WHY I GO TO COURT (2)

WHY I GO TO COURT (2)

In our clime, people generally view anyone who goes to court as a troublemaker or maybe a pest. I go to court but I am not a trouble maker and certainly not a pest. In fact, I am a man who loves peace, very much.

But how can there be peace when there are too many trouble makers in the world? Too many liars, 419ers, hijackers, kidnappers, armed and pen robbers, and many who think that the world was created just for them and them alone. In case you don't know, the world is filled with many people walking around with only a body but no soul. They will kill you for nothing or take everything that belongs to everyone.

Yes, I go to court and take on those who do not believe in the rule of law. I thank God that several times, I have used the courts to burst their bubble and give them a bloody nose.

As a people, we love the word, 'peace'. Our understanding of peace is that you do not question falsehood, injustice, impunity, corruption or lawlessness. If you must question them, just shout in the newspapers, on TV or on Facebook, where your questioning has little or no effect.

I prefer to go to court, take the time, provide the evidence, get a court judgment and enforce it and set a precedent. I do not do it because I am cantankerous or quarrelsome. I do it because it is the most peaceful and civilized way to ensure that the weak does not dissolve under the pressure of the wicked.

In my several years serving people in the creative industry, I have met all kinds of crazy and wicked creatures. There are those who are totally consumed by their love of money. The only measure of success to them is how much money they have packed at the expense of others. To them, money is God.

I know a guy who begins to tremble and shake at the sight of any significant amount of money. Believe me, this guy was not born poor yet money has become his God. When this guy sights money, he becomes an animal. You may not believe it but my guy is convinced that once you see any measure of money, you have a duty to appropriate it, regardless of who owns it. To him, any money that comes within your sight is yours and whatever you do to grab it is ok.

When such people accuse me of stealing, I understand them. In their minds, how can he be in control of such significant amount of money and spend it to build an edifice like COSON House for the good of others when he owns no house of his own in Lagos? When they hear that COSON is distributing hundreds of millions of Naira, they sneer. In their minds infected by the crazy love of money, they cannot imagine how someone can distribute such money to others when he can appropriate all of it to himself. To them, the selflessness of Mother Theresa is a fable. The sacrifice of Martin Luther King is stupid. The 27 years that Nelson Mandela spent in prison is nonsense. After all, how much money did any of that bring? To these people, I must be either a fraud or a fool. I am neither of the two.

I have said elsewhere that I have seen from the recent arguments in COSON of which I am chairman that a number of people want the usual Nigerian quick fix. They make so much noise on Facebook and proclaim as facts things that have neither rhyme nor reason. As we argue, some people are frightened. They want everyone to quickly gather in a pepper soup joint over some bottles of lager and stout. While fairly drunk, we will sweep the key issues under the carpet, take some photographs and proclaim that everything is ok. Six months later, reality will haunt everyone again as the same issues come back with a vengeance and completely destroy everything we have built.

I have repeatedly said to people that the organization called COSON was built and nurtured on the platform of strict adherence to the rule of law. The modest resources of COSON which many today seek to control were put together with assistance of the courts and on the wings of the rule of law. We cannot be afraid of the courts. Those who want "beer parlor" peace in COSON do not understand that without the rule of law, copyright is nothing and COSON is nothing.

In the area of the development of intellectual property management in Nigeria, COSON is a Pathfinder, a Forerunner, a Navigator or if you prefer, an Explorer. The rules under which collective management must continue to thrive in Nigeria need to be clearly set out by the courts and not in a beer parlor. My personal experience should tell everyone that not everything that you read on Facebook or watch on TV is true. On Facebook or TV, you can make the most outrageous claims about anything without a shred of evidence. In a court of law, you must provide evidence to back up your claim.

Earlier this week, there appeared to be some controversy on social media following a public notice issued by my colleagues in the COSON communication department about a recent order of the Federal High Court. In a most revealing development, many of those who have pretended that they love COSON but have been secretly praying for the death of this great Nigerian institution began to crawl out of their holes and began to celebrate what they described as fake news from COSON.

It was a defining moment. I am proud that we do not disseminate falsehood or fake news at COSON. Our officials are very well trained in the value of integrity. I thank Prof (Sir) Victor Uwaifo and the many COSON members who made the watershed ruling of the Federal High Court possible. It has indeed been a defining moment.

See you next week.