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.