IF MEN WERE GOD

IF MEN WERE GOD

In just two days, we will be saying bye-bye to the year 2018 and by the grace of the Almighty, we will be welcoming a brand new 2019.

From the bottom of my heart, I wish everyone sharing Saturday Breakfast with me today a happy and prosperous 2019.  

But please do not think that it is everyone who would be shouting "Happy New Year" with you that is happy that you made it. Some may be smiling with you but their hearts are filled with bile.

I very well know that there are people who are mystified that on December 29, 2018, I am still alive and well to write Saturday Breakfast. If they can control it, they would made sure that nobody reads this column.  I am sure they are wondering and asking themselves, "how did he make it?"

I have spent much of my life wrestling with man's hatred. I have little material wealth but I have faith and happiness. I appreciate the grace that the Almighty has given me to work hard, focus on every challenge and achieve results that please him. I love the gift He has given me and I try to use it the best I can.

I do not want to be Dangote or Otedola or Ronaldo or Donald Trump. I am Tony Okoroji and I like it.

THIS BIRTHDAY BOY CONTINUES TO DRIVE ON A FULL TANK OF FAITH!

THIS BIRTHDAY BOY CONTINUES TO DRIVE ON A FULL TANK OF FAITH!

Wow! I am 61 years old today, December 22, 2018. How come I feel like 16? Considering what I have been through, it is truly a miracle to be alive. Please join me, my friends, in thanking the Almighty who has made me his tool to be used in more ways than I could ever have imagined.

When I turned 55, I wrote a piece which I posted on the Internet. For Saturday Breakfast today, I adopt the piece with some update. Thank you for reading…

When I took the decision several years ago to spend my life in the promotion and defence of the rights of creative people in Nigeria, I was not blind. I knew that there would be many obstacles along the way and a huge price to pay.  I have seen the desperation with which people fight against positive change, especially when they think that change would deny them the privileges they seek.

I have been dragged to the EFCC, the ICPC, SSS, the dreaded SARS; been in and out of court more times than I can recollect. Intricate schemes have been set up to defame me, distract me or destroy my name. This year, it was widely broadcast that I have been charged for a criminal offence. I did not kill anyone or steal anything. What I did 'wrong' was to serve my country with all my heart.

THE YEAR OF THE KITCHEN SINK

THE YEAR OF THE KITCHEN SINK

It is the month of December, the month of celebrations and expectations. Two days ago, I was in Uyo, the beautiful capital of Akwa Ibom State. It was tough to get a place to sleep. Every room in Uyo was "fully booked"! Yesterday, I left Calabar which is a little quieter than it normally is at this time of the year. Apart from the many billboards and buntings on 'Highway' proclaiming that Governor Ayade is working, I did not feel the normal excitement of Calabar in the season. Maybe, it is on the way.

This time, last year, I had also been to Calabar in the service of the members of my COSON family. I came back to Lagos to find that some of the people I considered my best friends had in my absence conspired against me and set up a coup. The guys whom I love like members of my biological family had fabricated lies upon lies against me and bent the truth which they spread around to turn me into what they know I am not. When I looked into their blood shot eyes, I saw man for what he is.

In the last one year, the kitchen sink has been thrown at me. They have also thrown the bath tub, the toilet bowl and any smelly stuff they can concoct. Police! SARS! NCC! EFCC! Account Freeze! Criminal Action! Defamation! etc., etc.!

Why has none of it worked? I am a very lucky man, very-very lucky. Silver and gold I do not have but the Almighty has blessed me in so many other ways I consider more precious than silver and gold. I thank the Almighty for the incredible protection he has given me in many trying situations that would have sunk many men. For a guy who does not go to church much, it is a miracle!

Today, I dedicate this column once again to the thousands of COSON members across the country whose prayers and support have given me joy no money can buy. I appreciate you because without your faith in me, I will not be standing. You have refused to eat the rubbish cooked by people who would rather spend their time destroying than building.

I thank the members of the COSON Board who have shown me camaraderie beyond what anyone in my position can expect. Thank you, my brother, Sir Shina Peters, Kenny Saint Brown, the immovable Honourable John Udegbunam, Azeezat Allen, Maureen Uso, Eng. Sharon Esco Wilson, the great Richard Cole, the brilliant Uche Emeka Paul and the good Evangelist, Olusegun Omoyayi.

I thank my brother and friend, the great Ras Kimono who stood firmly by me till his last day on earth. May your great soul and the soul of Efe, your heart throb, continue to rest in peace.

Someone, please help me to thank a patriot like no other, Prof. (Sir) Victor Uwaifo, Prince Biodun Eguakhide and the good members of COSON in Edo State, who threw tribalism to the wind and fought against the injustice that was visited on me. Because of their commitment and dedication, COSON is by far a much stronger organization today than it has ever been.  

I assumed the title of COSON Chairman in the course of the work which I have dedicated my life to. My dedication to the cause has never been because of a title or because of personal wealth. I have written in Saturday Breakfast before that I verily believe that the true worth of a man is not in what he takes but in what he gives. I have always asked the Almighty to give me an opportunity to give to as many as possible. Anyone who has worked with me will tell you that I give my all to every assignment I undertake. I am a builder.

I have also written in this column that if had become a janitor or a security man, I would have dedicated myself as much as I have dedicated my life to leading COSON.

On December 7, 2017, it was suddenly announced by some of my colleagues on the COSON Board had picked someone else as Chairman of COSON. Despite the fact that I did not agree with the lack of due process, I took my lap top and left COSON House. I did not complain to anyone. I did not quarrel with anyone. I did not insult anyone. Next day, I addressed the staff of COSON on speaker phone and asked them to go about their duties with confidence and pride and even work harder for the organization than they had done with me as chairman.

