HOW MANY BAGS OF NAIRA WILL I BE BURIED WITH?

HOW MANY BAGS OF NAIRA WILL I BE BURIED WITH?

Not very long ago, I received a very warm welcome in Benin City from his Royal Majesty, the Oba of Benin. Two years ago, the Olubadan of Ibadan practically rolled out the red carpet for the COSON delegation which I led to his palace.

Earlier this year, I was in the palace of the revered Emir of Kano, the very brilliant Mohammed Sanusi II, with my friend and colleague, the late Ras Kimono. My delegation and I were warmly received by the Emir. His Highness who clearly understands economics and the way the wealth of nations is built, said very kind words 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 sometimes attracts envy.

Anyone who has managed a band of a few musicians, will understand that the real hard work of 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 last year, a lot of people were surprised that there was not one Naira of government money in the magnificent building, no donor dollar, no bank loan and no debt of any type. For eight years, not one of the highly trained COSON staff has received his or her salary one day late. 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. Fortunately, the good Lord has refused to count me out. This year alone, I have been dragged to the Nigeria police, the EFCC and recently, 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! Numerous press conferences have been held by people I once thought were decent men to spread lies and half-truths and completely decimate my good name.

Earlier this year, there was this loud campaign for the 'independent' audit of the COSON accounts. The intent was to create the impression that Okoroji was hiding something. The strange fact is that the COSON accounts have been independently audited every single year. Each of the thousands of COSON members, including those making the noise, have copies of the audited accounts which have been ratified by COSON members annually. Each of the audited accounts is in the custody of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, the Corporate Affairs Commission and our international partners. Copies of the audited accounts are available at COSON House for anyone to inspect.

Do you know who signed each of the audited accounts? His name is Joel Ajayi. He was the Chairman of the COSON Finance & Audit Committee. Ajayi supervised each of the audits and everything was ok with him until December 2017 when he participated in the failed coup to kick Okoroji out of COSON. When COSON members resolved to kick him out of the board, he forgot that he signed the audited accounts!

Mr. Afam Ezekude, the current NCC DG, was not in Nigeria when my colleagues and I took the bull by the horn and made sure that the NCC was set up for the good of the Nigerian creative industry. He was brought from London by his friend, the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adokie, to come and 'chop'. The result is that the once vibrant Copyright Commission today lies comatose. Last year, I visited the commission's main enforcement office at Costain in Lagos and I left heart broken. The roofs are leaking. The place is smelly. Rats and cockroaches are chasing after themselves all over the place. The toilet facilities are antiquated. Sometimes, there is no power in the building for months. At the same time, there are allegations of massive fraud in millions at the NCC

As we built COSON, the NCC DG, Ezekude, turned his back on us. More than 18 months after it was commissioned, the DG of the NCC, has not once visited COSON House, the gem of the copyright system in Nigeria. The DG of NTA has been to COSON House. So, has the DG of FRCN, the DG of NBC, the DG of NFVCB and many more Federal Government DGs. COSON House was officially commissioned by Mr. Moses Ekpo, the first DG of the NCC, who is presently Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State. At the event was Professor Egerton Uvieghara, the first Chairman of NCC. The edifice has welcomed many stars from home and abroad including our own Minister of Information & Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. Ezekude has never been to COSON House.

Since the December 2017 failed coup at COSON, Ezekude has not spoken to me once. He never answered any of my calls nor returned any of my text messages. He is busy plotting how to jail the stubborn Okoroji. Sooner or later, Ezekude will leave the NCC. I hope that his successor will learn something from Ezekude's misadventure.

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. So, help me God.

See you next week.