HAS THE CONTEST FOR THE PRESIDENCY OF AMERICA BECOME A REALITY TV SHOW?

This time eight years ago, very few people gave Donald J. Trump a beggar's chance of getting anywhere near the White House. The pundits said that he was a joke. The media wrote him off. The polls said he was dreaming. No one who worked hard to make his money would have bet a cent in any of Trump's failed casinos across America that Donald Trump would become the 45^th President of the United States of America.

In November 2016, what looked like a joke became reality! Donald J. Trump was announced President-elect of the United States of America, the most powerful office in the world. Surprise! Surprise! The American people, deploying their fairy-tale electoral college system told the world that they had elected as their president the trash talking man who spews obscenities as much as he openly sprouts divisions and cultural wars.

The former United States First Lady, former New York Senator and former U.S. Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton received about three million more votes from the American people than Donald Trump in the elections but come and see 'America wonder', a guy who was that badly worsted at the polls, a guy who has run his companies four times into bankruptcy and has been married to three different women was announced winner of the election.

Imagine if that had happened in an African country, Donald Trump would have immediately picked up his smart phone and gone to his Truth Social platform and fired off messages to deride the country as a 'shit hole country' with no respect for the basic tenets of democracy - majority rule.

On January 20, 2017, Donald Trump moved into the White house and it was unending chaos. In four years, he was impeached twice. After losing the 2020 Presidential elections, he took every crazy step to hold on tightly to the White House. Clutching fiercely to his refusal to concede, he went to practically every court in America and lost and lost and lost. On January 6, 2021, he unleashed his supporters on the US Capitol in an unprecedented insurrection to disrupt the constitutional process of vote counting required to hand over to his successor, Joe Biden. The world watched in horror as the violent chaos unfolded in Washington DC.

With the problems in Nigeria, you may wonder why I write so much about America. I have always been fascinated by America. For much of my lifetime, America has been seen as the moral compass of the world, promoting democracy, human rights and fighting autocratic regimes, evil, hunger and disease across the world. I doubt if there is any family in Nigeria which does not have an important bread winner living in America. People around the world have looked up to America to show us the way. America used to be seen as the leader of the free world. What happens in America concerns me.

I have always known that some Americans can be "one kind" but I never thought there were so many 'crazy' people in America who would crown Donald Trump as the leader of the free World. The amazing thing is that many of those who propelled Donald Trump's journey to the White House are the bible quoting Christian conservatives. How could this group consider this man whose behaviour is so unchristian, to be one of them and accept him as promoting their values? This is the same man whose own niece, Mary Trump with a Doctorate in Psychology, refers to as the most dangerous man in the world.  

Donald Trump has shown us the power of Reality TV and the smart phone. In the world of Reality TV, there is no bad news. Bad news is good news. Donald Trump, the star of NBC's Reality TV show, "the Apprentice" understands that in the crazy Reality TV world, all you need is to be in the news. And so, the Donald swears, curses, and wagers his fingers at everyone and if you are not discerning, you are captivated! He is not just in the news all the time, he is the news and many not quite discerning Americans clap and cheer. They may think that they are watching Reality TV. What they may not understand is that if this weird fella to whom nothing is sacred and who is lashing out at all the institutions that have made America stable, is not challenged, it will be hard reality for their children and grandchildren to continue to have a nation that they will be proud of. The entire world would have lost America, the important world leader.

In November 2024, Americans will go the polls again. Almost every poll says that Donald Trump will once again be the presidential candidate of the Republican party.

As I write, Donald Trump is facing 91 criminal charges across the states of Florida, New York, Georgia and Washington DC. If he is found guilty in any of these charges, he could be sentenced to many years in prison. He is also a defendant in a civil suit in New York in which his company has already been found to have engaged in fraudulent activities. In the suit, New York State is claiming $250,000,000 from the Trump Organization. The organization could also face the closing down of its operations in New York.

In May 2023, a jury in New York found Donald Trump liable of sexually abusing columnist, Jean Carroll, and ordered him to pay the sum of $5 million as damages to her. Meanwhile about 400 Trump supporters who took part in the January 6 insurrection have been convicted and sent to jail.

None of the above has slowed down the overwhelming support of millions of the grass roots of the American Republican party, for Donald Trump. I do not know that it will make any difference if Donald Trump is found guilty of committing murder.

The American Presidential election is turning out to be a reality TV show. Incumbent American president, Joe Biden is not a good showman. He has found himself playing in the turf of the master of Reality TV. How will the battle end?

See you next week.     

IS DECEMBER REALLY HERE?!

Truly… truly… is December really here? Yesterday, my phone was full of 'Happy New Month' messages from friends and well-wishers, all announcing that December has arrived. Ordinarily, December should be the month of happiness, the month of celebrations. It used to be the month to count one's blessings and give glory to the Almighty.

Before the cellphone revolution and the emergence of sms, and WhatsApp messaging, mail men everywhere would by now be busy delivering greeting cards to one and all. I used to have friends in the design and printing business who used to make a killing at this time of the year, designing and printing greeting cards and calendars of all colours. Now, they are killing nothing. Instead, digital technology has killed their hustle.

