Let me make it clear that I do not celebrate the misfortune of anyone. I indeed pray for the success of everyone I know. If I believe that a person is engaged in an enterprise that is to the glory of the Almighty and the service of God's children, he will receive my 100% support. On the other hand, I also believe that it is the sacred duty of every child of God not to let the manifestation of evil triumph even if that evil is not targeted at us directly.
I have been told that Mr. John Asein, the Director-General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) who is currently being investigated with respect to allegations of corruption, conflict of interest and abuse of power, is telling everybody he knows that Chief Tony Okoroji is responsible for his travails and that I have always tried to bring down every DG of the NCC.
Mr. Asein is wrong, very wrong. He knows that I am not responsible for the scandal surrounding him. If he looks in the mirror, he will see the guy responsible. He brought whatever is happening to him to himself. If he is certain that he has done nothing wrong, he should not lose any sleep. He should just answer the questions asked him truthfully and go back to do his work.
Mr. Asein is very wrong to say that I have tried to bring down every DG of the NCC. The boundless Moses Ekpo who is today the Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State was the first DG of the NCC. Over the years, I have maintained the warmest of relationships with Mr. Moses Ekpo. I have written in this column how the Deputy Governor once threw protocol to the winds and paid me a surprise visit in the modest hotel I once stayed in Uyo. On learning that I was visiting his state, he came to visit without any warning. I have maintained a good relationship with Ekpo because as DG, he was creative, energetic and was committed to building a great NCC. Who did we invite to commission the COSON House in 2017? It was the same former DG of the NCC, Moses Frank Ekpo.
Moses Ekpo was succeeded as DG by Dr. Shola Williams who passed on while in office. I maintained a very good relationship with S.O. Williams till his death. After his passing, I developed and promoted the "S.O. Williams Memorial Lecture" series which was held annually to honour the memory of the late NCC DG. The series was held without any cost to the NCC or the Williams family.
S.O. Williams was succeeded for a short while by Mrs. Loretta Njoku who acted in an interim capacity. Mrs. Njoku called me just a few days ago and we chatted about this and that as we do quite often. She has visited me repeatedly at COSON House and we continue to have the warmest of relationships.
Professor Eyinna Nwauche took over as DG of NCC. The down to earth Eyinna Nwauche remains my friend. Presently in South Africa, I speak with him when I can.
I campaigned vigorously for the establishment of the organization called the NCC. To get the government to set up the NCC, I carried placards and led dangerous demonstrations in which I could have lost my life. I was in the committee that drafted the law setting up the important national institution. Our vision was to have a vibrant organization that fights the infringement of the works of Nigeria's musicians, film makers, authors, publishers, content producers, broadcasters, computer programmers, architects, photographers and other creative minds. The NCC was set up to help in launching Nigeria into the mainstream of the world creative and knowledge economy.
I served twice as a member of the Governing Board of the Nigerian Copyright Council (NCC) renamed the Nigerian Copyright Commission. I am presently Chairman of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), the biggest copyright organization in the country. If the NCC does well, the thousands of members of COSON will earn a decent livelihood. If the NCC is badly led, my members pay a heavy price. I am therefore a stakeholder and not a meddlesome interloper in the affairs of the NCC.
I had before seen John Asein as a brilliant Nigerian. When as a young officer at the NCC, he was prematurely retired from service about 14 years ago, I believed that he was treated unjustly and I came fully to his defence. I travelled to Abuja several times at no cost to him to plead his case until the sanctions against him were lifted and he was reabsorbed into the service. When he was appointed DG, I was very happy and congratulated him and prayed for his success.
Unfortunately, one by one, the scandals began to emerge and the great hope I had in the reinvigoration of the NCC simply collapsed.
The tragedy in what is happening at the NCC is that while Nigeria's great creative minds are suffering, rather than fight the piracy of Nigeria's creative works for which the organization has been set up, the NCC is embroiled in scandals and lies with a serious leadership vacuum.
Since January 2020 when Mr. Asein was confronted with the serial corrupt activities he is alleged to be involved in, rather than come clean and answer the questions, he has been running around trying to manufacture evidence to cover up his wrong doings. Maybe he does not know that until the questions are satisfactorily answered, they will not go away.
One of the many questions he must answer is this: Did he continue to collect salaries from the Federal Government several months into 2016 after retiring as staff of the NCC on December 31, 2015? If he did, it is bare faced stealing, a criminal offence for which he ought to go to jail. I know that some people will say that the money involved is not in billions. Many Nigerians are presently in jail for much less.
Another question is this: Did he continue to act on behalf of REPRONIG, the CMO for Nigerian authors and publishers and act as sole signatory to the REPRONIG bank account long after assuming office as NCC DG? Has he signed REPRONIG funds in dollars to himself? If he did, it is a bewildering example of conflict of interest and fraud with extensive consequences which might lead to jail time. It is my humble opinion that Mr. Asein's recent claims that he worked for REPRONIG 'pro -bono' is hogwash and his claims raise many new questions.
Mr. Asein has a lot of questions to answer on the controversial NCC/AFD/PUNUKA/KPMG deal on the so-called Diagnostic Study of Collective Management System In Nigeria which questions we have asked repeatedly with no answer. He needs to answer questions on his directorship of a company called Books & Gavel Ltd. He also needs to answer questions on whether he has contravened the Code of Conduct for Public Officers.
Let me repeat that I am not responsible for John Asein's travails. Somebody should tell Mr. Asein that he is not above the law. Like every other public officer, he must be accountable. He should answer his questions and leave me alone.
See you next week.
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