NO… NO… NO, MY LORD! THERE IS NO REGISTRATION OF COPYRIGHT IN NIGERIA!

I have the greatest respect for those of our judges who under the most difficult conditions still try to do justice in Nigeria. They give hope to the average Nigerian that all is not lost, at a time when hope is increasingly becoming a scarce commodity.

I truly wish I did not have to write this piece. I spent days agonizing over it. I know that judges can sometimes get it wrong because the law is so wide and no judge knows everything. That is why we have the appeal process. There are however some judicial decisions that are so wrong that they shake the very foundation of common sense and threaten the lives and livelihood of so many. I would have failed the entire creative community in Nigeria if I did not react and speak out in this case. The consequence for Nigerian copyright owners would be disastrous.

During the week, I was sent a copy of the ruling on June 25, 2021 of Hon Justice B.F.N. Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/145/2019 between Paul Allen Oche and Nigerian Breweries Plc and three others.

At the last page of the ruling, her Lordship stated thus: "I have searched the entire originating processes of the Plaintiff and I have failed to find any place where he has exhibited his registration of the said Copyright. This is what confers the locus standi on the Plaintiff to institute this suit in the first place.

"It is basic principle of law that Copyright exist by virtue of Sections 2, 3, 6, etc of the Copyright Act. However, to claim an infringement of a Copyright, the Copyright must be registered.

"In the instant case, the Plaintiff is alleging infringement of his Copyright but he has failed to exhibit his registration.

"At this stage, I cannot go into whether his Copyright has been infringed or not because he has not shown his locus standi to claim the Copyright"

In my many years of active engagement in the copyright system in Nigeria, I have seen court decisions that make me want to cry. Upon reading the said words of Hon Justice Nyako, I nearly fainted! If her decision becomes the precedent and I know that Federal High Court Judges tend to respect the decisions of their colleagues, then the entire Nigerian copyright system has collapsed because the system would be founded on nothing. By her decision, no owner of copyright in Nigeria can sue for the infringement of copyright because no one in Nigeria can show proof of any registration of copyright.   

Contrary to popular belief and that of her Lordship, there is absolutely no requirement for a work to be registered for the owner to enjoy copyright protection in Nigeria. With all due respect to her Lordship, you do not need any copyright registration to have the locus standi to claim the copyright in your work. There is no Registrar or Registry of copyright anywhere in Nigeria and no formality is necessary by law. Anyone telling you that he is registering your copyright in Nigeria is engaged in some form of 419.

It is very true that copyright is intellectual property. By some recent decisions of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the owner of copyright clearly enjoys the proprietary rights enshrined in Section 44 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. However, the owner of copyright is not like the owner of a piece of land who may require a C of O to establish the ownership of his land. He is not like the owner of a trademark who may require a trademark registration to sue.

Believe it or not, copyright protection begins as soon as an original and eligible work is created and put in a tangible form. Full Stop!

So, why then do people troop to organizations like the NCC or COSON to 'register' their works? To my mind, such activities are merely documentation of the works in the databases of these establishments for the purpose of administering the works and not registration and they do not confer any constitutional or legal rights to the owners of the works.

Indeed, registration of copyright is contrary to the provisions of the various international copyright conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory. An example is the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary & Artistic Works administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) which Nigeria joined on September 14, 1993. Article 5 (2) of the Berne Convention makes it clear that no formality is needed to ensure protection of copyright. In other words, no registration is required, no deposit is required and no notification is required. Protection is automatic.

In fact, registration of copyright is an almost dead practice. Across the world, only the United States of America still registers copyright and only for the purpose of bringing an action and not for protection. Elsewhere in the world, copyright registries have been dismantled and the registrars sent home.

If you do not give serious thought to the issue, you may consider the absence of any statutory registration procedure for copyright as a major defect of the Nigerian Copyright law. I wish to discuss some of the many reasons why it has been widely accepted across the globe that registration of copyright is not such a good idea.

Copyright does not just protect musical works, sound recordings, books, plays, movies, computer programs, photographs, broadcasts, etc. Copyright protects an almost endless list of creative works and works of artistic craftmanship such as paintings, drawings, etchings, lithographs, woodcuts, engravings, prints, maps, plans, diagrams, works of architecture, sculptural works, etc.

It may be clear to a paper presenter at a seminar or workshop that his work enjoys copyright protection but one is not sure whether the local pastor is aware that any unauthorized reproduction of his Sunday sermon is an infringement of his copyright and that he is entitled to sue, not just before God but in a court of law.

It may also appear odd but any unauthorized copying of a letter, report or memorandum, beyond what would be deemed as fair use, is indeed an infringement of copyright. Please note that your odd letter to your sweetheart is also protected by copyright.

The truth is that it is practically impossible to register even a tiny fraction of the works eligible for copyright.  Every day, without being conscious of it, we are all creating eligible works in our letters, reports, memos, lectures, addresses, sermons, scripts, etc. Should we be required to register all of these, we will have no time to do any other work.  Should the failure to register deny us the necessary protection? There are many who do not think so. To even attempt to register a fraction of the works eligible for copyright requires a bureaucracy, the size and cost of which is not meaningful to contemplate.

Just think of it: If registration is a condition for copyright protection, it then means that anyone who registers a work may claim copyright in the work even if he is not the creator of the work. Can you imagine the commotion this is likely to cause in a semi-literate society like ours with the enormous danger of fraudulent registrations which may in fact defeat the whole purpose of copyright protection?

I know that some people will react to this piece with disbelief.  Some may even ask, "how then do I prove that I own the copyright in my work?"

In my humble view, her Lordship should have looked at Section 43 of the Copyright Act which makes provisions for presumptions in copyright infringement cases. The burden of proving ownership of copyright does not lie with the Plaintiff. It is the Defendant who must bring evidence to show that the Plaintiff is not the owner of the copyright.