For as long as I live, I will never forget December 19, 2017 when COSON members after 12 days of my absence ushered me into COSON House with thunderous ovation and overwhelming kindness. Of course, I cried in public. I cried because not many people live to witness such profound recognition and appreciation of their effort and sacrifice.

When the COSON General Assembly took the decision which they expressly have the right to take under our rules, to annul the decision of the board, I believed that the handful of members of our former board who planned the coup against me, would act like true democrats and sportsmen, appreciate that they played a high stakes game and lost and reintegrate themselves into the family.

There are people who have asked me why I have refused to reply the falsehood they have spread about me. In Igbo land, we have a saying that if you have undressed to have your bath and a mad man comes in and runs away with your clothes, if you decide to run after the mad man naked, no one will know the difference.

Once again, I thank the members of COSON across the country, our affiliates, management and staff, consultants, licensees, service providers and many friends of COSON at home and abroad. I appreciate you because without your unflinching support in the year of the kitchen sink, I will not be standing today.

With tears in my eyes, I pledged that I will never let you down. I will never. Merry Christmas everyone.

See you next week.

THE HARDER THEY COME, THE HARDER THEY FALL

THE HARDER THEY COME, THE HARDER THEY FALL

I do not celebrate the misfortune of anyone but there is a big lesson to be learnt from the development during the week. Afam Ezekude, the very controversial Director=General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission has finally been made to leave the commission. God knows that I wanted Ezekude to succeed. I offered him help any way I could. He did not like me. In my humble opinion, he seemed to enjoy the company of shallow people who talk too much, lie and do too little. They became his friends.

Just before his departure, it would have given me great pleasure to lay the red carpet at COSON House, invite Nigeria's Glitterati and give the DG of the NCC an unforgettable send off. Incredibly, Ezekude never stepped into COSON House until he left.  

It was Afam Ezekude that asked his officers to file criminal charges against me and some officers of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON). charges which were heavily advertised.  As I write, I still have not been served with any piece of paper or any process.

Who did I kill? What did I steal that made me a criminal?

Last year, we did what some may have considered very unlikely. Under my leadership, COSON, on behalf of the musicians of Nigeria commissioned the state of the art COSON Housein Ikeja with some of the most modern facilities in Nigeria. In setting up COSON House, we did not ask nor receive one kobo from any government whether Nigerian or foreign. We did not borrow one Naira from any bank. We did not get one dollar as loan or grant from anywhere. COSON House was set up with our sweat and the deft management of our resources.

Overwhelmingly, the often-derided Nigerian musicians have shown great pride in the fact that they now own this magnificent structure. Stars of all sorts have visited COSON House. It was at COSON House that we celebrated the life of our much beloved colleague, the Rub-A-Dub Master, Ras Kimono and sent him home from Lagos in grand style.

At COSON House, we have retained the services of some young Nigerians whom we have given the best training around the world to become experts in the collective management of copyright in music. Their salaries have not once been paid out of time. What they do is to professionally ensure that people who use music in Nigeria in a public or commercial situation pay for the music. That is consistent with Nigerian law. Before COSON was set up about eight years ago, I was repeatedly told that collective management of copyright cannot work in Nigeria.

When COSON House was commissioned last year, it opened the eyes of many. Some of those who were sleeping, woke up to the fact that this institution they thought could never work can actually produce results. Those who had no time for us or sneered at us while we labored day and night and set up the COSON structure, suddenly resolved that they ought to be the real beneficiaries of our labour. They believed that if they hobnobbed with the DG of the NCC, they could hijack for themselves what belongs to the thousands of musicians of Nigeria.

To justify their greed and covetousness, they began to spread lies against me. They called press conference after press conference to promote the blatantly false narrative that I stole from those I have sworn to serve and that I own houses all over the place. They have tried over and over again to use the security agencies to harass and intimidate me.

The truth which these people very well know is that at almost 61 years old, with all the positions I have held, the only house I own is an uncompleted building in my village. I do not own a hut anywhere else in the world. I do not own any big money either in a bank, hidden inside a mattress or buried in a soak-away pit. I have long decided that a good name is better than gold and not every Nigerian has to be a thief.

To defend my good name, I have filed five defamation cases against their wickedness. As I write, not one person has filed any defence to any of the cases nor put one shred of evidence before any of the courts. 

Please do not feel sorry for me. I am a very happy and proud man. I have found out that Nigerians still appreciate honest service. The members of COSON have stood by me. They have not let me down one inch. In their thousands, they understand what is going on. They know that some people want to turn them into their "mugu" and suck them dry. The know that my "sin" is that I have stood stoutly in defence of their rights and interest and that I have not allowed the dogs of prey to hijack what belongs to them They have stood with me and repeatedly passed votes of confidence in the work which I have done over the years with all the passion and commitment I can muster.

Rather than chase after pirates who are killing Nigeria's creative industries or take on the people looting our nation dry, Ezekude and his people were busy drafting charges to jail me foe keeping fate with the promise I made to the musicians of Nigeria who have stood with me in good times and the not so good times. The funny thing is that I risked my life to have the NCC set up and I am one of the people who drafted the law setting up the agency.

They know that I have committed no crime neither has any officer of COSON committed a crime. What I have experienced is intimidation gone crazy. It is a great example of what happens when you give a small man a big office.

I am convinced that no great nation in human history has been built by cowards. I have long made up my mind that if I have to go to jail in the defence of the rights of creative people in Nigeria, I will do so with my head held high. If I have to lay down my life in the defence of the people whose rights I have sworn to defend, it will be death so sweet.

