WHY I GO TO COURT (REPRISE)

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 not a trouble maker and certainly not a pest. In fact, I am a man who loves peace, very much too.

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. They believe that they have a right to oppress everyone and God does not exist except for them.

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. Please, 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 resources of COSON which is driving some crazy and which they so desperately seek to control were put together with assistance of the courts and on the wings of the rule of law. I have been to practically every court in the land to ensure 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. 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 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.

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

See you next week.

HALLOWED BE THY NAME!

HALLOWED BE THY NAME!

Hallowed be thy name! I am an unbelievably lucky guy and I thank the Almighty for the incredible protection he has given me in many trying circumstances and under conditions that would have broken many men. For a guy who goes to church only once in a while, it is in every way a miracle!

Believe me, I have repeatedly seen the treachery and betrayal of men and how people rationalize the nonsense they do. If you are not careful, you will tend to believe that there is no good man left in the world anymore and there is no reason to do good to anyone.

Then you have the experience I had on Monday and you realize how wrong you are.

I have written before that I was not born as Chairman of COSON and I frankly did not think it was a big deal when I was first elected. I do not know whether it was because COSON was then merely a mustard seed.  

I was a key founding father of PMRS, the major organization that gave birth to COSON. I did much of the technical work at PMRS and could easily have become the first Chairman of PMRS if I wanted to. The first Chairperson of PMRS was not Tony Okoroji but Erelu Keji Okounowo, a beautiful lady who used to be MD of Sony Music in Nigeria. I supported her the best I could. I did not become Chairman after Okunowo. The late Christy Essien Igbokwe took over from Chief Okunowo. I also supported Christy the best I could.

When I succeeded Mrs. Igbokwe, it was clear to me that there was just too much talk in PMRS and too little action; too much planning and too little execution. In many creative industry organizations in Africa, people just squabble and squabble without producing any enduring results. I concluded that if we were to build a copyright organization that will be exemplary and stand the text of time, the driving force would be execution.

There are people who complain that I am 'Executive Chairman' at COSON. The truth is that when everyone else leaves the boardroom, I stay back to intensely review with management the decisions made by the board and determine how to give them feet to walk and wings to fly. I simply do not believe in talk without action. People often ask me: what is the secret of the success of COSON? If I had to answer in one word, the word would be 'execution'.

I do not consider my position as Chairman to be to sit and beautify a chair or to wear 'agbada' at big occasions and make meaningless speeches. I am the team leader. My job is to make sure that work is going on and we are executing. I am the general in front of the army and not behind. I do not ask others to work while I drink pepper soup. I dirty my hands and get the work done.

Take it from me: most people do not say what they mean. You have to read their lips. I have had to learn to understand what people mean and not what they say. No one has come to me to say, "I envy your success", "How can I adopt your work ethics?" or "man, you get things done"

They will tell you that Okoroji is "Executive Chairman" and is doing everything thing himself. Next minute, the same people will tell you that Okoroji did not do anything, "we are the ones who did all the work"!

I have seen people sit in the beautiful COSON Boardroom with the cool air conditioner blowing them from above and a choice of tea, coffee or some other drink available to them and beat their chests at what COSON has achieved and in the same vain complain about the man and the style that led to the achievement of the success. You then ask yourself, "what do they really want: process or product, style or failure?"  

I have always asked the Almighty to give me an opportunity to give. Anyone who has worked with me will tell you that I give my all to every assignment I undertake.

I have written in this column before that if had become a janitor or a security man, I would have dedicated myself as much as I have dedicated my life to leading COSON.

On Monday, at Lagos Sheraton Hotel, I stepped down as a Director and Chairman of the Board of COSON. My term was up. Despite a full auditorium of COSON members from practically every state in Nigeria, no one stepped up to take the position. In conformity with our rules, I was re-elected. My COSON colleagues understand the task. They know how tough it is. They know that I do not monkey around with their organization.

On Monday, it struck me that that there are still good men left in the world and that there is good enough reason to do good to as many people as possible.

I thank the members of the reconstituted COSON Board who have shown me camaraderie beyond what anyone in my position should expect in Nigeria. I thank Sir Shina Peters, Kenny Saint Brown, Honourable John Udegbunam, Bright Chimezie, Maureen Ejezie Uso, Eng Sharon Esco Wilson, Richard Cole, Uche Emeka Paul and Koffi Idowu Nuel.

