Community Commend Buhari for Enacting Copyright Law

The Nigeria Association of the Blind (NAB) applauded President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday for signing the copyright bill into law, removing legal restrictions for people with disabilities.

The Association’s president, Ishiyaku Adamu, stated at a news conference in Abuja that the difficulties with reading that the blind and other people with disabilities face would be appropriately handled.

The President Muhammadu Buhari officially signed the Copyright Bill into law March 17, 2023, which included the Marrakesh Treaty’s stipulations.

NAB president said, the current copyright law has made it possible to publish printed documents for non-commercial uses in an accessible format for individuals with disabilities.

Adamu said, “ The World Health Organisation 2011 Report identified inappropriate teaching materials and methods of assessment as one of the barriers to education for children with disabilities”.

The director general of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, Dr. John Assein, noted that the lack of accessible books for people who are blind, visually impaired, or other print disabilities has continued to be a major barrier to their involvement in other spheres of society and culture.

“ I wish to reassure you that the Nigerian Copyright Commission is already consulting on how to ensure that the special exception for the blind in the new Act translates to real benefits for the intended beneficiaries. Publishers should therefore rethink their business models to embrace inclusive publishing”.

Programme Manager, Social Inclusion, Sightsavers Esther Angulu, concurred that the treaty eliminates the obstacles imposed by copyright law that forbid the duplication of books and other published works without the consent of the copyright holder.

The executive secretary of the National Commission for People with Disabilities, James Lalu, praised President Buhari, other stakeholders, and the National Assembly for the legislation and pledged to see to it that printing equipment was made available for efficient service delivery.