I once wrote in Saturday Breakfast that not very long ago, I received a very warm welcome in Benin City from his Royal Majesty, the Oba of Benin. Three years ago, the Olubadan of Ibadan practically rolled out the red carpet for the COSON delegation which I led to his palace.
Just last year, I was in the palace of the revered Emir of Kano, the very brilliant Mohammed Sanusi II, with my friend and colleague, the unforgettable Ras Kimono. My delegation and I were warmly received by the Emir. His Highness, a former Governor of Nigeria's Central Bank clearly understands economics and the way the wealth of nations is built. He said very kind words to us 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 most times attracts envy.
Anyone who has managed a band of a few musicians, will understand that 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 almost two years ago, a lot of people were surprised that there was not one Naira of government money in the magnificent building, no donor dollar from anywhere, no bank loan and no debt of any type.
For eight years, not one of the highly trained staff of COSON received his or her salary one day late. Not until recently, when some meddlesome interlopers went to court behind our backs to shut down the bank accounts of COSON. 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 who believe in the word, IMPOSSIBLE. I drive on a full tank of faith, so I verily believe in the word POSSIBLE. As a result, the good Lord has refused to count me out. In the last 12 months, I have been dragged to the Nigeria police, the EFCC and visited by SARS. Not long ago, 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! They did not file the charges because we did anything wrong but because we did everything right. We have followed the law and every rule scrupulously and made the IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE. The result is envy and covetousness. To think that I was one of the people who wrote the law setting up the Nigerian Copyright Commission. Typical Nigerians, they badly want to hijack COSON and bleed it dry.
Recently, they began this loud campaign for the 'independent' audit of the COSON accounts. The intent is to create the impression that Okoroji's hands are not clean. "He is hiding something somewhere". The persons who started this campaign know the truth. The truth is that no organization in the history of the Nigerian creative industry has, year after year, been meticulously audited like COSON. Not the NCC. Not PMAN. Not NARI. Not REPRONIG. Not AVRS. Not AMB – PRO. Not AGN! I challenge anyone with alternative facts to please make them public.
Each of the thousands of COSON members, including those making the noise, have copies of the COSON audited accounts which have been ratified by COSON members every single year, as required by law. No COSON audit has ever been done one day late. Each of the audited accounts is in the custody of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, the Corporate Affairs Commission and the COSON international partners. Copies of the audited accounts are available at COSON House for anyone to inspect.
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. I will continue to drive on a full tank of faith with my tires pumped with love. Please do not listen to anyone who tells you that your dreams are impossible. That word, impossible, belongs to the devil.
I guarantee you that we will continue to shame the devil and make the IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE.
See you next week.
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