December is the month when the whole world goes on leave and celebrates Christmas. Usually, the quarrels and bickering in the world are put on hold. No… no, not this December! Yesterday, on December 1, the Israelis and Palestinians halted their one week old truce and 'pause'. They resumed the carpet bombing and slaughtering of thousands of innocent men, women and children in Gaza, not far from Bethlehem where Jesus was born!

Lest we forget, the Russians and Ukrainians remain at each other's throat and in Sudan, the rattling of firearms continues unabated. Instead of the December sound of beautiful carols in the air, the common people are tortured by the never-ending horror of rockets and missiles. The exchange of messages of goodwill has been replaced by the exchange of bullets and bombs!

Last December, the traumatized people of Nigeria, my homeland, held their breath. The suffering was almost unbearable. Those who can fast, fasted; those who can pray, prayed; those who can mobilize, mobilized and those who can campaign, campaigned. Like East African marathon runners, the Nigerian people sought to find that extra strength to get to the finish line. We said to ourselves, "After all, there would be elections in February 2023 and the Nigerian people would then have the chance to start digging the country out of the deep hole it has fallen into". We looked forward to the hopelessness of December 2022 giving way to hope by December 2023.

Very few people in Nigeria can tell you that they understand what happened to the country in 2023. Very few can explain how the hopelessness of December 2022 turned out to become despair in December 2023. Suddenly, nothing seems to make sense.

One of the features of the Nigerian society is that every December, millions move from the big cities to their villages where they celebrate with their kith and kin. How is that going to happen this December 2023? Transportation costs have spiraled out of control and security on the roads and in the villages has gone from bad to disastrous.

It took only a few words from the declared president of the Nigerian nation for the price of petroleum products to quadruple in a few days. That development has practically shot the cost of everything in Nigeria super sky high. Aided by the foreign exchange volatility, things have clearly fallen apart and the center can no longer hold. It is now so dangerous and expensive to travel to any destination in Nigeria. If you are driving, you have to have good money to fuel the car and enough to give to the ubiquitous men in uniform flagging you down practically every kilometer on the way. If you don't like that, you have to cough out the outrageously high cost of air travel in today's Nigeria. Head or tail, you lose.

One other feature of the Nigerian society is that every December, no matter how rich or poor you are, you are able to cook a good pot of rice supported by some bouncing chicken for you and your family to be part of the celebration. It is difficult to state what percentage of Nigerians can comfortably afford that now except for those with some pipe connected to government coffers. If you can buy the rice at the crazy price and buy the chicken, you also have to find the big money to buy the kerosene or gas to cook the food. I am sure that for many Nigerians, if they had their way, they would ask that this December be postponed!

Last December was challenging for me. I had a frightening battle with my health that dragged to much of the first quarter of 2023. For about three months, I was either in hospital, a diagnostic facility or a theatre for surgery. There were those who were not quite sure whether I would make it. Here I am, the guy who drives on a full tank of faith. It is another December and by God's grace, I am not in any hospital.

December had always been a special month for me and my family. My birthday is celebrated on December 22. Madam's is on December 24. My family's December celebrations begin on December 4 when Stephanie, my youngest daughter, was born. By now, you may be a little more familiar with Stephanie, my daughter who is in every way special and ready to give of her time and immense talent for the good of everyone.

If you cannot travel this December, please my friend, do not fret. If you cannot afford the kind of food you would have loved to eat or acquire the clothes you want, still do not fret. My prayer is that the Almighty will give you many better Decembers.

This December, I send felicitations to my friends and those who have not been so friendly. I particularly thank the thousands of members of the COSON family. May our tomorrow be better than our today. I beg Nigerians not to lose hope. I am certain that soon, we will have a December that we will remember with joy in our hearts. Warmest wishes to all of you who join me every week to partake in Saturday Breakfast.

See you next week.

NO AMOUNT OF ‘THANK YOU’ CAN EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE

NO AMOUNT OF 'THANK YOU' CAN EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE

These past few weeks, it has been celebration galore all around me. At some point, I was forced to ask myself, "what exactly have I done that the good Lord seems to have singled me out for his blessings?".  

Please, do not misunderstand me. I did not win the lotto neither have I made any big money. I still struggle to make ends meet like most Nigerians under the present economic environment. My heart is however filled with joy.

Please check it out: On October 27, there was the big celebration in Lagos of my service to the Nigerian creative industry by the Creative Industry Group (CIG) and a Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to me. On November 7, I had the big honour of chairing the historic and celebrated COSON AGM and royalty distribution at the magnificent COSON House in Lagos. On November 16, my son's wife, Andrea, gave birth in Dallas Texas to my bouncing grandson whom I had pre-named 'Tony Okoroji, the 3^rd' and on November 19, there was the wonderful celebration in Maryland USA of the 40^th Anniversary of my wedding to the beautiful Queen Mary. OMG! All within three weeks?!

I wish to thank my many friends across the world, some of whom I do not know, who have bombarded me with messages of goodwill. I thank the thousands of members of the COSON family who have stood staunchly by me through thick and thin. I cannot but thank the members of the COSON Board who have shown me camaraderie beyond what anyone in my position in Nigeria should expect. I specially thank you, Sir Shina Peters, my brother from another mother; the delectable Kenny Saint Best (KSB); Eng Sharon Esco Wilson Joshua; the great drummer and producer, Richard Ayodele Cole and Chief Uche Emeka Paul whom I fondly call 'Onye Ngozi' (the man of blessings).