With all due respect to her Lordship, her decision is dangerous and needs to be overturned. I do not know Mr. Paul Allen Oche, the Plaintiff in the matter, but I urge him, in the interest of the many thousands who depend on the copyright system for their livelihood to please appeal the decision since her Lordship has become "functus officio" in the matter.

No… No… No, my Lord! There is no registration of copyright in Nigeria!

See you next week.

ARE YOU A GIVER OR A TAKER?

I verily believe that the biggest problem we have in our nation is that we have too many takers and very few givers. Poverty and hopelessness bestride our fatherland because we give nothing and take everything.

Give a Nigerian the nation's pension fund to manage and he takes all the money and leaves the pensioners hungry on the streets. Give a Nigerian Army General money to buy arms to fight the terrorist traumatizing our people, the General will take all the money and bury it in a soak-away pit and send innocent soldiers without weapons to go and die in Sambisa Forest. Across the country, everyone is in a mad scramble to take. Very few are willing to give. Pastors are on the take, civil servants are on the take, judges are on the take and policemen are on the take. And we want to build a nation? How?

Give a Nigerian governor money to run his state and he grabs all the land across the state and builds mansions for himself, his wife, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and generations unimagined. Meanwhile, he leaves the roads without maintenance, hospitals without drugs, government workers without pay and the citizens without hope.

In my service in different organizations in the creative industry I have witnessed a number of people fight tooth and nail to join the different boards not because they want to provide service but because they want to 'chop'. Once they find out that the board is about work and not "chop", they get frustrated and head for the exist with so much noise and nuisance.

How then can we grow when it should be clear that there is no nation, no state, no organization and no family that can make progress when everybody is taking and nobody is giving?

Next week, in Anambra State, the body of a gentleman who in the Nigerian experience was truly uncommon, will be laid to rest. I can bet that John Ewelukwa Udegbunam had little money, no big house and no fancy car when he passed on about two months ago.

However, events after events are being held in different parts of the country in honour of this great Nigerian who cared deeply about everyone. Nearly every day since his death, he has been celebrated expansively on social media. Last Sunday at the Sacred Heart Catholic Parish in Onitsha, a big church service was held in his honour. Two days before, at the Chuba Ikpeazu Stadium in Onitsha, the music industry gathered, despite the heavy rain, to pay tribute to the man fondly called "Eweson". On Tuesday, there will be a first-class Red Carpet Tribute Night in Lagos to celebrate the great Udegbunam.

When Honourable Udegbunam buried his mother in Ora-Eri Anambra State about 5 years ago, over 40 catholic priests stormed Ora-Eri to perform the Requiem mass at St Mary's Catholic Church Ora-Eri, the same church where an unprecedented Requiem Mass is scheduled to hold in his honour next week. That is the kind of high esteem that this man with little money was held in the Catholic Church, a man who touched many lives.

Udegbunam was the immediate past National President of the powerful Music Label Owners & Recording Industries Association of Nigeria (MORAN), Nigeria's biggest association of owners of copyright in sound recordings. He fought music pirates with both hands and everything else he could muster. He could easily have become rich by collecting money from the pirates and looking the other way. He did not.

Udegbunam was a staunch member of the Board of COSON, Nigeria's most respected and successful copyright collective management organization. Do you know that nearly all COSON Board meetings are held in Lagos? In 11 years, Udegbunam who lived in Onitsha never missed one COSON Board meeting, never missed one COSON AGM and never missed one COSON Week event. Not once did he ask for a flight ticket to come to Lagos or seek accommodation in a fancy hotel as he travelled by day and by night. His 100% focus was to defend the rights of the thousands of members of COSON. He could have exploited the immense power he had on the COSON Board for personal enrichment. He did not.

The incredible guy was a university-trained musicologist, composer, music teacher, producer and label owner and National Music Director of the Praise & Worship Ministry of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of Nigeria (CCRN) which he helped spread across the nation. If he was not on the road for CCRN, Udegbunam was on the road for MORAN or on the road for COSON amid many other responsibilities he undertook despite the fact that he had to run his own business, Eweson Communications Ltd. Udegbunam was a giver.

Udegbunam gave no excuses for not doing what he had to do. If he said he was coming, he would come. If he said he was going, he would go. He could have abused his position in CCRN to make money for himself. He did not.

I had just arrived New York when I was informed of the death of Udegbunam. I usually do not cry over the death of any man but I broke down and wept like a child. I used to call him "Madu Asaa" (7 persons in one). If you have Hon Udegbunam with you, it's like having 7 persons behind you. He was unshakable when it comes to standing with the truth, even when everyone else is telling lies. He had great strength of character. Udegbunam was a giver.

Giving is what builds nations and institutions and families. It is the giving by many of their intellect, time, love, hard work and sometimes, their lives that have created those countries that we admire and whose visas we are desperate to acquire.

Just look at the New York subway and imagine the giving that went into building that incredible network of rail lines under the dizzying skyscrapers of Manhattan. The marvelous road network in Germany, the Autobahn, is the product of giving.

Across the world, you see nations with structures and systems that work so very efficiently. Why? It is because these nations have people who are happy to give of themselves.

There is nothing wrong in making money if the objective is to try to bring happiness to the greatest number.

Considering that we come with nothing and go with nothing, is it not curious that we spend so much time acquiring, taking and taking things much of which we do not need?

Think about it, Nelson Mandela did not become great by being a taker. Martin Luther King did not become great by being a taker. Mother Theresa certainly did not become great by being a taker.

Fare thee well Honorable, my brother and friend who gave his all for the good of all.

See you next week.

MY FRIEND, PROF EGERTON UVIEGHARA DIES AT 85!