Once again, I thank the thousands of COSON members across the country, our affiliates, hard-working management and staff, consultants, licensees, service providers and many friends of COSON at home and abroad. I appreciate you because without your unflinching support, I will not be standing today.

Once, with tears in my eyes, I pledged to COSON members that I will not let them  down. I will not. Hallowed be His name!

See you next week.

 

THE POSSIBILITY OF THE IMPOSSIBLE

I once wrote in Saturday Breakfast that not very long ago, I received a very warm welcome in Benin City from his Royal Majesty, the Oba of Benin. Three years ago, the Olubadan of Ibadan practically rolled out the red carpet for the COSON delegation which I led to his palace.

Just last year, I was in the palace of the revered Emir of Kano, the very brilliant Mohammed Sanusi II, with my friend and colleague, the unforgettable Ras Kimono. My delegation and I were warmly received by the Emir. His Highness, a former Governor of Nigeria's Central Bank clearly understands economics and the way the wealth of nations is built. He said very kind words to us 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 most times attracts envy.

Anyone who has managed a band of a few musicians, will understand that 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 almost two years ago, a lot of people were surprised that there was not one Naira of government money in the magnificent building, no donor dollar from anywhere, no bank loan and no debt of any type.

For eight years, not one of the highly trained staff of COSON received his or her salary one day late. Not until recently, when some meddlesome interlopers went to court behind our backs to shut down the bank accounts of COSON. 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 who believe in the word, IMPOSSIBLE. I drive on a full tank of faith, so I verily believe in the word POSSIBLE. As a result, the good Lord has refused to count me out. In the last 12 months, I have been dragged to the Nigeria police, the EFCC and visited by SARS. Not long ago, 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! They did not file the charges because we did anything wrong but because we did everything right. We have followed the law and every rule scrupulously and made the IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE. The result is envy and covetousness. To think that I was one of the people who wrote the law setting up the Nigerian Copyright Commission. Typical Nigerians, they badly want to hijack COSON and bleed it dry.

Recently, they began this loud campaign for the 'independent' audit of the COSON accounts. The intent is to create the impression that Okoroji's hands are not clean. "He is hiding something somewhere". The persons who started this campaign know the truth. The truth is that no organization in the history of the Nigerian creative industry has, year after year, been meticulously audited like COSON. Not the NCC. Not PMAN. Not NARI. Not REPRONIG. Not AVRS. Not AMB – PRO. Not AGN! I challenge anyone with alternative facts to please make them public.

Each of the thousands of COSON members, including those making the noise, have copies of the COSON audited accounts which have been ratified by COSON members every single year, as required by law. No COSON audit has ever been done one day late. Each of the audited accounts is in the custody of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, the Corporate Affairs Commission and the COSON international partners. Copies of the audited accounts are available at COSON House for anyone to inspect.

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. I will continue to drive on a full tank of faith with my tires pumped with love. Please do not listen to anyone who tells you that your dreams are impossible. That word, impossible, belongs to the devil.

I guarantee you that we will continue to shame the devil and make the IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE.

See you next week.

WHEN YOU STOP BEING THEIR ‘MUGU’

I have spent much of my life wrestling with man's hatred. I have little material wealth but I have faith and happiness. I appreciate the grace that the Almighty has given me to work hard, focus on every challenge and achieve results that please him. I love the gift He has given me and I try to use it the best I can.

I do not want to be Dangote or Otedola or Ronaldo or Donald Trump. I am Tony Okoroji and I like it.

I know that the good Lord has given to each of his children our peculiar gifts. The problem is that rather than harness our gifts, some people are very busy with envy and covetousness and fixated on the gifts of others. Somebody should tell them that I do not want to be them, can never be them and no matter how much they try, they cannot be me.

When I say that I drive on a full tank of faith, what I mean is that I have full confidence that if what I am doing is to the glory of God and the good of his children, I cannot fail. As my tank is filled with faith, so are my tires filled with love and no obstacle or bump can stop me.

I have heard some people say that I am arrogant… No sir! What they consider arrogance is confidence. If you believe in God, you glow in his glory. I am not so stupid that I do not understand that the wisdom and strength that I deploy do not belong to me but to the Almighty. If you think that I am arrogant, please bury the thought. I simply glow in the glory of God.