I know that with or without Ezekude, bad people who cannot build anything are still plotting to bring down what we have built. I have no doubt what will happen. It is just a matter of time. The harder they come, the harder they fall, one and all.

 

See you next week.

THE DECEMBER WAR BEGINS!

THE DECEMBER WAR BEGINS!

Finally, we are in the month of December. Ordinarily, December should be the month of celebrations. It is the month of Christmas, of decorations, of shopping, of presents wrapped in beautiful paper, of rice and chicken, of fireworks and preparations for a new year. It is generally the month when we tend to work less and play more.

This December will be different, so very different. INEC has made it so. This December, the hand to hand combat begins for the 2019 elections. For grabs are Aso Rock, the state houses, the Senate, House of Representatives and the State Assemblies. Please… please, fasten your seat belt! The millions of jobless men in Nigeria are looking for employment in the political campaigns. They want to be available to break the necks and skulls of the opponents of their paymasters. This will be war like you have never seen it! 

The economy is bad, very bad. The people are angry, very angry. The only business in town right now is politics. Everywhere you look, there are all colours of posters of all kinds of characters asking for our votes. Politics is where all the money is. That is also where the power is. You get in there, you will have the key to the CBN, plus NNPC, plus the police, plus the army, plus the DSS, plus the EFCC, etc. Everything! 

   

The way it works in this part of the world, when you have all that power, your enemies are in trouble! Woe betide them to cross your path! You can drive them all crazy! They try to mess with you, you throw all the power of the government at them. If you don't kill them, you throw them in jail forever or ask the EFCC to draft one thousand criminal counts against them.

Once you have tasted power, life is so different without it! Why do you think my guy, Owelle Rochas Okorocha is having sleepless nights over what is happening in Imo State? One short guy called Adams Oshiomhole wants to make him an ordinary man… a whole Owelle Rochas Okorocha without power! Why is Governor Amosu shouting himself hoarse over his sudden loss of control of the orchestra in Ogun State? Why has Adams Oshiomhole become one of the most loathed men in the land?

DOES BUHARI KNOW HOW BAD THINGS ARE?

DOES BUHARI KNOW HOW BAD THINGS ARE?

A few days ago, I was on an Arik Air flight to Port Harcourt on my way to chair the launch of the book, "the Circular Road" by the great thespian and fantastic writer, Victor Nwokocha. It was a soul stirring event. I had a bit of my primary school education in Port Harcourt in the area that used to be called "Town" and I still cherish every visit to "Pitakwa'.

Sitting on the same row with me on the flight to P.H. was His Excellency, the former governor of Rivers State and present Minister of Transport, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi. On the same row was Amaechi's paddy, the effervescent Dakuku Peterside, the guy who gave Nyesom Wike a big fight for the governorship of Rivers State.

They were nice and we all exchanged pleasantries and spoke for a while about the evolving political scenario and agreed to speak some more in Abuja. I am still waiting for Amaechi's call.

I have written in this column before that I like Rotimi Amaechi. He has courage, convictions and is bold. To my mind, all the significant developments in the world have been made by men who are not scared to go where others are terrified to venture. Like Rotimi Amaechi or hate him, he is bold.

I believe that the jury is still out as to who between Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi did more to finally give Muhammadu Buhari the one thing he had craved and craved for a long time, the elected presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

I have written elsewhere that the brouhaha between Rotimi Amaechi and Patience Jonathan was the beginning of the end of the Jonathan presidency. At that point, the cake was baked. The departure of Amaechi from PDP with his many friends and their coalition with Tinubu just made a very bad situation worse for Jonathan.

In this column, I had begged GEJ to write a book so we can understand how his mind was working through those crazy days of Orubebe, Jega and co. He has just done it. I have read excerpts. I intend to read every comma and full stop and say my piece about the book. But nothing in the book however will change my mind that it was Rotimi Amaechi that packed Jonathan's bags and baggage out of Aso Rock.

Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi has been given the job to re-install l Muhammadu Buhari at Aso Rock. I understand that he is once again Director-General of Buhari's presidential campaign. As I spoke with my guy a few days ago, I wondered how he plans to do it. I have tried and tried to do the same mathematics that convinced me three years ago that Buhari would be president. Nothing is adding up.  

In 2015, Amaechi sold a mystical candidate to Nigerians. The Nigerian intelligentsia bought Buhari, hook, line and sinker, adopted him and campaigned for him. We wanted change. I know a lot of my friends who were ready to go to war because of their faith in PMB. There are those who have blamed me for what they consider the PMB misadventure. I may have made a mistake but it was a mistake made by millions of other Nigerians. Simply put, Buhari has let us down. I hope that PMB will one day write his own book and tell us how we got it so wrong and the falcon stopped hearing the falconer.

I wonder whether in the Buhari camp, they understand that the ground has shifted significantly and nothing can be taken for granted anymore. In a world driven by communications, our President simply does not communicate and appears to be disconnected much of the time. Take it or leave it, his team has been so badly out communicated.

I am so sorry, the Buhari mystic we bought in 2015 is gone and gone with it is the Nigerian intelligentsia that fought for Buhari everywhere. That is why stupid stories like Yusuf, the Sudanese man in Aso Rock and the certificate matter can gain the kind of traction they are getting. The adversaries of our president are turning him into a joke. You think it does not matter?

I have wondered who has the ears of the President. Does he know the extent of the injury and trauma that the rearing of cattle in Nigeria has caused? At the times when he has been accused of nepotism in his appointments, did he understand the sensibilities? He seems to have just doubled down, making it difficult for those who used to defend him to even bother.