I thank the multi–talented, restless and progressive Koffi Da Guru; the unshakable Sir Angus Nwangwu; the Righteousman, undisputed president of the 'Righteous Nation'; Oge Kimono, the very beautiful and brilliant "son" of my brother, the late Rub-A-Dub Master; Evangelist of the People, Olusegun Omoyayi and the super articulate Zdon Paporella. Oh yes, I thank my staff at TOPS Digital who are, more or less, an extension of my family.

I am a very lucky man and I thank the Almighty for the incredible protection he has given me in many trying circumstances and under conditions that would have sunk many men. For a guy who goes to church sparingly, it is a miracle!

Please, wind back the tape to December 7, 2017, when a well-planned coup was suddenly unleashed on me by some of my colleagues on the COSON Board, who wanted to hijack control of the organization. Despite the fact that I did not agree with the timing nor the procedure, I took my laptop 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.

With the publishing of a press release saying that a younger colleague of mine had become Chairman of COSON, my phone began to ring off the hook.

Two days later, I wrote in this column, "What is in a title?". In the piece, I wrote, "I have spent enough time in leadership to understand the nature of man. The day we gathered the creme of Nigeria to commission the magnificent COSON House in Ikeja without borrowing one Naira from anyone, I very well knew what would happen after. With what I have seen, I am determined that COSON will not be a repeat of the PMAN story. It will take a lot of patience and wisdom but I trust the good Lord to give us the patience and wisdom to make COSON a continuing Nigerian success story".

I was taken aback by the response to that piece. There were a lot of comments from people whom I did not know have been watching COSON.

For as long as I live, I will never forget December 19, 2017 when COSON members after 12 days of my absence ushered me back into COSON House with thunderous ovation and overwhelming kindness. They refused to accept the coup and annulled it as they have the power to do. Of course, I cried in public. I cried because not many people live to witness such profound recognition and appreciation of their effort. I am lucky.

My traducers went on to publish incredibly defamatory things about me and twisted so many facts to run me down. They did not want anybody to have anything to do with me. With the media power they thought they have, they were sure they would mutilate my reputation forever. Oh! they did everything they could to destroy COSON and to destroy me and dragged in their friends in different government agencies to annihilate us. Man proposes but God disposes. Happily, COSON continues to be a Nigerian success story.

There are people who have asked me why I have refused to personally reply these people. I have chosen that my work speaks for me. In Igbo land, we have a saying that if you have undressed to have your bath and a mad man comes and runs away with your clothes, if you decide to run after the mad man naked, no one will know the difference between the two of you.

They want me to engage them in a quarrel so that they can promote their narrative that there are factions in COSON. They want me to help them to destroy COSON. I am not a fool. There are no factions in COSON, none whatsoever. Our board is one. Our Management is one. There is only one COSON office in Nigeria – the magnificent COSON House. Our members across every state of Nigeria support the board and management operating from COSON House which continues to sparkle. COSON is working like ever before.

I intend to answer their defamatory statements in every detail for posterity but not on Facebook. I am a solid believer in in the rule of law, even though the process meanders left and right until we get it right. I have gone to court because while you can make all the noise you want on Facebook and abuse anybody as you wish, in a court of law you are compelled to bring hard evidence to substantiate everything you say.  

The back-to-back celebrations in my life over the last three weeks is proof that the insidious effort to mutilate my reputation forever, has failed. There is no amount of gratitude that will adequately express my thanks.

See you next week.

Ps: Before the celebrations, I lost my elder sister, Martha, in Baltimore USA. She was a beautiful person with an exceedingly beautiful heart. May she rest in peace.

THE NON-STOP WORK THAT MADE PMAN A NATIONAL INSTITUTION & A HOUSEHOLD NAME.

 Last week, I told the story of how within three months of being elected President of PMAN, I abandoned my flourishing job at EMI, the international recording company, without any formal resignation and became a fulltime advocate of the Nigerian creative industry, without any salary.

Despite the tremendous activities we initiated at PMAN, the limitations of the association were obvious To close watchers, PMAN was short on staff, short on money, short on national spread but very strong in advocacy.

Indeed, a crop of journalists who were excited about the many stories that were constantly developing at PMAN made the PMAN secretariat at No 1 Oremeji Street, Ikeja, their primary beat. This group of journalists who began to be addressed as entertainment journalists gave the association wall-to-wall coverage. Among the journalists were the irrepressible Azuka Jebose Molokwu of The Punch, Jackson Ekwugum at Guardian Express, Alvan Ewuzie of Champion, Kenneth Tadaferua at the Mail, Siaka Momoh of Vanguard, Edmund Enaibe at The Republic and the Sierra Leonian born Kolosa Kargbo, a writer of immense talent.

The likes of Femi Akintunde Johnson, Jahman Anikulapo, Kunle Bakare, Hakeem Ikandu, Muka Popoola, Kazie Uko, Charles Okogene, Ifeanyi Nkennor, Ogbonna Amadi, Jude Arijaje, Wale Olomu, Biola Ogunduyile, Emma Agese, Zik Okafor etc, succeeded this initial group of journalists in the coverage of PMAN.

The biggest problem however was that the music industry was deeply fractured. There was significant mistrust between the major multinational recording companies and a lot of the indigenous companies. There was equally no love lost between the artistes and nearly all the companies.