Professor Egerton Uvieghara, outstanding intellectual, retired erudite Professor of law at the University of Lagos, former Chairman of the Governing Board of the Nigerian Copyright Council (NCC), former Commissioner at the Nigerian Law Reform Commission, detribalized Nigerian and man of great character and unquestionable integrity, has passed on, on the same day, August 28, that I lost another older friend of mine, another inellectual and staunch supporter, "Guitar Boy", Professor Victor Efosa Uwaifo.

In January 2020, I had made a promise to Prof Uvieghara who played a frontline role in the development of the copyright system in Nigeria and who cut the tape at the commissioning of what is now referred to as the "magnificent" COSON House in Ikeja. I told him that on the 9^th day of May 2020, I would host a significant red-carpet birthday bash in his honour at COSON House to thank him for his indelible gift to the Nigerian creative community and his unflinching support.

I had started conceptualizing the event. Truly, I started making plans for what I had hoped would be a talk-of-the city occasion. OMG! COVID 19 came from wherever to scatter the world and make nonsense of our plans. I eventually took a number of my friends and colleagues and headed for the Prof's Magodo GRA home in Lagos with two cakes, bottles of wine and quite a bit of small chops and we had a great time. In May 2021, I was back in Magodo with more friends. We even took a small band with us. Of course, Prof never stopped reminding me of his 80^th birthday ceremony when I brought a big band to his home and the likes of the late Majek Fashek and Azeezat Allen practically 'scattered' Magodo. On that day, we kept Magodo singing and dancing all evening long. Professor Uvieghara was worth every note of music that was played to celebrate him.

If you knew the great Professor Egerton E. Uvieghara well, you might be offended and ask who gave me the audacity to refer to him as my friend. I will not be surprised if somebody even accuses me of name dropping.

Before you get angry, let me say that I did not on my own decide to call this extra-ordinary Nigerian my friend. His repeated and consistent behavior towards me which lasted decades assures me that Prof would have taken no offence with my reference to him as my friend. Indeed, Professor Uvieghara who was 22 years older than me continuously referred to me as his friend everywhere and treated me as if we were age mates and equals.

Prof Uvieghara was one Nigerian who fully supported the work that I do and understood my dream for the Nigerian creative family and shared the value of giving one's all to what one believes in. Wherever and whenever I had an event, you were likely to see Prof close to me and nursing a bottle of good wine.

I recall when the Hon. Minister of Information & Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, visited the "magnificent" COSON House in 2017. Prof Uvieghara also arrived for the reception for the minister. I then sought to introduce the Prof to the Minister and the Minister rebuked me with the words, "the gentleman you are trying to introduce to me was my teacher at the University of Lagos" At the event, I found out that Prof Uvieghara also taught Prof Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria's Vice President, at the University of Lagos. The incredibly unassuming Nigerian taught many senior advocates, many professors, many judges of courts across the country including judges of the Supreme Court. Some of his students include retired Supreme Court Justice Niki Tobi and Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun. In fact, if you are an outstanding Nigerian lawyer, chances are that you have been taught by Prof. Egerton Uvieghara or by someone taught by Prof. Uvieghara. He taught me the law of Copyright and graciously wrote the foreword to my book, 'Copyright & the New Millionaires'.

With Professor Uvieghara as Chairman, I served on the committee that drafted the present Copyright Law which was first enacted as Decree 47 of 1988 and which repealed Decree 61 of 1970 and set up the Nigerian Copyright Council (NCC). I subsequently served with him on the Governing Board of the NCC. Professor Uvieghara and I were given the further assignment to draft the first amendment to the law. We took the assignment very seriously, and with one Bayo Aiyegbusi, a very hard-working public officer as our secretary, we produced the document that was promulgated on December 28, 1992, as the Copyright Amendment Decree No 98 of 1992.

It was absolute joy working with Prof. We had vigorous arguments about language, construction, principles and policies and not once was any of our arguments driven by ego or end in any negative thoughts. Our objective was always to do the best job possible and I learnt so much from him. Professor Uvieghara was never afraid to say the truth as he saw it to anyone no matter the cost.

Presently I am mourning a number of my friends who just passed on but I have decided not to mourn Professor Uvieghara even as I miss him very dearly and miss all the great time we had in Magodo and elsewhere. I will rather continue to celebrate the life of a very uncommon Nigerian who took me like his brother and gave me love in full measure. At 85, Prof Uvieghara lived a full life and was not afraid to go. He understood the depth of life, yet the shallowness of life. His friends and family should be happy that he came, he saw and he conquered.

Adieu my friend.

See you next week.

THE RISE OF THE NIGERIAN RECORDING INDUSTRY AND THE TALENTS THAT PROPELLED IT (3)

The soundtrack of the end of the Nigeria/Biafra war may be found in one song, "Happy Survival" by a previously little-known artiste, Ifeanyi Eddy Okwedy released by EMI. The people who for many months had lived under the sound of the gun, craved for the sound of music. In the territory that used to be known as Biafra, where most of the war had been fought, "Happy Survival" was played on East Central Broadcasting Service (ECBS), Enugu, all day long. Life suddenly was good for the recording industry in Nigeria as people had incredible appetite for fun. Do not forget that the end of the war coincided with the beginning of the oil boom era in Nigeria, a time when Nigeria's problem was "not money but how to spend it"!

In the early 1970s, the studios of Decca West Africa, at Lawani Street, Abule Oja, Yaba, near the University of Lagos main gate, was the place to be for any artiste with any serious intent of making it big in Juju music. At this time, the forerunners of the juju sound such as the great I.K. Dairo (MBE), Tunde Nightingale, Dele Ojo and Ojoge Daniel seemed to have reached their peak.

