Name The Offender, Plagiarism Is A Crime

By Solomon Okocha
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Dear President Buhari,
It is utterly ridiculous and extremely embarrassing that a so called 'speech writer' in the exalted office of the President, could lift whole sections of President Obama's speech and insert in your own speech without giving due credit to him. I don't understand! A speech writer? Where did originality run to?

This is exactly what we've been suffering in Nigeria all these years. This is the main reason why Nollywood and other creative sectors of our nation have stubbornly remained backward even in the face of a fast developing globe. It is clearly one of the root causes of 'brain-dearth' in Nigeria and so many Nigerians now see 'copy and paste', without due regards to the original author, as a legitimate means of disseminating information via the cyberspace or any other medium. The President must use this opportunity to put an end to intellectual corruption.

Baba, it is even more annoying that the very person who brought this magnitude of shame on the Presidency is now being shielded from public view. Is the President's speech writer an anonymous being? How possible is that?

Mai Gaskiya, in the spirit of change, may I use this medium to demand for the naming, shaming, and subsequent prosecution of whoever stole Obama's literary work without any iota of acknowledgement. The last time I checked, plagiarism is still a criminal offence in Nigeria.

Yours Faithfully,
Solomon Okocha,
The Nigerian Gadfly.
September 17, 2016.

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