A fiery gentleman called Aigbe Lebarty who had contested the PMAN presidency against me, filed several court cases and started a nasty media campaign, deploying a self published newspaper called Weekend Mirror. When he lost in court, Mr Lebarty resuscitated a long dead musicians' association called Nigerian Union of Musicians (NUM), declared himself president of NUM and did all he could to derail PMAN. My response was to ignore him into irrelevance. While this approach worked, it took a while because Mr Lebarty was a die-hard. The result was that too much energy was dissipated and the industry could not speak with one voice on the issues in which unity was badly needed.

One issue in which unity was absolutely necessary was the struggle for a new copyright regime. I engaged in rapid fire diplomacy and discussed this problem with some of the heads of the recording companies and we agreed that something needed to be done quickly to unite the industry. With the support of Bode Akinyemi, my former boss at EMI; Ton Seysner, Managing Director of Polygram Records; G.A.D. Tabansi of Tabansi Records; A.O. Awofala of RMNL and Keji Okunowo whose CBS Records had become a significant player, PMAN invited all sections of the industry to a lunch meeting at Lagos Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja on November 12, 1987.

The meeting was attended by the heads of all the major multinational and indigenous recording companies, the distributors, the manufacturing companies, the packaging manufacturers, the studio owners and a strong PMAN delegation. At the meeting which I presided over, the decision was taken to set up the Nigerian Association of Recording Industries (NARI) to act as a rallying point within the industry. The idea of NARI had been muted in the past but the energy to get it started was absent. Mrs Keji Okunowo was elected Chairman and Mr. Goddy Tabansi of Tabansi Records became Secretary.

The setting up of NARI began a period of unprecedented co-operation in the music industry. For about a year, the PMAN Secretariat hosted the secretariat of NARI and its meetings as the organization was nurtured. Later, NARI set up its own office at 272 Ikorodu Road,Lagos. A lot of problems which could have ended up in court were resolved on the NARI table. A lot of respect and co-operation also developed between me and Mrs Okunowo and we joined forces in the copyright fight. The birth of NARI was a chance for a new beginning.

The copyright campaign was going on at the same time that the wider structure of PMAN was being built across the country. In most places, the two objectives were tied. Acting General Secretary, Okuoimose E. Okuoimose was on the road, constantly setting up the framework for new PMAN chapters and arranging meetings everywhere.

It became our job to let every stratum of leadership in our nation to understand the very important role that Intellectual Property would play in a rapidly changing world. I had studied my subject well and spoke about it with clarity. Alongside other executive members, especially Ms Onwenu and Mr. Okuoimose, I spoke to State Governors such as Amadi Ikwechegh in Owerri; Bode George in Akure; Tunde Ogbeha in Uyo and later, in Benin; Tanko Ayuba in Kaduna and others in Enugu, Ilorin, Port Harcourt, Kano, Calabar, etc.

PMAN was constantly on the move and constantly in the news. At every location, the team spoke to 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 the objectives took the unstoppable 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 in Port Harcourt, Eze Onuegwunwoke in Owerri, Eze Ikonne of Aba, etc.

It was indeed at the Palace of Eze Ikonne of Aba that I was surprised and conferred with my first Chieftaincy title,"Akaneme Uwa Obioma" - the hand that brings happiness to the world. . (To be continued)

See you next week.

THE BUILDING OF PMAN, THE ORGANIZATION NIGERIA COULD NOT IGNORE

THE BUILDING OF PMAN, THE ORGANIZATION NIGERIA COULD NOT IGNORE

Last week, I began the story of how PMAN changed my life. I wrote about the sudden resignation of the iconic musician, Emma Ogosi from his position as General Secretary of PMAN shortly after I became President. His resignation and relocation from the one room he shared with Evi Edna at the PMAN Secretariat happened very early in the morning on the same day. That suggested to me that there was prior planning of the development, yet Emma gave me no hint whatsoever. Naturally, I felt betrayed and abandoned. If Ogosi all along was looking for a smart way to dump the problems of PMAN on the laps of someone else, he had succeeded!

I requested for an emergency meeting of the new Executive Council to deal with the unexpected crisis. It was decided at the meeting which went into the night that the resignation of Ogosi had to be handled with tact. With the barrage of bombs being thrown at the new Executive Council by the likes of Aigbe Lebarty, it was concluded that very bad signals would be sent out, if the media, on its own, was to obtain the news of the departure of Emma Ogosi who to all intents and purposes was the known face of PMAN.

It was therefore decided that the association should issue an immediate press statement announcing Mr. Ogosi's resignation and thanking him for his service and sacrifice. The fist staff position created by the new Executives was that of 'Assistant Secretary, Public Affairs', a position considered critical if the change in the image of PMAN would be achieved and the policies of the union effectively sold to the public. Jacob Aguomba, then a freelance journalist, was appointed to the position. It was Mr. Aguomba who was instructed to issue the statement announcing Ogosi's resignation.