The mild mannered but prodigiously talented Ebenezer Obey seized the opportunity with both hands. While he had done quite well with songs like "Olomi Gbo Temi" in the mid-sixties, his dominance of the juju music scene became quite profound after the war as his miliki sound finally had a chance to spread round the country. Record stores scattered all over Nigeria were ceaselessly blasting Obey's "miliki" on their loudspeakers. The major distributors of Decca such as Shanu Olu Trading Stores in Lagos, Right Time Stores in Onitsha and Anodisc in Aba would have sold more copies of Obey's massive hit, "Board Members" than any other record they had ever handled.

The only real challenge to Obey's dominance of the juju scene was the rapidly emerging 'master guitarist', Sunny Ade who was then recording for a private label, TYC-African Songs, owned by Chief Bolarinwa Abioro. Sunny Ade's guitar wizardry and stage craft became the talk of the town. For much of the 1970s and early 80s, the juju music scene was owned by "Obey" loved by many for his sonorous voice and terrific compositions and "Sunny", idolized for his unmatched showmanship.

One of the big surprises at Decca, in the early 1970s was the monumental success of a group of five otherwise unassuming young men from Mbaise in what was then known as East Central State. "Oriental Brothers International Guitar Band" led by Godwin Kabaka Opara, played a very unpretentious brand of guitar driven Highlife. Their acceptance, especially by the Igbos who had emerged from the Biafran war, was total and with about the same passion that the Igbos embraced Rangers International Football club. The Oriental Brothers lead singer, Sir Warrior, became a folk figure and every line sung by him was analyzed, memorized and sung along by Igbos everywhere. Oriental Brothers released hits after hits after hits like "Iheoma", "Nwa Ada Di Mma", "Anam Elechi", "Onye Oma Mmadu", etc.  While Decca released quite a number of artistes on their 'Afrodisia' label, it was the young men from Mbaise that made 'Afrodisia' a household name.

Decca also had a major hit in a mixed grill release by the Ghanaian group "Ramblers Dance Band". "Ramblers" which was essentially a Highlife band had surprise success in a rehash of Eddie Floyd's song, "Knock on Wood".

Unfortunately, a few years after their breathtaking success, "Oriental Brothers International Guitar Band" broke into three, each keeping the Oriental Brothers name. One of the groups was led by lead guitarist and band leader, Godwin Kabaka Opara. Another was led by second guitarist, Dan Satch Opara. The third group was led by lead singer, Sir Warrior Obinna. To their many fans, the situation was very confusing. Eventually, most of them stuck with the group led by Sir Warrior, if only to prove that while the guitar was important, it was the unique voice of Sir Warrior that determined the authentic "Oriental Brothers".

The Decca Afrodisa Studios at Abule Oja, Yaba also gained great reputation for good sound. The studio became the 1^st choice of many Nigerian artistes. Their engineers, Emma Akpabio, LAK Adeniran, John Malife and Martin Ikebuaku were busy all year round not just cooking the music of Decca artistes but baking hits for other artistes in search of the Afrodisia 'clean sound'. It was at the Decca Afrodisia studio that the great Cameroonian born superstar, Manu Dibango, came from his base in Paris to work with Odion Iruoje to record the album, "Home Made". The studio was initially driven by an 8-track 3M equipment updated to 16 tracks and later by a 24-track Studer recorder and a super multi-channel Neve console.

While TYC -African Songs lost the now influential Sunny Ade, it gained Sikiru Ayinde Barrister who had turned what was essentially an Islamic religious music form to a mainstream popular music type called Fuji. Subsequently, Sunny Ade's music was released on Sunny Alade Records, his own label which records were distributed by Mutmokson Trading Company owned by Ola Kassim, who was also doing well with General Prince Adekunle and the gospel group, "Good Women's Choir C.A.C.", Ibadan under his 'Ibukun Orisun Iye' label

Other artistes on several record labels developed by Nigerian entrepreneurs also achieved substantial success. At Olumo Records, Dele Abiodun joined the juju music conversation, Kollington Ayinla became a major factor in fuji music; and Oliver De Coque exploded with his fiery guitar and his well-manicured beard, first with "Peoples Club", "Birika Mbiri" and then with the unforgettable song, "Identity". Lateef Adepoju's Leader Records was responsible for initiating the music of the waka music queen, Salawa Abeni.  

In the mid-1970s, Ola Kassim's Mutmokson launched the recording careers of two young juju musicians, Shina Peters and Segun Adewale who together came to be known as Sir Shina Adewale before Shina Peters went solo and took the nation by storm with the bombshell called Afro Juju.  

Aba, which had always been a major player in Nigerian music, produced two major labels. Ben Okonkwo's Clover Sounds had quite some success with several artistes including "The Doves" and "The Apostles". The other label was the Anodisc label owned by gentleman, Simeon Anochie who successfully brought back old war horse, Joe Nez with several good recordings, such as "Business Trip" and "My landlady" in which he was backed by the group, "The Friimen Music Co.". Using the same backing group, Anodisc practically set the tone for the commercial success of gospel music in Nigeria, with a chain of fast selling recordings of the duo of Emma and Lazarus, professionally known as "Voice of the Cross". "The Friimen Music Co." was also the backing group on the first recording of the young lady who would become perhaps the first nationally successful mainstream female singer in Nigeria. "Freedom", the first recording of Christiana Essien, as Christy Essien Igbokwe was then called, was a runaway success for the Anodisc label. The second, "Patience" was even better.

