In the last quarter of 1987, the copyright campaign in Nigeria was hot because of the activities of the new executive council at PMAN. At the same time, the structure of PMAN as a true national organization was being built across Nigeria. In most places, the two objectives were tied. Between me and Acting General Secretary, Okuoimose E. Okuoimose, we were on the road constantly setting up the framework for new PMAN chapters and educating people everywhere. With other executive members, we met with State Governors such as Amadi Ikwechegh in Owerri, Bode George in Akure, Tunde Ogbeha in Uyo and Benin, Tanko Ayuba in Kaduna and others in Enugu, Ilorin, Port Harcourt, Kano, Calabar, etc. At every location, the team met with the resident musicians, the media, police commissioners and commissioners responsible for culture. Some of the commissioners we met were Sarah Jibrin in Ilorin, Chris Anyanwu in Owerri, Moses Ekpo in Uyo, Taiwo Alimi in Abeokuta, etc. The pursuit of our objectives took the PMAN team to the palaces of the Emir of Kano, the Alaafin of Oyo, the Obi of Onitsha, the Paramount Ruler of Uyo, the Emir of Ilorin, the Obong of Calabar, the Eze Apara Rebisi of Port Harcourt, Eze Onuegwunwoke in Owerri, Eze Ikonne in Aba, where I got my first ever chieftaincy title, etc..
Despite the hyperactive events, when December 31, 1987 came, there was no new copyright law. The promise I made that Nigeria would have a new copyright law at the end of 1987 or I would resign my position as President of PMAN had not been kept. I was depressed and disappointed. I had sacrificed my career and had persuaded others to make huge sacrifices too and there was nothing to show for all the activity. On January 2, 1988, I sent my resignation letter to PMAN Headquarters. Unknown to people on the outside, PMAN was once again in the throes of a crisis.
An emergency Executive Council meeting was held. The council refused to accept my resignation insisting that there was nothing that the I could do that I had not done. Some of the NEC members took the position that if the resignation was allowed to take effect, they too would leave. Legal Adviser, Mr. Caleb Atolagbe was particularly persuasive. He reminded me that we had succeeded in putting in place a reasonably credible process to finally bring about a new copyright law and that after the hopes I had raised, I had a duty to ensure that the process was guided to a successful conclusion. My ultimate decision to stay was for me a very humbling decision. Regardless of what ever happened thereafter, the fact that the law did not come at the time it was pledged would remain an indelible failure for me.
The reasonably credible process which Mr. Atolagbe spoke about was the product of a meeting held between PMAN and Colonel Tunde Akogun who was then Sole Administrator of Culture and Archives. At the meeting which took place at the National Theatre Lagos, Colonel Akogun was told that the musicians of Nigeria were tired of the many unfulfilled promises of the government. Colonel Akogun assured the PMAN delegation that both he and his Minister, Prince Tony Momoh, were determined to solve the problem once and for all. Following that meeting, a planning committee was set up to organize a conference to collate ideas from different experts and stake holders so that a comprehensive review of the Nigerian Copyright Law would be done. I was appointed a member of the planning committee which met in Abuja in November 1987.
The Abuja meeting which held at the Headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Trade was to be the first practical step by the government to address the copyright issue. I traveled to Abuja in the company of Mrs. Keji Okunowo, then MD of CBS Nigeria and Mr. Ayo Fawole then co-ordinator of IFPI Nigeria. Among those who attended the meeting was Tope Popoola, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA). Mr. Popoola came to the meeting with a rather young looking lawyer by the name, Bankole Sodipo. Sodipo was then solicitor to the NPA. I took instant liking to the young lawyer who showed great passion for the intellectual property subject. The meeting as well had a four-man team from the Federal Department of Culture, Colonel Akogun's Department. The team led by S.O. Williams had Bayo Aiyegbusi, M.D.I. Olagunju and O.B. Adetula. E.O. Fadina came from the Federal Ministry of Education. Oladele Jegede of the Federal Ministry of Trade who was host and chairman of the meeting was chided by the private sector participants because his ministry which was in charge of copyright had slept on its mandate. The private sector participants were generally suspicious of the government officials and their well-known penchant for unwinding processes that lead nowhere, and that suspicion was expressed. A proposal for a National Seminar on the Nigerian Copyright Law was agreed
The National Seminar on the Nigerian Copyright Law was held at Durbar Hotel Lagos from the 21st to the 25th of March 1988. The seminar was declared open by President Babangida, represented by Air Vice-Marshal Nureni Imam. Both the Attorney-General, Prince Bola Ajibola and Minister of Information & Culture, Prince Tony Momoh were present. The copyright seminar brought together some of the brightest minds ever assembled in Nigeria to tackle an issue. The icons of the Nigerian Judiciary that attended the different sessions include Former Chief Justice, Sir Darnely Alexander; Chairman of the Nigerian Law Reform Commission, Dr Olakunle Orojo; Justice Kayode Esho and Justice Augustine Nnamani of the Supreme Court and Justice Fred Anyaegbunam and Justice Babatunde Belgore, etc.