The appointment of an Acting General Secretary was also announced in the statement. The Acting General Secretary who was appointed that evening was until then, Secretary of the Bendel State Chapter of PMAN. To be honest, Okuoimose Emmanuel Okuoimose. was not my idea of an ideal PMAN General Secretary. He was a bit too noisy, rather unkempt and abrasive. He did not fit the image that the new leadership was trying to create at PMAN. Regardless, Okuoimose was appointed Acting General Secretary because it was tactically necessary that the void left by the sudden departure of Ogosi be immediately filled. Okoimose E. Okoimose was also the only one available who was willing to take up the big task with little or no salary.

I must confess that Okuimose Emmanuel Okuoimose surprised me. He had an uncanny love for trade unionism and activism. What he lacked in finesse, he displayed in a huge appetite for work, an incredible grassroots organizational ability and a surprising talent in writing and book-keeping. Okuoimose could also begin a journey to any location in Nigeria with less than thirty minutes notice. He was someone who had little interest in comfort and luxury and could get things done at minimal cost. To my astonishment, he set out with little supervision from me to organize the thousands of pieces of paper, scattered all over the secretariat, in a structured format and quickly developed an effective record keeping and filing system for PMAN.

The initial seed money needed to start any kind of activity was not available. To my shock, it was not just that PMAN did not have any money, five years after its establishment, PMAN did not have a bank account! We could not even cash a cheque in PMAN's name. I had to contact a fantastic gentleman from Plateau State by the name S.P.Y. Gang, who was manager of the Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja branch of Savannah Bank and PMAN's first current accounts were opened. The money to open the account was contributed by members of the Executive Council and a few friends in the industry.

Immediately after the election, we announced that the premiere objective of the new leadership was to finally get a new copyright law promulgated in Nigeria. I had gone ahead to pledge that the new leadership would so focus on this objective that if at the end of 1987, a new copyright law was not promulgated, I would resign my position. And so began one of the most intense campaigns ever undertaken by any private sector organization in Nigeria. Initially, I had planned to spend one day of every week at PMAN and the rest at my regular job as producer and A & R manager at EMI, the international recording company. In between, I intended to continue to be on the road as a performing artiste. When the reality of the PMAN task began to unfold, the one day was increased to two and then to three and in less than three months, I had abandoned my excellent office at EMI without any formal resignation and was working full time at a job that had no salary whatsoever.

I brought some modest carpenters, painters, electricians and carpet men and bought a used air-conditioner and directly supervised the transformation of the largest room at the PMAN Secretariat at No 1 Oremeji Street, Ikeja, into a reasonably comfortable meeting room. This room was to play host to hundreds of meetings, strategy sessions, press conferences, disagreements and even quarrels. The newly appointed legal adviser, Caleb Ola Atolagbe, apart from going in and out of court to deal with the many cases involving PMAN, was also involved in the many strategy sessions. PMAN did not have the resources to hire most of the staff required for the work it was doing. Each of the Executive Council members therefore, from time to time, performed staff assignments. The campaign for a new copyright law was an all-consuming campaign. The level of ignorance on the subject was frightening. The author, who without prior warning had become the chief advocate of the cause, was to read every book or article on the subject that he could find. The experience acquired in repertoire management at EMI would become invaluable Countless newspaper articles were written. Almost every day, there was a meeting with one government official or another.

The author recalls that the first meeting with any minister was that with John Shagaya, then Minister of Internal Affairs and a very influential person in the military government. The meeting was scheduled for10 am at Colonel Shagaya's Abuja office. The union could only manage money for two persons to go to Abuja. The author and the late Rowland Onwuama, another member of the Executive Council, left Lagos on the first flight to Abuja with the aim of coming back immediately after the meeting. At the ministry in Garki, there was no minister. He had gone out on some other business. A long wait then ensued.

When the minister finally showed up at about 5 pm, it was clear that the PMAN team would be stranded in Abuja because it was too late to go back to Lagos and there was no money for any hotel accommodation. The author was apparently too inexperienced to understand that to see a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was a rare privilege. When the minister finally arrived, the author complained that a meeting scheduled for 10 am was holding at 5 pm. The minister's reaction suggested that the author was a fool not to appreciate the privilege of being seen at all. Some of the minister's staff had to intervene to arrest what was fast degenerating into a shouting match between the author and the minister. Eventually, tempers cooled, and the author explained that the team had come to solicit the minister's support in getting the government to establish a new copyright regime which would have tremendous benefits for the country. The mutual antagonism disappeared, and a very friendly discussion took place with the minister promising to do what he could. The minister indeed made sure that the PMAN duo did not end up spending the night on the streets of Abuja.

PMAN also had several meetings with Tony Momoh who was Minister of Information & Culture. Prince Momoh never kept anyone waiting. There were no ministerial airs about him. The author had met Prince Momoh long before he became a Minister, through a mutual friend, Chike Egbuna. While he was editor of Daily Times, he had also been quite helpful to the author in several ways. His new powerful position had not changed him. Prince Momoh was to become a major factor in whatever success PMAN achieved at that time.

A large delegation from PMAN had also gone to meet with Ike Nwachukwu while he was Minister of Employment, Labour & Productivity. Once more, there was a long wait. The author at this time had become more accustomed to the ways of government officials and had simply sat in the waiting room reading a book. When morning turned to afternoon and hunger set in, there was loud grumbling in the waiting room. First Vice President, Onyeka Onwenu announced that she could not stand it anymore and promptly headed for the elevator at the old Federal Secretariat in Ikoyi, Lagos. Some members of the team had to run after her, because just as she left, information came that the minister had arrived via the special elevator reserved for ministers. The minister, charming as ever, expressed all the excuses that government officials have in abundance. As the team left, a member of the delegation joked that while this author spoke, the minister appeared to have had his attention on only one person in the room, the good looking and strikingly dressed vice president, Onyeka Onwenu! (To be continued).