Elsewhere in Enugu, another indigenous label, Homzy Sounds struck gold with the sweet folksy voice of another female singer, Nelly Uchendu. Her recording of the songs, "Love Nwantinti" launched her career as a serious national star, ultimately producing for her the national award of the Member of the Order of the Niger (MON). If Homzy Sounds struck gold, the Onitsha based, Rogers All Stars label came home with a bag of diamonds. Their recording of the group, "Ikenga Superstars of Africa", a breakaway group from Stephen Osita Osadebe's band, went straight to the top of the charts. "Ikenga" had a unique sound that was a combination of traditional highlife rhythm with Congolese sukus guitar riffs. The music kept people dancing nonstop.  Using the same basic recipe, Rogers All Stars came out with what should be the most successful recording in the history of the Nigerian music industry. "Sweet Mother", the sound of Prince Nico Mbarga and the "Rocafil Jazz Orchestra" captured the imagination of everyone, young and old. The rhythm was good and the lyrics gave new meaning to motherhood. For months and months, it was impossible to get away from "Sweet Mother, I no go forget you!". "Sweet Mother" which has been rehashed by many artistes everywhere is one of those songs that emerged in a moment of profound inspiration. 

See you next week.

THE RISE OF THE NIGERIAN RECORDING INDUSTRY AND THE TALENTS THAT PROPELLED IT

The Nigerian recording industry which survived the nation's civil war was dominated in the early seventies by three Lagos based multi-national recording companies, each of which carved out an area of influence for itself. The first was Philips, which later became Phonogram and then Polygram and subsequently, Premier. The second was EMI that later transformed itself to Ivory. The third was Decca, which eventually became Afrodisia. Before this, time, Onitsha, in the eastern part of the country, had the immutable Nigerphone.

 

In the early 1970s, Philips could be said to be the leader in Highlife music. The likes of Cardinal Rex Jim Lawson, Sir Victor Uwaifo, Celestine Ukwu, Victor Olaiya, Stephen Osita Osadebe, Bala Miller and Chris Ajilo had come out of the Nigerian civil war with their various interpretations of the Highlife sound in great demand. New names such as Paulson Kalu, Mike Ejiagha, the Eastern Minstrels, etc., also churned out great Highlife tunes from the Philips Ijora Causeway studios in Lagos. While Philips did not dabble much into the local recording of western styled pop music, it was very active in releasing in Nigeria, recordings of the new kings and queens of Black American Soul and Blues on its Polydor label.

 

The king of the kings was of course 'Papa' James Brown whose song, "Say it Loud, I'm Black and Proud!" was a call for commotion on the dance floor. The revolutionary Black consciousness appeal of "Black and Proud" hit a deep chord with a lot of young Nigerians and was reflected in the lingo and fashion of the time. "Guys" wore the Afro hair style, tight fitting shirts, bell-bottom trousers that swept the roads, locally called labu and of course, platform shoes. "Chicks" were also caught in the Afro hairdo craze but did not use as much fabric in the making of their skirts as "guys" did with their trousers. The miniskirt was the rave and with about the fabric required for 3 handkerchiefs, your skirt was ready to go! Anyone who was not dressed as a "guy" or a "chick" was a "jew man"! This was the era of the 7" 45 rpm singles on black vinyl. The different singles of James Brown such as "Sex Machine", "Cold Sweat", "Superbad", "I feel Good", "Mashed Potato Popcorn", etc., were all instant hits.

 

The EMI studio at Wharf Road in Apapa was the Mecca of the young Nigerian musician who had become influenced by the wave that Black music was making in America. Some of these musicians were products of the war time pop bands that had sprung up both in Biafra and the other parts of the country. The most popular of these bands perhaps was "The Hykkers". Another was "Marine Blossoms". Otis Redding's hit songs, Security and Direct Me had a major impact on the direction of these bands. So did the sounds coming out of Berry Gordy's Tamla Motown which then was probably the most important hit music factory in the world. Motown was then ruling the world with artistes like Jackson 5, Diana Ross & the Supremes, the Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Four Tops, Rare Earth, etc. 

 

The success of the single, "Love Rock" by "The Strangers" of Owerri led by Bob Miga (real name: Bob Agim) opened the gates of EMI studios to more pop bands4."The Wings" of Aba, inspired by their leader, Spud Nathans, also had a successful single with "Someone Else Will". Also from Aba, "The Funkees", a group with talents like Jake Sollo, Harry Mosco, Chyke Madu and Mohammed Ahidjo scored big with "Akula", a song with a strong African tinge.

 

The Strangers was to break up not long after their huge success. Many of their fans shifted their loyalty to one of the succeeding groups, "One World' fronted by lead singers Sam Mathews and Gab Zani and guitarist, Anii Hofnar. The environment in Aba also produced another significant group called "The Apostles" led by Walton Arungwa, about the same time that Soki Ohale was thrilling everyone with his song, "Highway Mini Girl".

If the development at EMI had appeared like it would not last, that was settled with the huge success of two successive singles by the group "Wrinkers Experience". The two singles, "Fuel for Love" and "Money to Burn", written by Dan Ian Mbaezue who passed on recently, were favourites of the young and old around the country for quite some time. "Wrinkers Experience" was a bit different from the other bands because it had some talented Cameroonians in its membership like the irrepressible guitarist, Ginger Forcher who may have been the forerunner of the army of great Cameroonian instrumentalists that stormed the Nigerian music industry in the 1980s. These instrumentalists include the keyboard great, Nkono Teles, Ettiene T Boy and Frankie Song, drummers like Mambo and Vincent Ekedi, guitarists like Oscar Elimbi and George Achini and bassists like Sol and Basil Barap.

 

Meanwhile, in Port Harcourt, the group, "Founders 15" featuring the likes of gentleman, Iyke Peters who today is a very strong Biafran political activist, had a successful single in "Be My Own".

 

While the Eastern pop groups were making their different hit songs, a new sound virtually exploded on the scene. Fela Ransome Kuti had finally hit it big with a new band, "The Africa 70s", a new sound, Afro Beat, a new song, "Chop and Quench" and a new venue, "the African Shrine". The previously unacclaimed "Highlife Jazz" artiste, Fela, whose band "Koola Lobitos" had struggled in Lagos in the shadows of the great show man, Geraldo Pino, had in every sense become born again. Geraldo Pino himself born of Sierra Leonean parents and largely influenced by the stagecraft of James Brown later moved to Port Harcourt and for a long while had residency at Crystal Park Hotel, Aba and Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt.