I have also wondered whether the Buhari Presidency was hijacked by little men during the period the President was ill or did he always lack the ability to manage such a complex enterprise as Nigeria? I have spoken to persons I consider friends who are supposed to be part of the government and they all appear lost.

As I travel and talk to people around the country, I cannot but feel it that our President is gasping for goodwill. There is angst in the land. This has been seriously exacerbated by the endless in fighting within the APC. APC is beginning to look like sheep without shepherd.  I am finding it more and more difficult to understand who is in charge. Buhari? Tinubu? Oshiomhole? Amaechi or the motley of paper tigers that the President appears to surround himself with. The madness in Owerri and Abeokuta and almost everywhere else cannot make things easier. How is Amaechi going to do this?

In the last days of the Jonathan government, I felt very sorry for the guy who is otherwise pretty likeable. He was trying very hard to conquer the mighty Nigerian nation when the birds had already flown away. The people he trusted had let him down. They did not tell him the truth. Suddenly, GEJ was everywhere at once with bags of money trying to woo Afenifere, OPC, MASSOB, Ijaw Boys, Nollywood and everyone else. It was too late. Sorry, money could not buy him love.

Are we soon going to be watching a repeat performance of the same movie with a different cast.? Does Buhari really know how bad things are? Has my guy Rotimi Amaechi been given a job that is doable? I intend to ask him if he calls.

See you next week

THE FAVOUR OF THE ALMIGHTY

THE FAVOUR OF THE ALMIGHTY

Some will tell you that Okoroji survives because of one powerful juju man somewhere continuously reading incantations on his behalf and throwing cowries into the air. Others will tell you that the guy, Tony Okoroji, is smart and cunning and always a step ahead of his adversaries.

I have never been to any juju man in my life and the day I decide to place my fate and future before any juju man, may the Almighty take my life.

I am not a fool but I am also not as smart as people sometimes think. Yes, I work very hard and believe in the maxim, 'if you fail to plan, you have planned to fail'.

So, why is it that all the elaborate plans to sink and humiliate me always seem to hit the rocks? EFCC! Police! Defamation! Criminal cases! Unending harassment! Courts! The answer is in the word, "favour" – that grace of the Almighty which He visits on His children as He chooses.

God's grace defies human understanding. My survival is not by my power or my might. I am simply too small to face the many arrows aimed at me. I am just a very lucky man to be a beneficiary of God's grace.

You know that the Almighty visits His children with different gifts – beauty, talent, wealth, knowledge, power, etc. Do you think that Aliko Dangote is the richest man in Africa because he is the smartest? Maybe you think that Barcelona's ace, Lionel Messi messes up everyone on the football field and scores the incredible goals he puts in the net because he practices harder than everyone else? These are people who have discovered the Grace that the Almighty has visited them with and are deploying the grace adequately. Check and you will find the grace of the Lord in your life.

On December 7, 2017, without notice, it was decided by some of my colleagues on the COSON Board that they wanted another face as Chairman of COSON. Despite the fact that I did not agree with the timing nor the procedure, I took my lap top and left COSON House. I did not complain to anyone. I did not quarrel with anyone. I did not insult anyone. Next day, I addressed the staff of COSON on speaker phone and asked them to go about their duties with confidence and pride and even work harder for the organization than they had done with me as Chairman.

When on December 19, 2017 the members of COSON after 12 days of my absence ushered me into COSON House with thunderous ovation and overwhelming kindness, I cried. I cried in public because not many people live to witness such profound recognition and appreciation of their efforts. This was God's grace at work.

When the General Assembly took the decision which they expressly have the right to take under the COSON articles, to annul the December 7 decision of the board, I believed that the handful of members of our board who organized themselves to remove me, would act like true democrats and sportsmen, appreciate that whether the members were right or wrong, they acted within their powers.

I have watched TV programs during which incredibly defamatory things have been said about me and facts twisted so badly to run me down. They even wrote a very long petition to the Copyright Commission against me and asked their friends in the NCC to jump into the arena, twist the law and the rules, make pronouncements that lack rhyme nor reason and install them in office.  Close to one year after, it has not happened. I am a firm believer that you may go left or right but ultimately power resides with the people and God's grace is supreme.

I have been told that a regulator is faultless and cannot be challenged. In other words, when someone regulates you, you have become a slave. If he asks you to commit suicide, you must kill yourself. After all, he is your regulator! We have gone to court to challenge our regulator and the heavens have not fallen.

The great thing about the COSON experience is that it is taking us in Nigeria through an important civic lesson. At the end of the day, we may all learn that nobody's power is absolute except the Almighty and that as free citizens, we must remain free to say blatant 'no' to those who assume power supposedly to protect the people and then turn around to use the power against the people.

In my struggles, I have many people to thank. People who understand my way of thinking and have stood firmly behind me when others have counted me out. One of such persons is one of Nigeria's most gifted writers who today in Port Harcourt launches a book called "The Circular Road". Victor Nwokocha is a recipient of that special favour of the Almighty that defies human understanding. He can do with words what most of us consider magic. Victor Nwokocha is also very loyal to his friends. He is a man among men.

I tried to get to Port Harcourt yesterday but could not. Trek, swim, crawl, run, fly, however, I intend to be in Port Harcourt today to celebrate with my brother and friend, Victor at the landmark launch of his new book, the Circular Road. So, help me God.

See you next week.

HOW MANY BAGS OF NAIRA WILL I BE BURIED WITH?

HOW MANY BAGS OF NAIRA WILL I BE BURIED WITH?

Not very long ago, I received a very warm welcome in Benin City from his Royal Majesty, the Oba of Benin. Two years ago, the Olubadan of Ibadan practically rolled out the red carpet for the COSON delegation which I led to his palace.