See you next week.

HOW PMAN CHANGED MY LIFE

THE UNWRITTEN BOOK OF THE NIGERIAN RECORDING INDUSTRY AND THE TALENTS THAT PROPELLED IT – (4)

THE UNWRITTEN BOOK OF THE NIGERIAN RECORDING INDUSTRY AND THE TALENTS THAT PROPELLED IT – (4)

The vibrant activities and good profit in the Nigerian recording industry in the first half of the 1970s resulted in substantial local and foreign investments in the second half of the 70s and early 80s.

Before these new investments, professional recording facilities were limited to the three studios in Lagos. The first was the EMI 8 track studio on Wharf Road Apapa set up with EMI technology, a smaller version of the set up at the EMI Abbey Road Studio in North London where the Beatles recorded their big hits. The engineering team was led by Emma Odenusi. The second was the Philips 2 track studio situated at Ijora Causeway in Ijora which was driven by Philips machines and headed by Inyang Henshaw who was a successful Highlife artiste in his own right. The third was the Decca 8 track studio at Lawani Street in Abule Oja, Yaba set up with 3M technology. The lead engineer, Emma Akpabio, had a team that included L.A.K. Adeniran, John Malife and Martin Ikebuaku.

Manufacturing of black vinyl records took place primarily at the Phillips factory at Ojota and that of Record Manufacturers Nigeria Ltd (RMNL), at the same premises as the EMI Studio in Apapa. People came from all over West Africa to make use of these facilities.

Because of the heightened activities in the industry, there were several rapid developments. Phillips which had been acquired by Phonogram, bought from Ibadan based businessman, Bayo Akinnola, the 16 track ARC studio on Alhaja Kofoworla Street in Ikeja. The studio was originally set up by world renowned drummer, Ginger Baker during his tour of Nigeria. The engineering team was led by Demola Odebiyi assisted by Raymond Njoku. The company now known as Phonogram expanded and moved its manufacturing facilities from Ojota to Satellite Town in Lagos. The manufacturing facility was later taken over by the foreign owned NIRA Sounds which also turned it into a CD plant.

Apala music maestro, Haruna Ishola set up the 24-track Phonodisk studio with MCI technology and a manufacturing facility at Ijebu Igbo and a major rehearsal facility on Ikorodu Road in Lagos.

One of the foremost indigenous players in the industry, Chief G.A.D. Tabansi set up a 24-track Tabansi Studio and a manufacturing facility in Onitsha and another manufacturing facility on Oregun Road in Ikeja.

Rogers All Stars, fresh from its huge success with Ikenga Superstars and Prince Nico Mbarga, set up a top class 24-track studio in Awka Anambra State with engineering talent like John Malife, formerly of Decca, manning the console.

Shanu Olu Trading Company, the frontline distributor for Decca West Africa, also set up its own 24-track studio and manufacturing plant in Ijebu Ode.

Record Manufacturers of Nigeria Ltd (RMNL) expanded its operations and moved its facilities from Apapa to a more modern and spacious location in Ogba near Ikeja.

Simeon Anochie of Anodisc Records, began arrangements to set up state of the art recording and manufacturing facilities at Ogbor Hill in Aba.

The Afrodisia Studio in Abule Oja took delivery of a brand-new Neve console and 24-track Studer recorder to replace its 3M equipment. This new set of equipment was some of the most expensive in the world.

EMI moved from Apapa to Ikeja and set up two studios at its new location on Oregun Road. Studio 'A' was a fully automated 24 track facility driven by MCI technology. Studio 'B' had the cherished EMI 8 track console which had hosted many great recordings including Fela's Shakara and Paul McCartney's "Band on the Run". The new EMI studios which had an engineering team led by Monday Oki also had Bayo Aro.

Olumo Records boldly gave birth to Recordisc in the Iju area of Lagos with another 24-track studio based on Neve technology and a record manufacturing plant. The engineering team at the studio was led by Raymond Njoku who used to work with Demola Odebiyi at Arc Studio.

CBS Records which previously had its repertoire distributed in Nigeria by EMI, set up offices at Allen Avenue in Ikeja headed by Keji Okunowo who had previously managed A&R and Public Relations operations at Phonogram. The offices eventually moved to Aromire Avenue and later to Adeniyi Jones Avenue, all in Ikeja.

Apart from the above investments, there were countless smaller investments in the industry with many millions sunk in with the cumulative potentials to provide thousands of jobs.

As proof of the wisdom in the several millions of Naira invested in the industry, a new string of hit records with substantially improved audio quality, followed. Haruna Ishola's Phonodisk Studio opened the floodgates with the sleek recording of the young and very charismatic law student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Kris Okotie. The album, "I Need Someone" was produced by Odion Iruoje. The Odion Iruoje magic obviously was still at work. Odion had left EMI and made a successful recording at Decca with Cameroonian superstar, Manu Debango called "Home Made". The success of Kris Okotie's "I Need Someone" was a defining moment for the industry. Odion once again had in session his old partners from BLO, but this time the 'O' was a massively creative keyboard player, Lemmy 'Otu' Jackson.

