Why Software Piracy is Prevalent in Nigeria

Last week I wrote about the ‘Implications of Software Piracy in Nigeria’ and also promised to write about the approaches we can all take to minimize software piracy. I figured it is only right to propose mitigation strategies that can help provide insights towards solving the problem. However, someone sent me an email asking, “Why is software piracy common in Nigeria?” Below is my response:

First, software piracy is not a Nigerian-only issue. Also, I don’t judge Nigerians when it comes to illegal downloads and software piracy. (I do not condone the act using pirated software for personal usage, but I understand why it happens). Selling pirated software, however, is a different case; it is not only unethical, or illegal, it is also immoral. It just doesn’t feel right profiting from someone else’s work.

I believe these are some of the reasons why it is considered the norm to download, buy, or use pirated software.

1. Lack of Awareness

Most end-users are not aware of licensing agreements (and even if they do, no one cares to read it). Most end-users assume that buying software is the same as owning it. While purchasing a software means you have the right to use the software (according to the license agreement). It doesn’t mean that you can redistribute it (unless stated). By the way, this issue is not only limited to developing nations.

If the average Nigerian knows that buying a pirated software is the same as purchasing stolen property, a lot of end-users will stay away from the act. The stigmatization that comes with buying a stolen property alone is a heavy burden upon the average Nigerian.

2. Lack of Adequate Authorized Software Resellers

I believe there are few authorized resellers in the major cities in Nigeria. The majority of IT vendors in Nigeria sell pirated copies. They do the same thing everyone does. Torrent the software, burn it to a disc, print a label, and that is it. This practice limits accessibility to end-users who can afford to pay for genuine software, also because branding (name, logo, etc.) has less significance in Nigeria. It makes it hard for end-users to differentiate. Most pirated software usually comes in labels with the brand name and logo of the genuine software. Which is often misleading. Heck, even the vendor can have a Microsoft or Apple logo in front of their store, and no one will raise an eyebrow.

In other scenarios, some IT vendors tend to pay for one copy of genuine software and then make multiple copies with instructions on how to activate using a single license. They believe they have full rights to the software, so long as they have paid for it. To help tackle this issue, we need authorized software resellers in Nigeria.

3. The Economy

If you’re Nigerian, you know what I am about to say, else you can research it; High price — We discussed a bit about this last week. The prices of software are ridiculously high. Because most software comes with fixed costs. Countries with low/struggling economies tend to pay a higher price in comparison to other stable countries. Meaning software developed in rich countries is generally not affordable in poorer countries. Based on the Naira to Dollar exchange rate at the time of writing. The $99 cost of OfficeSuite, is a little over 30,000 Naira (an average Nigerian response will be “30K for Office ke? Wawu”). Most time, I wish software were like some selected textbooks, with each country having its version, thereby making it more affordable. But I am afraid it is not.

4. Legal Protection

The Nigerian Copyright Act of 2004 (which I think needs to be revised) vaguely addresses digital-related copyrights law. Also, the most recent Cyber Crime Act of 2015, loosely addresses Intellectual Property Rights. The major problem, however, is it difficult to enforce the law. If only it were possible to have something similar to the DMCA and DRM that focus entirely on Digital Copyrights, things would have been a little bit better (not because the practice will stop, but because people will be aware that it is a crime).

The truth is, the legal problem is not only in Nigeria. Because the internet is a global network, it makes it a bit of a challenge to impose laws. Even in advanced countries, newer digital crimes are a bit challenging to deal with because there are no laws regarding the crime, considering it is unique. We are still at a stage where it is challenging to police the internet.

5. Lack of Resources

In Nigeria, on a smaller scale, the cost of the resources needed to fight software piracy outweighs the risk that it presents. However, at a minimum, it is worth ensuring that mitigation approaches are in place to ensure cyber risks to national IT infrastructures are reduced to an acceptable level. In other to combat software piracy, it would be ideal for the law enforcement to carry out pirated software forensics (unless caught in the act of redistributing or installing). And to do that, they will need skilled cyber forensics experts and cyber forensics tools to be able to establish the crime, identify the crime, gather and collect evidence, etc. Carrying out forensics on digital devices is not an easy task. There is a whole branch of Cyber (or technology) that deals with collecting, accessing, and presenting evidence in digital devices known as Cyber Forensics.