Earlier this year, I was in the palace of the revered Emir of Kano, the very brilliant Mohammed Sanusi II, with my friend and colleague, the late Ras Kimono. My delegation and I were warmly received by the Emir. His Highness who clearly understands economics and the way the wealth of nations is built, said very kind words and had effusive praise for the work we are doing to reposition our country in the new knowledge and creative economy. 

Visiting an Oba, an Emir, a Minister or a Governor in our continuous outreach to expand the frontiers of the understanding of intellectual property in our country, is probably one percent of the work we do. That is however the part of the work that sometimes attracts envy.

Anyone who has managed a band of a few musicians, will understand that the real hard work of bringing together thousands of creative people, managing their effervescent temperaments and molding them into a force for progress is not beans. My phone rings practically off the hook. Any problem of each of the thousands of members of COSON is my problem.

In the building of the copyright system in Nigeria, I have carried placards many times and led very risky demonstrations many-many times. I have been to court and witnessed against top corporations, governments and individuals time and time again. I have gone many-many days without sleep, travelled lonely roads at dangerous hours, written opinion articles, delivered lectures, organized myriad conferences, seminars and workshops.

I have superintended over the building of an outstanding Nigerian institution called COSON which many said could never see the light of day. When the COSON House was commissioned last year, a lot of people were surprised that there was not one Naira of government money in the magnificent building, no donor dollar, no bank loan and no debt of any type. For eight years, not one of the highly trained COSON staff has received his or her salary one day late. No COSON member entitled to royalties has ever been denied money due to him. It might surprise many to know that no COSON member pays any registration fee, monthly dues or subscription of any type yet every COSON member is entitled to some income every year. 

My dedication to the copyright cause has never been because of a title or because of personal wealth. My official car for much of 2018 was one rickety 20-year old Toyota Camry and later on, one 16-year old Honda Pilot. I do not live in a house provided by COSON. No member of my family goes to a hospital provided by COSON. I do not go on a vacation on the bill of COSON. I have written in Saturday Breakfast before that I verily believe that the true worth of a man is not in what he takes but in what he gives. Pray, how many bags of Naira will I be buried with?

Over and over again, I have been counted out by men. Fortunately, the good Lord has refused to count me out. This year alone, I have been dragged to the Nigeria police, the EFCC and recently, it was all over the media that the Copyright Commission has filed criminal charges against me and some of my colleagues at COSON for working for the good of our country! Numerous press conferences have been held by people I once thought were decent men to spread lies and half-truths and completely decimate my good name.

Earlier this year, there was this loud campaign for the 'independent' audit of the COSON accounts. The intent was to create the impression that Okoroji was hiding something. The strange fact is that the COSON accounts have been independently audited every single year. Each of the thousands of COSON members, including those making the noise, have copies of the audited accounts which have been ratified by COSON members annually. Each of the audited accounts is in the custody of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, the Corporate Affairs Commission and our international partners. Copies of the audited accounts are available at COSON House for anyone to inspect.

Do you know who signed each of the audited accounts? His name is Joel Ajayi. He was the Chairman of the COSON Finance & Audit Committee. Ajayi supervised each of the audits and everything was ok with him until December 2017 when he participated in the failed coup to kick Okoroji out of COSON. When COSON members resolved to kick him out of the board, he forgot that he signed the audited accounts!

Mr. Afam Ezekude, the current NCC DG, was not in Nigeria when my colleagues and I took the bull by the horn and made sure that the NCC was set up for the good of the Nigerian creative industry. He was brought from London by his friend, the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adokie, to come and 'chop'. The result is that the once vibrant Copyright Commission today lies comatose. Last year, I visited the commission's main enforcement office at Costain in Lagos and I left heart broken. The roofs are leaking. The place is smelly. Rats and cockroaches are chasing after themselves all over the place. The toilet facilities are antiquated. Sometimes, there is no power in the building for months. At the same time, there are allegations of massive fraud in millions at the NCC

As we built COSON, the NCC DG, Ezekude, turned his back on us. More than 18 months after it was commissioned, the DG of the NCC, has not once visited COSON House, the gem of the copyright system in Nigeria. The DG of NTA has been to COSON House. So, has the DG of FRCN, the DG of NBC, the DG of NFVCB and many more Federal Government DGs. COSON House was officially commissioned by Mr. Moses Ekpo, the first DG of the NCC, who is presently Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State. At the event was Professor Egerton Uvieghara, the first Chairman of NCC. The edifice has welcomed many stars from home and abroad including our own Minister of Information & Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. Ezekude has never been to COSON House.

Since the December 2017 failed coup at COSON, Ezekude has not spoken to me once. He never answered any of my calls nor returned any of my text messages. He is busy plotting how to jail the stubborn Okoroji. Sooner or later, Ezekude will leave the NCC. I hope that his successor will learn something from Ezekude's misadventure.

I do not worship men. I only worship God. I swore to defend the interest of the members of COSON as long as they want me to. So, help me God.

See you next week.

 

BYE- BYE STELLA

BYE- BYE STELLA

This morning, in Atta Ikeduru in Imo State, the land in which my father was born, we will take her body to the old Saint Mary's Catholic Church in Ogada and thereafter, my friend will be laid to rest. It was to the same church that the body of my father was taken and before him that of my mother, as we said bye to each of them.

Yesterday, I was at my father's old house beside which, both my parents rest. The house, at some point, used to be considered the most glamourous building in my locality and people came from far and near just to look at it. The road that passes in front of my father's house was busy almost 24 hours a day. Before everyone sank a borehole, they came to the river named after my late father to fetch water to drink and to cook. It was in the same river that I learnt to swim.