Another development was the arrival of a deluge of Cameroonian instrumentalists that flooded Nigeria, apparently to exploit the fruits of the vibrant investments in the industry. While Kris Okotie released 'Just for You', another successful album at Phonodisk, the attempt by Phonodisk to achieve the same success with Gbubemi Amas, whose album, "Grill" was massively promoted, was unrewarded.

With the opening of the EMI Oregun Road studios in 1981, activities shifted from Phonodisk to EMI. In a great example of half-truth advertising, the EMI studio was advertised as a 32-track facility. While in theory the 24 track MCI recorder could be linked to another 8-track recorder in the studio resulting in 32-track operation, the studio was basically a 24-track set up running on 2 inch tapes.. Say what you might, the advertising worked and all roads led to EMI. The opening of the studio also marked the second coming of Odion Iruoje to EMI. At 23 years old, this author who had previously done some production work with Odion Iruoje at Decca, on the recommendation of Iruoje,.was engaged at EMI as part of the production and A&R team,

Odion came back to EMI with the undisputed hottest act of the time, Kris Okotie and quickly set about recording a new album. Simultaneously, Sonny Okosun was in the studio, not as a performer, but as a producer of a brand new female singer that people had seen on TV before, reading the news. Her name - Onyeka Onwenu! The author was also in the studio at the same time, both as producer and performer, on another album project. Onyeka Onwenu's "Endless Life", Tony Okoroji's "Juliana" and Kris Okotie's "Show Me Your Backside" were released almost simultaneously and all went into the charts. Shortly after, Sonny Okosun's "Mother & Child", Dizzy K. Falola's "Excuse Me Baby" among other recordings done at the Oregun studio were released and EMI was riding high!

Down the street on Oregun Road was the Lagos Headquarters of Tabansi Records which appeared to have caught the bug from EMI. Tabansi's response to the noise from EMI was profound. First, was the release of "Kill Me With Love" by Jide Obi who was incidentally a colleague of Kris Okotie at the University of Nigeria. The second was Bunny Mack's "My Sweety, My Sugar". The third was the release of "Lover Boy" by Felix Lebarty who had played guitar on the successful recordings of both Kris Okotie and Dizzy K. Falola. The public response to "Ngozi", a song from Felx Lebarty's album "Lover Boy" was phenomenal. A lot of activities were also going on at other recording companies and labels throughout the country.

Watch out as the tale of 'the Unwritten Book of the Nigerian Recording Industry and the Talents that Propelled it' continues.

See you next week.

THE UNWRITTEN BOOK OF THE NIGERIAN RECORDING INDUSTRY AND THE TALENTS THAT PROPELLED IT – (2)

Sir Victor Uwaifo was one of the major acts whose influence before the Nigerian civil war transcended the war. His monster hit "Joromi" released on the Philips label just before the Nigerian political crisis flared up in 1966, remained a dominant force as the war ended in 1970. The "Guitar Boy" of the Sweet Banana fame went on to score significantly with his Ekassa, Titibiti and Sasakosa series.

About 1971, the post war Nigerian recording industry began to gain tremendous strength. Sonny Okosun, who had operated under the radar for a while in the showbiz circle, used the period around 1972 to positively announce himself as a major act at EMI Nigeria. Okosun had performed in Benin City for a while as a second guitarist in Victor Uwaifo's Melody Maestroes and then experimented in Enugu with bands like "The Postmen" and "Paperback Limited". His 7" single, "Help" which had as its flip side another great song, "Don't Cry" recorded at the EMI Wharf Road Studio in Apapa, was a major hit. Both songs had the immensely gifted singer, Perry Ernest Okocha on the vocals.

In 1972, a Briton named Peter Bond, touched down in Nigeria as Managing Director of Polygram which had acquired Philips. Bond appeared to take a big liking to Perry Earnest who sought a solo career at Polygram. At this point, the dashing Keji Okunowo who later became CEO of CBS and Sony Music Nigeria was cutting her teeth in the music industry as Public Relations Manager at Polygram, operating from Polygram's Warehouse Road, Apapa head office.

With Perry Ernest gone, Sonny Okosun decided to grab the bull by the horn. He took over the mic and the lead singing in his band. Okosun added a big horn section to the band which section was led by trombonist, Fred Fisher who used to lead a band called the Granadians, resident at Granada Hotel at the Ojuelegba junction of Surulere. Okosun also brought in the locomotive drum sounds of Mosco Egbe, the keyboard wizardry of Jonny Woode Olimah , the guitar riffs of Spark Abiloye, the thumping bass of Ehimme Ottey and the group, Ozzidi took off like a bomb! To top up the attraction, a sexy group of female back-up singers and dancers like Claudia Pepple, Floxxy B, Margaret Akpan and Julie King became part of the group and Ozzidi was unassailable on stage! The rhythm section of Ozzidi was the core of the group that became known as SJOB Movement which subsequently with Prince Bola Agba, who passed on recently, became known as Jambos Express and released a significantly successful song called "Mother Africa". 