 

After a rather unsuccessful tour of America, Fela was a changed man. He gave up his trademark western suits for very tight-fitting trousers; his mid-tempo Highlife Jazz for the raunchy and heavily percussive Afro Beat; his sweet trumpet for the very aggressive electronic keyboard and later, the saxophone; his 'You love me and I love you' songs for the audacious and politically controversial. Fela, who never touched cigarette, became a major convert to cannabis. Fela also gave up his middle-class family lifestyle for girls and girls and girls! While Fela had countless roforofo fights with the Nigeria Police, he made many hit songs for EMI such as Shakara, Lady, I no be Gentleman, Black Man's Cry, Open & Close, etc. and a critical moment in the evolution of Nigerian music was born. (To be continued)

 

See you next week.

WHERE HAS FELADAY GONE WITH HIS GUITAR?

It was just a month ago. On Wednesday, June 30, 2021, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), the nation's biggest copyright collective management organization, had rolled out the red carpet at the magnificent COSON House in Ikeja to honour the quintessential drummer boy and widely respected musician and producer, Richard Cole who attained the biblical age of 70 years on that day.

Family, friends and colleagues of Gentleman Cole turned up in large numbers to sing and dance the night away in an unprecedented celebration of a good man with various genres of live music titillating the very elated audience as the kaleidoscope of lights and colours at the COSON Arena performed magic. On stage was another good man, the guitar wizard, the handsome Felix Odey, known to many as Feladay.

I had personally invited Feladay to show up at the event with his guitar so we could have a real live music jam. I did not think it was alright to celebrate a true musician like Richard Cole with canned music. Feladay showed up both with his guitar and his beautiful wife and an elated spirit.

The great impressionist, Koffi Tha Guru, was expected to be the MC at the event. Koffi showed up alright, did the red carpet, took photographs with many but had to leave because there was an urgent telephone call. I had just come directly from the hospital where I had been administered with six injections less than an hour before. I was a little groggy but in the absence of Koffi had to become an emergency MC.

When Feladay mounted the stage, struck his guitar and began the first stanza of 'Hey Joe', the iconic song made famous by the terrific Jimi Hendrix, there was sudden stupendous electricity in the Arena. The performance mesmerized everyone. The sickness in me disappeared, I forgot the injections I just had and flowed with the music in awe of a maestro at home with his instrument and his art.

And then the master of the guitar struck the opening chords of "Fuel for Love", the evergreen song by Wrinkars Experience and the audience went wild and there was absolute commotion on the dance floor. From "Fuel for Love" to "Love Adure" and the many old favourites of Rex Jim Lawson, the audience sang along and danced to the virtuoso performance of Feladay who was joined on stage by Endee Ikeji. The show was easily one of the most exciting shows I ever witnessed at the COSON Arena.

Thereafter, I talked with Feladay about the possibility of having such a jam regularly at the Arena to lift the spirit of many who are traumatized by the madness happening in our country.

Felix Odey was not just an incredibly gifted musician who played with many-many musicians across the nation, he was a great guy with a great personality, lighting up wherever he went with jokes and spreading love along the way. You were unlikely to find Feladay engaged in the stupid gossips, conspiracies or the many plots to smear everyone. Feladay was also not one of those beclouded by tribe or ethnicity. His friends were from every tribe and everywhere. He loved the music industry and always wanted the industry united.

When a few days ago, I learnt of the passing of Feladay, I was numb. I could make no sense of it. I found it impossible to even make a comment. I could neither type nor write. My hands were frozen. What is happening to the tribe of Nigeria's great guitarists?

At the beginning of July when I learnt of the passing of another fantastic guitarist, a good man and great colleague of mine, Hon John Udegbunam, I wept like a child. In the same month of July, I was informed of the passing of another great guitarist, Jackie Moore Anyaora, the renowned guitarist of Sweet Breeze fame who with Dallas Kingsley Anyanwu played with me in the group, 'Life Everlasting', the first band I ever played in. In the June 30 celebration of Richard Cole, it was in fact Feladay that informed me of the passing of another great Nigerian guitarist, Dan Ian Mbaezue, the author of the great songs, 'Fuel for Love' and 'Money to Burn'. This was not long after the loss of BLO's iconic guitarist Beckley Ike Jones. I learnt that Kayode Dosunmu who played the staccato guitar in Bongos Ikwue's 'Still Searching' and went on to play with King Sunny Ade has passed on too. In quick succession, we have lost the great instrumentalists who made the music scenes of the 70s and 80s rock in Nigeria. Where are they all going with their guitars?

On June 30, 2021, when King Feladey held all of us spell bound at COSON House and wowed us with his guitar, he performed like a guy possessed. It was a last performance and a grand performance and he used the opportunity to remind us several times that he had turned seventy years old this year. Little did we know that he was telling us that he had run his race and that we should not forget what a grand musician he was. How can I ever forget the incredible Feladay, a true master of the guitar who spread love everywhere?

Bye-bye my friend.

See you next week.

WHY I GO TO COURT (REPRISE) - 2

Do you know that in our clime, people generally view anyone who goes to court as a troublemaker or a pest? I go to court but I am neither a trouble maker nor a pest. In fact, I am a man who loves peace, very much so.

But how can there be peace when there are too many troublemakers 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 do not 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. They believe that they have a right to oppress everyone and God does not exist except for them. How can there be peace without justice?