No one goes to the river anymore. In fact, since the "express" was built, almost nobody passes the old road anymore. The same road that seemed to have led to everywhere! So, my father's old house stands wondering where everybody has gone.

That is the story of life, the story of all our lives. We come and we go. We are the stars of today but the history of tomorrow. Even our children that run around us will move on in search of their own lives. Someday, we will wake up to find that we are the only ones left at home.

As we struggle and squabble and fight with all our might, we should all sometimes go back to our old father's house. It might just help sink it in that we might be the big stars of today but we will be the history of tomorrow.   

Now and then, I wonder whether we know that ultimately, each one of us will pass away. Indeed, every day we are on the road to passing away. Of course, there are those so dear to us that we keep praying that they live for a long-long time because we cannot imagine life without them because of the way they have touched our lives.

Stella Ngozi Okoroji was not just a sister-in-law. She was my friend, my very good friend. She was one of those people that lit up my world.

Since my parents are no longer here, my friends wonder why I go home from Lagos so regularly. Stella was one sweet reason I have done so. She always had a smile waiting for me, an enchanting smile. Probe deeper and you will find one special bowl of ugba, the delicacy for which every good Igbo woman is known, waiting for me.

If Stella did not see me, she would call and in her quiet way ask me about work, family and the many challenges she knows I keep dealing with. Stella Ngozi Okoroji was my person!

You can then imagine what it was like, that early morning of October 11, 2018 when I received what was a heart-breaking text message from Emeka Eric, her son, my nephew, my guy and young confidant. The text read "Uncle, my world is finished, my mum is dead" "What?!", I exclaimed.

I speak with Mekus almost every other day and he never mentioned to me that his mother whom he knows is very dear to me, had any headache, bellyache, cough or any sickness of any sort. How come?

To say that I am heart-broken is to put it mildly. Every death is a loss but some deaths leave enduring scars for the rest of your life. The death of Stella Ngozi Okoroji has left such scars.

I however do not agree with Mekus and I have told him so. His world is not finished. His mother expects so much of him as she expects of Ugochukwu, Chigozie, Ezinne, Onyedikachi, Chimuanya and Obinna, all her children. They all still have a long road to travel and I know that she still loves them and will be watching and guiding them to success each step of the way.

Meanwhile, who will make that special plate of ugba, the way Stella did it for me? Who will give me that truly enchanting smile the way Stella did? Who now takes the first two loaves of bread I buy when coming home?

Adieu Stella Ngozi Okoroji. Adieu my special friend.

See you next week.

INDEED, EFE DIED THE DAY KIMONO DIED!

INDEED, EFE DIED THE DAY KIMONO DIED!

Yesterday, with my COSON brethren, family, friends and fans of the beautiful Efemena Okedi, we all came together at Atan Cemetery in Yaba to lay to rest the unforgettable love of my friend, brother and colleague, Ras Kimono who has buried in his home town Onicha Olona, about two months ago. There was uncontrolled crying as the white casket bearing the body of Efe Kimono was lowered into the grave. All around us at Atan, left and right, people were being buried, young and old. If that does not teach you that life is a gas, nothing else will.

Three weeks ago, I shared with some of my readers how I learnt of the passing on of the lovely Efe and the incredible love story of Kimono and his heartthrob, Efe whom I believe are having a good time in heaven. Please read on:  

It was very early Sunday morning. I was still in bed. I was in that stage when you are not sure whether you want to get up or you want to sleep some more. My phone rang. Oh no, who would be calling me this early? It probably would be one my COSON members needing some help. I checked. The name on the phone was Oge. Oge is the first daughter of my recently departed dear friend and colleague, Ras Kimono.

I speak with Oge quite a lot. She is so pleasant but it is unusual for Oge to call me so early. I did not answer because I thought it was a mistake. The phone rang again. I picked up the phone and once again, it was Oge. I took the phone to the bathroom and tried the usual chit-chat with someone I am growing to admire quite a bit.

Oge asked me how I was and I replied that I was ok. She asked me whether I was relaxed and I thought that was odd. How could this young lady be asking this old man these many JAMB questions this early in the morning, did she have too much to drink? Then, she said that she had news that was not so good. I asked her where she was and she said that she was in Abuja. My mind started racing… Did this have anything to do with Nigeria's crazy political situation? Like most Nigerians, I had been informed that President Buhari was on his way to New York on one of his many foreign trips. Something funny seems to happen each time he travels…

"Oge, what is the matter", I asked? I heard her breath on the phone. Then she spat it out, "Efe is dead!" "What do you mean Efe is dead?" She said slowly, "Efe died this morning. Her body is at the Teaching Hospital mortuary in Lagos" My head exploded. I am supposed to be a strong man but this was too much for me to handle. I started weeping. No one told me Efe had a headache or tooth ache. How could Efe suddenly die? None of it made sense. Maybe, someone had played an expensive prank on Oge.

I called Phil Ehizibue, Ras Kimono's brother-in-law who liaised with me through the celebrated burial of Kimono just four weeks earlier. Phil who is usually a rock was crying uncontrollably on the phone. I did not need any further proof that something horribly wrong had happened. When Phil got some control of himself, he told me that Efe was with him at his birthday party up to about 10.00 pm the night before and she appeared ok.

I had seen Efemena Okedi around the creative industry a few times before but my first real discussion with her was the day she walked into the Board room of the former COSON office in Opebi with Ras Kimono about seven years ago. Kimono had issues with his recording contracts and ownership of his intellectual property which he wanted me to help him resolve. Efe was part of the discussion and I was thrilled by her firm grasp of the issues. To most people, copyright is too complicated and just a lot of jargon and Greek. To my surprise, Copyright was not complicated to this beautiful lady. She had intellectual depth. We instantly became friends. Between me and Kimono, we constantly teased each other about who liked Efe more.