I know that hatred is a virus, the worst virus there is. Hatred permeates your body engine and destroys the effectiveness of your mechanism. Hatred drains you of happiness and rational thinking. That is why those who have attacked me with falsehood repeatedly fall 'yakata'. They will continue to fail because they cannot think rationally. When you cannot think rationally, you will just fail and fail and fail.

In their hearts, those who have gone after me know that I have done nothing against them and taken nothing that belongs to them. They are just driven by hatred and so cannot act rationally. They cannot work as hard as I do but want recognition for what they have not done. How?

Everyone who knows me will tell you that I work 25 hours a day, 8 days a week. I never stop working and I don't complain about it. Life is work. Work is fun. In everything I do, I seek perfection. I have repeatedly asked the good Lord to use me to do good to as many people as possible. Every day I wake up, it is my duty to put a smile on the face of someone.

I have realized that nearly everyone who ferociously attacks me is someone I have given my love to. They take and take and at some point, conclude that you have become their 'mugu,' available to give everything they want. Then, they make a demand for that which you can't give. Come and see wahala! They are shocked that their 'mugu' can say no to them on anything. After all, you are supposed to be there for their use. Suddenly, friendship turns to hatred. From being a very good person, you have become a very bad person. That is when the hate swells and the desire to destroy you ferments.

Repeatedly I say that I do not want to dwell in hatred. Hatred belongs to the devil. I deal with love and I know that the Almighty will never let me be successful in destroying anyone who has done nothing against me.

I have witnessed some people concoct so much lies about me, repeatedly tell their lies until they even begin to believe their lies. They continue to run from pillar to post and need to ask themselves why their coordinated lies have been so ineffective. The answer is simple: love conquers hate.

I do hope that all of us will learn that man is not God and God does not dwell in hate. If you kneel down and pray that you succeed with your hate, you have not prayed to God but to the devil.

Try pumping your tires with love and drive on a full tank of faith. I promise you, you will never be stranded along the way.

 

See you next week

IMPORTANT LESSONS IN COPYRIGHT

Do you know that copyright is infringed by any person who without the licence or authorisation of the owner of copyright performs or causes to be performed for the purposes of trade or business or as supporting facility to a trade or business, any work in which copyright subsists?

 

Please do not think that performance only refers to live performance. Performance does not only refer to live performance but includes the playing of recorded music on the facility. It also includes radio, television and cable broadcasts or computer transmission received on the facility. As long as it can be shown that the reception of such a broadcast or transmission is outside of a private setting, a performance in public will be deemed to have taken place. Indeed, even if the record player, radio or television set or a computer monitor is located in a private residence and the performance is clearly audible or visible in public, copyright infringement may still have occurred!

 

That certainly was the case in one of the many ground breaking copyright cases won by the Performing Rights Society of England (PRS), the UK version of COSON. In PRS v. Camelo, the defendant's wife managed a restaurant on the ground floor of a storey building where the family lived. There were three rooms on the ground floor used by the family. The room at the back was the kitchen. The room in the middle served as the family living room. The room in front opened out to the streets and it was in this room that madam's customers were served their meals.

 

A radio set in the family living room was so loud that it could be heard clearly in the restaurant. The evidence was that the customers were attracted to the music. The defendant however took the position that the radio was situated in a private residence and the fact that the music was heard in the restaurant area was merely accidental.

 

Justice Clauson who determined the case took the view that it was irrelevant where the radio set was located, the performance took place wherever the music was audible to a person hearing it as a musical piece. In the words of the judge, "the performance may be in the private living room and extend far beyond the area and on the facts of this case I should say it extends over substantially to the whole restaurant".

 

Of course, it was held that the defendant had infringed copyright.

 

This kind of infringement is pervasive in Nigeria. Culprits include nightclubs, banks, hairdressing & barbing salons, supermarkets, stadia, restaurants, luxury buses, airports, etc.

 

In Nigeria, it is not unusual for a proprietor of a nightclub or business premises to express the view that he is promoting the work when such work is used in his establishment. In other words, the owner of the work should be grateful for the use until a court summons is served on the proprietor of the facility!

 

This same argument has been made elsewhere but the principle has been clearly established that the user must obtain authorisation or licence whether he thinks he is doing the owner of the copyright a favour or not. If the user does not obtain authorisation, he will be in breach of copyright.

 

The Performing Right Society (PRS) of England in the past did not ask owners of record shops to obtain licences in order to play music over loud speakers in their shops. In 1976, this policy was changed and the new policy was seriously resisted because the record shop owners took the position that by playing the records in their shops, they were promoting record sales, thereby increasing royalties paid to music composers. Unfortunately for the record shop owners, the English courts did not buy their argument.