There was a three-month period when I went to court practically every day. 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 false 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 good people. I have also met all kinds of crazy and wicked creatures. There are those who are totally consumed by their love of money and of themselves. Their only measure of success 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 cash. Believe me, this guy was not born poor yet money has become his God. When my 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 in Lagos for the good of others when in the same Lagos he owns no house of his own? 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.

About four years ago, I was told that COSON would die because we decided to go to court and test the issues that had arisen. A number of people wanted the usual Nigerian quick fix. They made so much noise on Facebook and proclaimed as facts things that have neither rhyme nor reason. As we argued, some people were frightened. They wanted 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 would haunt everyone again as the same issues come back with a vengeance and completely destroy everything we have built. The good news is that COSON is not dead.

I have repeatedly said to people that the organization which I lead was built and nurtured on the platform of strict adherence to the rule of law. The resources of COSON which have been driving some people crazy and which they so desperately seek to control were put together with the assistance of the courts and on the wings of the rule of law. I have been to practically every court in the land to build those resources.

When my guys complain about the courts, they forget that the money that is driving them gaga is a product of the courts. How can we be afraid of the same courts? Those who want "beer parlor" peace in the music industry 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 copyright collective management must thrive in Nigeria need to be clearly set out by the courts and not in a beer parlor. That takes patience. 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 claims.

Believe me, there can never be true peace without justice. That is exactly why I go to court.

See you next week.

WHEN WILL ABUJA BAN THE INTERNET?

Regardless of what anybody may say, I like Femi Adesina. I believe he is a good man. Femi, as General Editor of the Sun once interviewed me. He did a professional job. If Femi tells you he will call you, he sure will call you. If he says "good morning", you do not need to check your watch. Since becoming Aso Rock spokesman, I have been to Femi's home where I met his wife and children. They were exceedingly nice to me.

I know Lai Mohammed too. While he was the spokesperson of the opposition party in Nigeria, I was a great admirer of Lai Mohammed. He was crisp, sharp and always on point. He made sense. Since becoming Minister of the Federal Republic, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has hosted me many-many times in his Abuja office. In his office, I have repeatedly shared boiled corn and coconut with his staff all of whom have treated me like a dear friend. The minister once honoured me with an official visit at COSON House, accompanied by practically all the Directors in his ministry.  

Please do not listen to anyone who tells you that either Femi Adesina or Lai Mohammed is a fool. They are not. That is why these days I worry about these two people I consider my friends. I watch them every day as they twist and turn and try very hard to sell goods that very few want to buy. Their principal, who gave them their job, says things that none of them would say and it becomes their call to make sense out of that which does not make much sense to sensible people.   

I once had a discussion with Femi on the very changed nature of the media and how information is now received. Today, practically everyone with a smart phone is a writer and a publisher. Before now, there was one very important guy between the writer and the publisher. He was the king of the newsroom. He was called 'Editor'. His job was to make sure that whatever is dished to the public was checked with a tooth comb and was as much as possible factual. There had to be balance in the story too to make sure that all the critical sides are heard.

Every great newspaper or news station is built on its credibility. It is the job of the editor to protect that credibility and ask the critical questions: What? Who? Where? How? Why?

There was also a time when no matter where you were, you would be heading home not to miss the 9 0'Clock news on NTA. The other important news of the day was the Radio Nigeria news at 7 am and 4 pm.

I have many friends who work at both NTA and FRCN but if the truth be told, there are many people who believe that the days of NTA and FRCN are gone. I do not know how many people still depend on these stations for reliable news which is why I wonder if the huge amount spent to maintain these behemoths which have served their purpose cannot be deployed more meaningfully elsewhere.

Fact is that very few people get their news these days from any newspaper. Very few people watch TV except Telemundo, Zee World, African Magic, HipTV, SuperSport, etc. Now, there is more news than you can ever consume on WhatsApp. For those who are stuck on TV News, the station must be sassy and seen to be independent - CNN, BBC, Aljazeera or Sky. At home, it is Channels or Arise. Everyone else is struggling.  

Go to any social gathering these days and everybody is typing on his little machine, 'snapping' photos, posting on Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp or 'chatting' or tweeting. Everyone is spreading information for good or for bad with all the biases that human beings have. Everybody has a camera and there are no rules and anyone can be as nasty as he wants, as raw as he chooses and as hateful as he decides to be. That is the new world and we are not going back to the old.

I am sure Femi remembers our discussion. The fulcrum of our conversation was this: Times have changed. The infrastructure for managing government information must change. That infrastructure must be designed, the people to operate it well trained and adequately resourced. This is the moment of the 24-hour news cycle when the news either breaks live or goes viral a few minutes after the event. I had said to him that the days of the odd press release sent to the newspapers may also be gone. The news manager goes where the people are: Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Tik Tok, Twitter, etc. Indeed, the language of the news has also changed.

Once on a visit to OBJ at Aso Rock Villa, I met the late great Stanley Macebuh who was then Special Assistant for something to the President. Stanley told me that there was so much he did not know that he learnt at Aso Rock. It appears as Rueben Abati once intoned that there is a certain spirit at Aso Rock that makes people associated with the place speak strange languages. I have tried but I do not understand the languages spoken lately from Aso Rock on the absolute necessity for cattle to continue to maraud across the country. I do not understand the inexplicable ban on Twitter, making nonsense of what remains of our international image. Do Femi and Lai agree with this strange Language? Did any of them coin the term, 'dot in a circle'?   

When I hear that the government banned Twitter in Nigeria because enemies of the government have deployed the platform to make Nigeria ungovernable, I am amazed. Did the government believe that it would not have enemies? Did the government not realize that there are people who would work tirelessly for it to fail?  That is the way it is in every democracy. A modern government must be ready to match its adversaries with intelligence everywhere including social media. Afterall, the government has far more resources than anyone else.