Friday, the 8^th of June, Kimono and I spoke on the phone for a long period. He had planned to travel that evening to Atlanta. We spoke the way boys do. Once more, I teased him about Efe, mother of Dimma, his beautiful daughter. He chuckled and said that with the rainy season, it was getting quite cold in Lagos. He joked that he was handing over Efe to me and that I should take care of her and make sure that she remained warm while he was away.

Of course, Kimono never made the trip to Atlanta. He passed on Sunday, the 10^th of June. I was at the Airport in Ikeja to board an Air Peace flight to Owerri. Just before boarding, I called Efe and she kept muttering "we lost him".

Efe was a key driver of the much talked about burial of Ras Kimono. She thought the world of Kimono and was 100% in love with the guy. She wanted Kimono properly celebrated. After watching a video documentary I had done on the life and times of the late Christy Essien Igbokwe, she pleaded with me to do "Good Bye Ras Kimono" the documentary which I shot and edited in two weeks In the documentary, Efe spoke in an uncommon way of her love for Ras Kimono.

In the last seven years, it was rare to see Kimono without Efe. Many times, the lovebirds would stop over at my TOPS office in Ikeja or at COSON House with their effervescent daughter, Dimma who would scatter everywhere! We would banter endlessly and on their way home, they would call me on the phone and we would continue the banter. Ras Kimono Augustine Oseleke Onwubuya and Efemena Okedi were two of the best persons I have ever known. In them, I saw the true meaning of love. Efe would have given her life to Kimono and Kim would have done the same.

To tell the truth, I was worried whether Efe could continue living without the incomparable love she shared with Kimono. I thought she could, maybe because of Dimma. I was wrong. I have thought deeply about it and I now believe that  Efe did not die on September 23, 2018. She died on June 10, the day Ras Kimono, the love of her life, died.

See you next week.

PLEASE FIGHT THE PIRATES AND LEAVE COSON AND OKOROJI ALONE!!!

PLEASE FIGHT THE PIRATES AND LEAVE COSON AND OKOROJI ALONE!!!

When about eight years ago, it was announced that one Afam Ezekude had been appointed DG, Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), I was mystified. Afam Ezekude? I never heard of the guy before.

The intellectual property community is a very close group. We attend the same seminars and conferences around the world. We know each other. I called my friends in the intellectual property field and no one appeared to have heard the name, Afam Ezekude. I googled the name and there was absolutely nothing. I went to LinkedIn and found nothing. So, how did this guy with no known copyright education, no publication, no attendance of any copyright forum become Director-General of the nation's biggest copyright institution?

Ultimately, I was told that Ezekude was brought from London to become DG because of his friendship with Mohammed Adokie, at the time, Attorney-General & Minister of Justice. That is the way the system appears to work.

In my humble opinion, Nigeria has paid a huge price as result of this decision. The entire copyright infrastructure in the country which took great energy by the likes of Moses Ekpo and Egerton Uvieghara to build, has terribly broken down. Last year, I went to see the key operational office of the NCC by the Costain roundabout in Lagos. I could not understand how any human being can work in such a derelict, smelly and completely rundown environment with leaking roofs. I wept. 

I STAND WITH COSON!!!

I STAND WITH COSON!!!

During the week, the news was all over town. Chief Tony Okoroji and some officers of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) have been charged with a crime. While this narrative is being widely promoted and spread in the media, nobody has served me with one piece of paper or any charge whatsoever.

Who did I kill? What did I steal?

Last year, we did what some may have considered very unlikely. Under my leadership, COSON, on behalf of the musicians of Nigeria commissioned the state of the art COSON House with some of the most modern facilities in Nigeria. In setting up COSON House, we did not ask nor receive one kobo from any government whether Nigerian or foreign. We did not borrow one Naira from any bank. We did not get one dollar as loan or grant from anywhere. COSON House was set up with our sweat and the deft management of our resources.

Overwhelmingly, the often-derided Nigerian musicians have shown great pride in the fact that they now own this magnificent structure. Stars of all sorts have visited COSON House. It was at COSON House that we celebrated the life of our much beloved colleague, the Rub-A-Dub Master, Ras Kimono and sent him home from Lagos in grand style.

At COSON House, we have retained the services of some young Nigerians whom we have given the best training around the world to become experts in the collective management of copyright in music. Their salaries have not once been paid out of time. What they do is to professionally ensure that people who use music in Nigeria in a public or commercial situation pay for the music. That is consistent with Nigerian law. Before COSON was set up about eight years ago, I was repeatedly told that collective management of copyright cannot work in Nigeria.

When COSON House was commissioned last year, it opened the eyes of many. Some of those who were sleeping, woke up to the fact that this thing that they thought could never work can actually produce results. Those who had no time for us or sneered at us while we labored day and night and set up the COSON structure, suddenly resolved that they ought to be the real beneficiaries of our labour. With some of their friends in the present government, they conspired and decided to hijack for themselves what belongs to the thousands of musicians of Nigeria.

To justify their greed and covetousness, they began to spread lies against me. They called press conference after press conference to promote the blatantly false narrative that I stole from those I have sworn to serve and that I own houses all over the place. They have tried to use the security agencies to harass and intimidate me.

The truth which these people very well know is that at 60 years old, with all the positions I have held, the only house I own is an uncompleted building in my village. I do not own a hut anywhere else in the world. I do not own any big money either in a bank, hidden inside a mattress or buried in a soak-away pit. I have long decided that a good name is better than gold and not every Nigerian has to be a thief.