 

In Performing Right Society Ltd v. Harlequin Record Shop Ltd, it was decided that PRS was entitled to an injunction to restrain the record shop owners from playing music over loud speakers because such use constituted copyright infringement.

 

The acid test applied by the Courts was to ask the owners of record shops if they would wish to stop playing music in their shops if they lost the case. Both the defendant and the owner of a chain of 22 record shops, with obvious reluctance, said that they would rather pay royalties than stop playing the music.

 

Please note that where unauthorized copying or reproduction has been proved, a defendant obtains no legal immunity by claiming that he did not know that he was copying the work of the owner of copyright.

 

Even where the infringer had no intention to infringe, he will still be liable for the infringement. It is clearly no defense that the defendant had no intention or was unaware and could not have been aware that what he was doing was an infringement of copyright.

 

In the English case of John Lane, The Bodley Head Ltd v. Associated Newspaper Ltd, a newspaper editor published a short story which he had paid for in the belief that it was an original work. A claim of innocence was rejected by the court, which decided on "the true interpretation of the section", that copyright had been infringed.

 

It must however be stated that while infringement may be held against the innocent infringer, he will not be liable for damages if it is proved that he was not aware and had no reasonable ground to suspect that copyright subsisted in the work. He will however account for any profit he has made to the owner, assignee or exclusive licencee as the case may be. This was the decision of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Plateau Publishing Co. Ltd v. Adophy.

 

Chief Adophy had taken Plateau Publishing Co. Ltd to court for publishing his literary works titled "After Tarka, what Next?" without authorization. The article was published in the company's newspaper, The Nigeria Standard, under the name Yima Sen under a different title, "Lessons from Tarkaism- a tribute feature". Chief Adophy claimed a total of =N=250,000 (Two hundred and fifty thousand Naira) for the infringement.

 

The Court found Plateau Publishing Company to have infringed Chief Adophy's copyright and awarded special damages of =N=25,000 (Twenty Five thousand Naira) and additional damages of =N=10,000 (Ten thousand Naira).

 

The decision was appealed up to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court upheld the decision and the special damages but set aside the additional damages.

 

The Supreme Court consequently made the following decisions which have become important markers on the issue of "innocent infringement":

 

1.   Where it is admitted or proved that an infringement had taken place, but that at the time of the infringement the defendant was not aware and had no reasonable grounds for suspecting that copyright subsisted in the work, the plaintiff is not entitled to damages, but to account of profit whether any other relief is granted or not.

 

2.   The defense of innocent infringement cannot protect a person who, knowing or suspecting that copyright subsists in a work, makes a mistake as to the owner of the copyright and therefore obtains authorisation from a person who is not the owner.

 

3.   To merely show that he had an honest but mistaken view of the law or that he reasonably believed that the work in question was an original work is not enough to establish that a defendant had no reasonable grounds for suspecting the existence of copyright. Furthermore, if a defendant made no inquiry whatsoever as to the source from which the work was derived he cannot plead that he had no reasonable grounds for suspecting the existence of copyright.

 

4.   As a general principle, any invasion of a right of property gives the owner of the property a right of action against the person responsible for the invasion of his rights, whether the invasion is intentional or not. Consequently, innocence is no defense to an action for infringement of copyright or for the conversion or detention of an infringing copy or a plate.

 

In the week of the celebration of the World Intellectual Property Day, I thought that for Saturday Breakfast today, we should serve this course which is an adaptation from my book, Copyright & the New Millionaires.

 

See you next week.

CAN YOU IMAGINE… IT HAS BECOME SEXY TO DIE?!

Say what you may, hatred has taken over the world and terror is out of control and the world as we know it may have changed forever. Time was when every security or war plan was based on the fact that every rational human being will do anything to stay alive. Only losers with no hope committed suicide.

You set up your security knowing that the fear of death was a deterrent to the robber who wants to attack your home. 'Beware of dogs!' was the inscription on the wall of the home of every rich man. Those who want to wage war against your nation must first check out your military might to determine if they can match you bazooka for bazooka, missile for missile.