With Ozzidi, Sonny Okosun became a big activist and major voice in the anti-apartheid and African liberation movements. On the wings of Ozzidi, Okosun toured the African continent several times and made such great recordings as "Papa's Land", "Fire in Soweto", "Mother & Child", "African Soldier", "Which Way Nigeria?" etc. and became the greatest and longest hit maker at EMI Nigeria managed by chartered accountant, Bode Akinyemi. What Sonny Okosun did was what had been expected of either Jonnie Haastrup, whose band "Monomono" had a massive hit on EMI titled, "Give the Beggar a Chance" or Segun Bucknor, whose "Soul Assembly" had experimented with some intriguing African rhythms in the evergreen song, "Poor Man no Get Brother''. There were indeed suggestions from some quarters that what we know today as Afro Beat was created by Segun Bucknor but such suggestions evaporated because of Fela's towering personality and his undisputed dominance of the music genre.

At about the same period, three urbane looking young men in Lagos, Beckley Ike Jones, Laolu Akintobi and Mike Odumosu broke into the scene with a three-piece band called BLO which had an unbelievable sound as big as a huge orchestra. The name, BLO was coined from the first letters of the names of the guitarist, Beckley Ike Jones, the drummer, Laolu Akintobi and the first letter of the surname of the bass player, Mike Odumosu. From BLO's first album, "CHAPTER ONE" released by EMI, to "PHASE II", "STEP 3" and "PHASE IV", all of which came out on Decca's Afrodisia label, BLO never quite achieved its potential in record sales but was red hot on stage and the girls simply went crazy whenever BLO came to town for a show.

Music fans thronged whatever venues BLO played, to listen to the guitar solos of Beckley Jones on his famous Fender Stratocaster guitar, the singing bass lines of Mike Odumosu and the magical drum rolls of Laolu Akins and to experience the big sounds of their flashy Orange loudspeakers and amplifiers provided by Decca. The fact that only three guys produced such great sound was part of the great legend of BLO. The group was also very professionally packaged by their manager and publicist, Tony Amadi, one of Nigeria's best Entertainment journalists and publishers of all times. There was no argument that members of BLO were the best instrumentalists around and almost every recording artiste craved for some bars of the BLO sound in their recordings. The guys naturally became the most expensive session musicians in Nigeria. When Mike Odumosu moved on to join the trans-national group, "Osibisa", Biddy Wright 'Oladele' took over as the 'O' in BLO. In later years, the 'O' in BLO was the incredibly talented keyboard player, Lemmy 'Otu' Jackson who also became one of Nigeria's most successful producers responsible for hit songs from the likes of Oby Onyioha, Christy Essien Igbokwe and Onyeka Onwenu.

If EMI was the Mecca of pop artistes in Nigeria, Odion Iruoje was the Chief Imam. The fast talking and brash Producer and Artiste & Repertoire Manager at EMI, who neither had any formal training or apprenticeship in music, became one of the most powerful people in the Nigerian music industry.  Iruoje scored a major hit with the band, "Ofege" featuring high school students from St Gregory's College, Lagos. He simply gave fillip to the sweet schoolboy voice of lead singer, Melvin Noks Ukachi by throwing in the famed guitars of Beckley Jones to accompany the recordings of Ofege and all the kids in the streets were singing, "Wizzy Ilabo" and "Ofege is our name"!

As the mid-seventies strolled by, with the Udoji awards in the pockets of the Nigerian consumer, EMI  was in business  with such hit songs as "Still Searching" by Bongos Ikwue and the Groovies; "Beautiful Woman" by "Cloud 7" led by singer, Cliff David, "She's My Choice" by "Sweet Breeze" fronted by Dallas King Anyanwu as lead singer; Basil Akalonu (Bazy Cole), who will be laid to rest in a fortnight, as drummer; Jackie Moore Anyaorah, who passed on in New Jersey a few years ago, as lead guitarist and Vincent Iketuonye as Bassist. There was also "Slim Fit Maggi" by Semi Colon led by Lasbrey Ojukwu and a couple of mild hits from Warri based Tony Grey with his Ozzimba. Later on, Odion Iruoje used the back-up sound of BLO in addition to the Cameroonian, George Achini on bass guitar, to make Kris Okotie's "I Need Someone" on Haruna Ishola's Phonodisc label, one of the most successful records in Nigerian history.

While EMI was not known for Highlife, it did extremely well with the music of Peacocks International Band of Owerri led by guitarist, Raphael Amarebem and singer, Dan Orji which produced hit songs like "Sambola Mama" and "Eddy Quansa" which will be remembered by many as the iconic signature tune of the NTA sitcom, "Masquerade". EMI also sold hundreds of thousands of copies of the music of Apala legend, Ayinla Omowura. EMI was also selling a lot of reggae music by artistes like Jimmy Cliff, Jonny Nash, Peter Tosh, Bob Marley, Eric Donaldson, etc and scored positively with The Guyanese singer and producer, Eddy Grant, who had established a special relationship with the company.

Next week, we will examine the Juju music explosion at Decca West Africa, the emergence of Ayinde Barrister with Fuji music as a serious popular music form, the arrival of the Highlife guitar bands of Oriental Brothers and Oliver De Coque and the Ikwokirikwo craze fired by Ikenga Super Stars of Africa; the coming of the various locally owned labels, etc. Stay tuned. It will be interesting.

See you next week.