The truth is that because most of the people in our government still live in the past, do not quite grasp the velocity of the change around them and have not adapted, the government has been badly 'out-tweeted', 'out face-booked', 'out Instagramed', 'out-whatsapped', outmaneuvered and outsmarted. In reaction, rather than look in the mirror and see the enemy in front of it, our dear government is dazed and flaying its arms, banning everything and everybody, threatening to prosecute millions of Nigerians who have not committed any offence known to our laws. Somebody is even suggesting the banning of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Tik Tok, etc.      

Won't it be easier to ban the Internet altogether because without it you cannot do Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Tik Tok, Twitter, internet banking, internet fraud and all these many stupid things enemies are using to make Nigeria ungovernable and to give our dear government many sleepless nights?!  

See you next week.

THE POWER OF WORDS AND THE BUHARI PRESIDENCY

I am a sucker for words masterfully put together. I believe that words used the right way can move mountains. They can make men fight like hell in war. The right words can bring peace where strife reigns. The architecture of change is words. The building is action.

I am one of those who believe that Nigerians have had to endure the excruciating pain we are suffering today because we have a president who has very little skills in the use of words.

President Buhari was elected practically, without saying anything to anybody. An avalanche of people like Adams Oshiomhole, Festus Keyamo, Bola Tinubu and co., hugged the microphones at campaign events and spoke for Buhari and made promises on behalf of Buhari. Please check, Buhari personally promised Nigerians very little. With hindsight, Nigerians never really had a chance to measure Buhari.

Masterfully, the minders of Buhari scattered the presidential debates organized by BON during the elections. Across the world, the political debate has become a critical platform for assessing politicians and their abilities, their communication skills, their temperaments, their mastery of the issues and their readiness for the job. That is why nations do not joke with debates and nobody gets elected without a debate. Words matter.

On the debate stage, Buhari would have been on his own. There would have been no Garba Shehu, no Femi Adesina or Lai Mohammed to tell him what to say. There would have been no press release to tell us what he means. We would have heard him unfiltered and left to make up our minds.

If you think that Donald Trump lost the last U.S. presidential election on the day of voting on November 3, 2020, then you were not quite following the events. Joe Biden won the Presidency fair and square on September 29 on the debate stage in Cleveland Ohio.

Words matter. Just imagine how many people have been moved by the immortal words of Martin Luther King Jnr in his 'I have a dream' speech. What of the unforgettable 'Ask not what your country can do for you' speech of John F. Kennedy? Without 'Yes we can' would Barack Obama, the young man of Kenyan ancestry, have become President of the most powerful nation on earth?

As a Nigerian, I keep scratching my head in search of the memorable or inspirational words of our leaders. Of course, the lack of appreciation of the use of words by those who purport to lead us, to paint their picture of tomorrow and to inspire us to dream big dreams, has something to do with the level of our underdevelopment. President Buhari's inability to lift us up with his words and heal our wounds at this time of distress, is a sore in the heart of many Nigerians. Words do matter.

In the last one week, US President, Joe Biden had a press conference almost every day in Europe. At his last Press Conference, just as he was about to leave for the airport, he snapped at a question asked by 29 years old CNN Whitehouse correspondent, Kaitlan Collins. When he got to the airport, he refused to board "Airforce 1" until he had gone to the foot of the aircraft where the journalists were gathered and publicly apologised to Kaitlan. Words matter.

I am sure everyone remembers that during his first inauguration, President Buhari said these words: 'I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody'. The words practically caught fire. They were repeated over and over across the country. Those nine words conveyed deep meanings of which a major book could be written. I had hoped thereafter to hear from our President such deep words that can exalt Nigerians and elevate the desire of Nigerians, man and woman, to do the work necessary to uplift our nation.

 

Why is it important? No general fights a war alone. He must inspire his commanders and foot soldiers to feel what he feels, take on the enemy with gusto and lay down their lives if it becomes necessary. A good army is like an orchestra. All the instruments are in tune and every instrumentalist follows the slightest gesture of the conductor. My gut feeling is that Nigeria is at war but the foot soldiers necessary to win the war are not engaged. Our Commander-in- Chief has not properly articulated the war so Nigerians can fight with him. So, President Buhari and his handful of people are fighting the war alone. I do not know how they are going to win. I know not where it has happened before. No conductor plays a symphony all alone.

 

Recently, our President who has very little experience talking to us, spoke. The recent Arise News interview of our President has been very revealing of the mindset of the man who makes life and death decisions on our behalf. Did he calm our nerves, or did he pour more fuel on the fire burning across the nation? Words like "the dot in a circle" matter.

 

Words and the way they are used matter at every level of leadership, at home, at work, in religion, in politics, everywhere. The greatest salesmen are those who know how to use words. The greatest preachers are those who know how to use words and definitely, the greatest leaders.

 

Words wrongly used can set off a fire like they did in Rwanda. 'I am not a magician' once credited to Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, former Minister of State for Petroleum caught fire across the country. I am not sure that it caught the kind of fire Dr Kachikwu would have wished. How many remember the words credited to the late Umaru Dikko: 'Nigerians are not picking food from the dustbin' or 'telephone is not for the poor' allegedly uttered by the former Senate President, David Mark? Such regrettable words hit the people below the belt at their most vulnerable. By the way, I once watched Dr Kachikwu take on some very difficult questions on CNN after a failed OPEC meeting. I was proud.

 

As I watched Barrack Obama on TV speak with uplifting panache at the 2004 convention of the Democratic party in Boston Massachusetts at which John Kerry was nominated candidate for the US presidency, I had no doubt that I was watching history unfold. Obama has since been elected a US Senator. He has twice been elected President of the United States. John Kerry at whose Presidential convention the magic of Obama became clear, served Obama as Secretary of State. Kerry never became President. The power of words!

I am in anguish wondering whether our President truly understands the power of words.

See you next week.