Forget all the flowery stuff we read in the holy books about heaven, how many people did you know who were in a hurry to visit the white cool place where angels sing day and night and everyone eats fresh fruits? Do you remember the words in the evergreen song, 'Equal Rights' by the late great Jamaican reggae superstar, Peter Tosh: "Everyone wants to go to haven but nobody wants to die!"? That was before it was revealed to young men that for each of them ready to blow himself up, there are seven exquisitely beautiful and randy virgins waiting for them to do all kinds of imaginable things in the cool place.

That was how the suicide bomber stepped in and proliferated. Now, how do you protect yourself against so many men and women scattered all over the world strapped with bombs around the most intimate parts of their anatomies and begging to blow themselves up and blow up everyone else around them and die for whatever crazy beliefs they profess? Can you imagine… it has become sexy to die?!

Beautiful young women in their prime, gorgeously dressed are walking around shaking their thing with explosives pressed against their tender skin knowing that once they press the button, it would be 'gboam'! They would be blown up into bits and pieces with whoever has the bad luck to be around them and they are glad to do it! That is how ISIS attracted thousands of young people from across the world. People don't want to die quietly in their sleep or in their bedroom anymore. It appears to have become fashionable to die in one's prime in an explosive! 

Osama Bin Laden may be dead but the seeds he planted are growing wild. From Kabul to Kandahar to Kirkuk to Karachi to Kano; from Najaf to Nairobi; from Paris to Palmyra to Peshwar; Baghdad to Basra and Benghazi and everywhere else. It is not just his wild bearded look that is proliferating, the world appears to be engaged in an orgy of death, a fireworks competition. Explosives are going off all the time and my guy, it is not video game. Real people in their thousands are having their lives stamped out. We are not talking about roaches but people's fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters…..

Time was when we used to boast that Nigerians could never be suicide bombers. Then, Boko Haram arrived and taught the world how to kill people without rhyme or reason.

That was why I have begged my proud brothers and sisters from Igboland to think through the method of the Biafra agitation. I do not want any beautiful young Igbo girl strapping herself with bombs and blowing herself up in a world where it has become sexy to die. There is just too much blood flowing everywhere. Each person killed brings more people to engage in the endless shedding of blood. I do not want the blood of any of my kith and kin shed meaninglessly.

Because of my plea, some guy took me to town calling me a coward! Me?! A coward?! I forgive the guy. He does not know me. 

See you next week.

THE MAGICAL POWER OF WORDS

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 had reigned. The architecture of change is words. The building is action.

I am sure that if Barack Obama did not have the talent for assembling words the unique way he has done, he probably would have at best been a tourist that once in a while gets a chance to peep at the White House from the barricades on Pennsylvania Avenue. For eight good years, Obama was the occupant of the historic estate.

 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 Obama, the young man of Kenyan ancestry, have become President of the most powerful nation on earth?

This lanky black boy and his wife have been received with full military honours by the King of Saudi Arabia. Not too long ago, the regal Queen Elizabeth of England and her ninety-something year old husband had to go out to the helipad to personally receive Barack Obama and his wife. Imagine!

As a Nigerian, I keep scratching my head in search of the memorable or inspirational words of our leaders. Of course, I ask myself whether 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.

When Reuben Abati, a man of words, joined the team of President Jonathan, I began to nurse the hope that the President's speeches would from then show the understanding that words and the way they are used matter. I waited and waited.

 

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. The war has not been properly articulated. So, everyone is waiting for President Buhari to fight the war and win it all by himself. I do not know how that is going to happen. I know not where it has happened before. No conductor plays a symphony all alone.

 

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 also set off a fire like they did in Rwanda. 'I am not a magician' once credited to Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, the Honorable 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 said 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. It is my humble opinion that he handled himself very well.

 

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 then 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 to those who appreciate such things, served Obama as Secretary of State. Kerry never became President. The power of words!

As I write about the power of words, I am very much persuaded that if the Buhari presidency will do for Nigerians that which every good Nigerian wants, the quality of communication needs to be lifted. Otherwise, somebody at Aso Rock may just be winking at a beautiful girl in the dark!

See you next week.

 

HOW DID THE CONCEPT OF COPYRIGHT SPREAD AROUND THE WORLD?

 

In the seventeenth century, the ideas propagated by the likes of the English philosopher, John Locke made great impact in Europe. His social contract theory and the idea that men are born equal had tremendous resonance among the people who began to question the unlimited powers of their leaders. The old order began to disappear as people claimed more individual freedom and the absolute monarchies were replaced by parliamentary democracies. As people exercised their new found freedom of expression, the old practice of printing privileges and monopolies were challenged and the theory of intellectual property began to spread. The Stationers' Company consequently set about to bring pressure on Parliament to grant some form of protection to authors and their publishers.