To defend my good name, I have filed four defamation cases against their wickedness. As I write, not one person has filed any defence to any of the cases nor put one shred of evidence before any of the courts.  

Please do not feel sorry for me. I am a very happy and proud man. I have found out that Nigerians still appreciate honest service. The members of COSON have not let me down one inch. In their thousands, they understand what is going on. They know that some people want to turn them into their "mugu" and suck them dry. The know that my "sin" is that I have stood stoutly in defence of their rights and interest and that I have not allowed the dogs of prey to hijack what belongs to them They have stood with me and repeatedly passed votes of confidence in the work which I have done over the years with all the passion and commitment I can muster.

When, with the aid of their friends in government, the coup plotters made the brazen coup attempt to foist themselves as the leaders of COSON, a 100% private sector organization with no government money, the members of COSON overwhelmingly said no.  COSON members led by the revered Prof (Sir) Victor Uwaifo one of Nigeria's most brilliant and celebrated musicians of all times, went to the Federal High Court. In court, they obtained an order compelling the gentleman falsely parading himself as the new Chairman of COSON from further doing so. The order subsists.

While the matter was in court, COSON received an incredibly funny "directive" not from a court of law but from the head of a Nigerian government agency: COSON should no longer earn any income on behalf of its members who have legally assigned their works to COSON but COSON should continue to pay the salaries of its staff who are not allowed to do any work! We were also forbidden to spend our money to buy diesel to power our generators, pay our electricity or water bills, fuel the operational motor vehicles of the organization, etc.

Nobody informed us how we were supposed to continue to pay the salaries of our staff without any income. Nobody told us whether the government has unilaterally authorized the free use of the private intellectual property of citizens in the COSON repertoire since the property is no longer supposed to be licensed. Nobody told us from where the owners of this intellectual property are supposed to earn their living. Most importantly, nobody told us under which law these bizarre directives were made.

The members of COSON, once again led by Prof (sir) Victor Uwaifo, went before the Federal High Court which on September 19 issued a very clear order suspending the purported suspension of the licence of COSON and freezing the COSON bank account. The order still subsists.

Rather than chase after pirates who are killing Nigeria's creative industries or take on the people looting our nation dry, they are busy drafting charges to jail Tony Okoroji for defying their blatantly unlawful directives. The funny thing is that I risked my life to have this government agency set up and I am one of the people who drafted the law setting up the agency.

They know that I have committed no crime neither has any officer of COSON committed a crime. This is intimidation gone crazy.

I am convinced that no great nation in human history has been built by cowards. I have therefore made up my mind that if I have to go to jail in the defence of the rights of creative people in Nigeria, I will do so with my head held high. If I have to lay down my life in the defence of the people whose rights I have sworn to defend, it will be death so sweet.

I stand with COSON!!!

See you next week.

WHICH KIND DEMOCRACY BE THIS?

WHICH KIND DEMOCRACY BE THIS?

The entire democracy project hangs on an intriguing concept: all men are born equal. In other words, the great Aliko Dangote with his zillions of Naira, many trucks and thousands of employees has the same voting power as his cook. In a democracy, the opinion of a Bill Gates whose intellect created the incredible Microsoft software that drives almost all of human activities has the same weight as his janitor. A Barack Obama with his political sagacity and deep experience in world affairs casts one vote and that vote is in no way superior to that of a homeless man begging for coins in front of Washington DC's Union Station.

I told people that the British would never vote to leave the European Union. It made no sense to me. I was wrong, terribly wrong. Please forgive me for believing that the British are a thinking people and as a thinking people, would not ignore the warning of the array of world leaders and experts that told them of the devastating effect of walking away from their kith and kin in Europe.  

I was sure that the British had a high opinion of Barack Obama and would listen to him. But, if they had suddenly changed their minds with respect to Obama who is an American, what of David Cameron who the British elected as their Prime Minister? Gordon Brown, Prime Minister before Cameron warned them not to leave and so did Tony Blair, the one before Brown. Even David Beckham, their soccer duper star begged them against Brexit yet the British voted to exit the European Union!

EFE DIED THE DAY KIMONO DIED

EFE DIED THE DAY KIMONO DIED

It was very early Sunday morning. I was still in bed. I was in that stage when you are not sure whether you want to get up or you want to sleep some more. My phone rang. Oh no, who would be calling me this early? It probably would be one my COSON members needing some help. I checked. The name on the phone was Oge. Oge is the first daughter of my recently departed dear friend and colleague, Ras Kimono. 

I speak with Oge quite a lot. She is so pleasant but it is unusual for Oge to call me so early. I did not answer because I thought it was a mistake. The phone rang again. I picked up the phone and once again, it was Oge. I took the phone to the bathroom and tried the usual chit-chat with someone I am growing to admire quite a bit.

Oge asked me how I was and I replied that I was ok. She asked me whether I was relaxed and I thought that was odd. How could this young lady be asking this old man these many JAMB questions this early in the morning, did she have too much to drink? Then, she said that she had news that was not so good. I asked her where she was and she said that she was in Abuja. My mind started racing… Did this have anything to do with Nigeria's crazy political situation? Like most Nigerians, I had been informed that President Buhari was on his way to New York on one of his many foreign trips. Something funny seems to happen each time he travels…

"Oge, what is the matter", I asked? I heard her breath on the phone. Then she spat it out, "Efe is dead!" "What do you mean Efe is dead?" She said slowly, "Efe died this morning. Her body is at the Teaching Hospital mortuary in Lagos" My head exploded. I am supposed to be a strong man but this was too much for me to handle. I started weeping. No one told me Efe had a headache or tooth ache. How could Efe suddenly die? None of it made sense. Maybe, someone had played an expensive prank on Oge.