One of the major problems is that we currently lack a cybersecurity curriculum in Nigerian schools. We desperately need that, for us to be able to combat the digital problem we are facing and are bound to face. Nigeria is not immune to world problems. If other countries are dealing with cyber-related issues, it is only a matter of time before it gets to us. The earlier we get ready, the better. Whether we like it or not, we eventually will have to deal with it.

I hope we will be ready by the time Nigeria is dealing with cyber attacks as a national issue. I believe we will eventually get there.

6. Society and Culture

Even though the correlation between culture and software is hard to find, it is worth mentioning that several studies have shown that software piracy tends to be higher in collectivist societies (like Nigeria and most African & Asian nations ), than in individualist societies (like the US, UK, etc.)

In Nigeria, our sense of responsibility extends far beyond ourselves and our families. This makes sharing part of our culture. As a result, it makes it difficult for multiple users to buy multiple licenses. Even the pirated software we use today, for someone to buy the pirated copy. Then it means no one close to him has a copy.

7. Lack of Support

I think this part is the most important. Even in the most advanced countries, not everyone buys all their software out of pocket. Either you get it through your employer or school. In Nigeria, whether you are an employee, a student, a government worker, etc. To avoid data spills, most organizations do not allowing the installation of organization resources on a personal device (I am not sure about organizations that support the BYOD policy). The idea in Nigeria is for end-users (students, employees, etc.) to work with what they have, not what they need.

In most developed nations, employers provide all the software and resources one needs to execute their job productively. Schools provide most software students need. As for the schools, they usually have some sort of agreement (either discount or free) with the software vendors. A lot of people continue to use the software provided by their school even after graduation. And for those who don’t have a job, and are not students. There are a lot of computer resource centers that help out when in need.

In most cases, a lot of these software vendors have some free or discounted services for educational purposes, like the free ‘Google for Education’ and also Microsoft for Education available to all academic institutions globally.

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There are more reasons why software piracy is common in Nigeria. The reasons I provided are meant to serve as an eye-opener to average end-users. And the more I think about it, the more I keep asking myself, “so what can the average Nigerian do in such a situation?” The truth is, nothing much other than to stop using pirated software. Most Nigerians can switch to FOSS — Free and Open Source Software. For Operating Systems, one can turn to Linux. A lot of users think that using Linux OSs require special skills, but not anymore. And distros like Ubuntu are built with non-skilled users in mind, so they are easy to use, and comes with tons of free available software. Some Linux software are more comfortable to use than Windows in some cases. Mostly because they are community-oriented, so a lot of people help make the software better. And if you happen to have a Laptop with its original genuine Windows OS or macOS. There are also a lot of available free alternatives to licensed software meant for Windows and Apple OSs’.

Here are fewer alternatives to significant licensed software. If you need an alternative to specific software, you can always google “Free alternative to X software.” And if you can’t find any, shot me an email or comment below. I’ll ask around for you.

Operating Systems:

• Instead of Microsoft Windows 7, 8, or 10, try Ubuntu, Fedora, Linux Mint, etc. Pick your poison. I’ll recommend Ubuntu for beginners. Remember to install the desktop version. (I use Fedora 25 with KDE Plasma for work. And on my personal Macbook Pro. I uninstalled macOS for CentOS with i3wm).
• KDE Plasma is a desktop environment. Look it up on YouTube. In my opinion, KDE Plasma is more beautiful than any desktop environment ever made. My coworker recently told me about KDE Plasma; apparently, I have been living under the rock for ages. I have always used the ordinary GNOME desktop. The good thing about Linux distros is you get to decide which desktop environment to use. — So try KDE Plasma.

Word Processing:

• Instead of Microsoft Office Suite, try LibreOffice Suite (Available for Windows and macOS) — And if you want something techie instead of MS Word, try LateX. (It is better than MS Word in my opinion).
• LibreOffice has everything you need (Word, Excel, etc.). It looks and works exactly like Microsoft Office. Oh! Did I mention you can also save as .doc .xls etc. for compatibility with OfficeSuite. And it also has better support than MS Office. Plus, it is lighter, so you don’t need to worry about your computer freezing because you don’t have enough RAM. Give it a shot.

Image Manipulation:

• Instead of Adobe Photoshop, try GIMP. (Available for Windows and macOS)
• I love this software. It is a bit harder to use, but it is worth a shot. Plus, it is lighter than Photoshop.
• Instead of SketchUp try Kerkythea
• I have never used it before, but I heard it is good. I believe it is worth a shot.