The major outcome of the seminar was the setting up of a committee to draft a new copyright law for Nigeria, using the report of the seminar as its primary working tool. On April 18, 1988, the Drafting Committee convened at Durbar Hotel Lagos to produce the draft of a new copyright law for Nigeria. Chairman of the committee was Prof Egerton Uvieghara, respected professor of Commercial Law at the University of Lagos. I served on the committee.
For a period of about one week, we were locked in at Durbar Hotel Lagos. Under the guidance of Prof Uvieghara, the committee tried to craft a draft statute to reflect the yearnings of copyright owners, international developments and peculiar Nigerian realities. On a lot of issues, it was reasonably easy to reach a consensus on the principles, even if agreement on the language took a little longer. Some issues however were more difficult to handle such as the transfer of the copyright schedule from the Minister of Trade to the Minister responsible for culture. This was strongly opposed by Mr. Oladele Jegede from the Federal Ministry of Trade. At some point, it appeared that a walk out was imminent. The crisis management skills of Prof Uvieghara saved the day and the committee was able to complete its task successfully.
The Draft Copyright Law was submitted to the Federal Department of Culture to pass on to the appropriate authorities for promulgation into law. Everyone involved was satisfied that all that needed to be done had been done. Not long after, information was received that a parallel effort was in progress. A directive from the AGF had mandated the Nigerian Law Reform Commission to undertake a review and reform of all Nigerian intellectual property laws. As a result, the Law Reform Commission began research work on the project and it appeared that everything would have to wait until the commission was through with its own process. I was alarmed and got in touch with Prof Uvieghara. This was a new development that was only going to create further complications to a matter that had received more than its fair share of complications. The attention of the Law Reform Commission was drawn to the fact that a draft copyright law had been produced by the committee set up as a result of the National Seminar on the Nigerian Copyright Law, a process fully supported both by the President and the Minister of Justice. Copies of the Report of the Seminar and the Draft Copyright Law were despatched to the commission.
The Law Reform Commission invited members of the Drafting Committee and officials of the Department of Culture to a review session at the Commission's Federal Secretariat office in Lagos. At the session chaired by the Commission's Chairman, Dr Olakunle Orojo, the Commission raised a number of issues on the draft, none of them major. All the issues were quickly resolved. Dr Orojo, commended us for what he called an excellent job. The amended draft was thereafter submitted to the Justice Minister with both the imprimatur of the Drafting Committee and the Nigerian Law Reform Commission.
Back at PMAN, the long wait began. The effort to spread the reach of the association continued. Strong support came from a number of musicians who though were not members of the Executive Council, were always ready to lend a hand. Some of these were Sir Victor Uwaifo, Chief Ebenezer Obey, Oliver De Coque, Comfort Omoge, Dan Maraya Jos, Mustapha Amego, Funmi Adams Charly Boy and his wife, Diane.
We worked together to mount an unending pressure on the government to act on the Draft Copyright Law. For a while, nobody knew what was happening. After the tremendous activities that took place during and immediately after the seminar, it was clear that the attention of the government had shifted to something else. It was understandable since the law had nothing to do with oil, there was no fat contract involved and nobody was going to get a penny for pushing it. It was clearly not in the priority of most government officials. Between the Ministry of Information & Culture and the Ministry of Justice, the response was the same, "something will be done soon". In 1988, May turned to June, June to July and July to August and the answer remained, "something will be done soon". Several letters were written to the different government officials, with the same answer, "something will be done soon". As September turned to October and October turned to November, I was filled with apprehension that another New Year's Day would come and go with the same answer, "something will be done soon".
Meanwhile, the piracy situation in Nigeria was getting much worse and the signs were that the music industry was on the throes of major divestment. It was time to take the bull by the horn. I instructed PMAN Headquarters to summon a meeting of the National Executive Council. At the meeting, there was agreement that something dramatic had to be done to force the hands of the military government. The decision was taken to declare November 30, 1988, Anti-Piracy Day throughout Nigeria. The big demonstrations on Anti-Piracy Day changed the narrative and less than 3 weeks after, the Copyright Act was promulgated. (To be continued)
See you next week.
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