 

On January 11, 1709, a Bill was brought to the House of Commons intended to pass a law "for the encouragement of learning, by vesting the copies of printed books in the authors or purchasers of such copies during times therein mentioned". Arising from the draft Bill, a law was passed on April 10, 1710, with an introduction that said that printers had taken the liberty, without the consent of authors to print books and other writings, to the very great detriment of authors "and too often to the ruin of them and their family". The law known as the Statute of Anne is widely believed to be the first copyright law in the world. It is the first known enactment recognizing the right of an individual to protect a published work, in the modern sense.       

 

Before the Statute of Anne was enacted, there was massive exploitation of authors by printers who at that time were not required to obtain the consent of an author before embarking on the exploitation of his work. Strange as it may sound, the authors themselves did not have the right to publish their own books except they were members of the Stationers' Company and obtained permission from the King, conditions which were most difficult to fulfill. The exploitation of the works of authors without their consent had dire consequences. Some of the most brilliant minds in England lived in penury. The situation discouraged gifted people from exploiting the resources of their intellect.

 

The stated objective of the Statute of Anne therefore was, "the encouragement of learned men to compose and write useful books". The law gave the author of a book already printed the sole right of reprinting such a book for a term of twenty one years with effect from the date the law came into force. The author of a book not already in print or written was given the sole right of printing or reprinting the book for a term of fourteen years in the first instance. The author could renew the term for a further fourteen years if alive at the expiration of the first term.

 

The Statute of Anne only protected the authors of books. As the saying goes in Nigeria, the other classes of creators were on their own!  Over time, even the protection given authors of books was criticized for being too limited. The law neither made any provision for the control of translations nor of public performance. Agitations for either new laws or changes in the existing law began to gather steam. The works of one of the most famous English cartoonists of the era, Hogarth was being massively reproduced. Hogarth, whose drawings always had a slant of biting sarcasm, became the arrow head of a movement that led to the enactment of the Engravers' Act of 1735. The Act, for the first time, gave legal protection to the works of designers, artists and painters.

 

The development of the copyright concept in England coincided with the spread of the very powerful ideas of the French philosopher, Jean Jacques Rousseau. It was a very turbulent period in France as the revolutionary ideas of Rousseau flourished. The concept of literary property itself was revolutionary and quickly overthrew the system of privileges. In 1777, King Louis XVI promulgated six decrees which recognized the right of the author to control the publishing and sale of his work. During the revolution, attempts were made to remove all individual privileges and that of cities and provinces. At the end of the turbulence, a fundamental recognition was made by the French which in many ways might explain why the French have ever since, taken the lead on most issues related to copyright. The recognition was that the right of the author was not dependent on the concessions of public officers but on the natural order flowing from intellectual creation itself. France promulgated a decree in1791 which for the first time recognized the exclusive right of an author to control the performance of his work. Another decree of 1793, established another exclusive right of an author, the right of reproduction. The French also played a leading role in establishing the framework that produced the major international conventions on copyright.

 

Following developments in Europe, in the United States of America, most of the various states had some copyright provisions in their laws even before the American Revolution. For instance, the immortal words which said that there was "no property more peculiarly a man's own than that which is produced by the labour of his mind", came from the law passed by the state of Massachusetts on March 17, 1789 which provided protection for the works of authors. The first federal copyright law in the United States came barely a year after the Massachusetts law. The Copyright Law of 1790 provided for the protection of books, maps and charts. This was clearly in fulfillment of the powers given by the United States Constitution to Congress "to promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries". Subsequent enactments however, appear to have given an elastic interpretation to the word, "writings" because these enactments went on to provide protection for dramatic performances , photographs, songs and other forms of art.

 

For most countries in Europe, the period following the enactment of the Statute of Anne, was a period of tremendous development in legislative affirmation of the author's right. Some even did more than anyone could have hoped for. For instance, Norway and Denmark adopted an ordinance in 1741 which provided a perpetual exclusive right for an author or his heir.^[1] In Spain, King Charles III enacted a law in 1762 which emphasized that the privilege to print a book would only be granted to "the one who is the author". It is reasonable to say that the fever quickly spread all over Europe, especially with the tremendous expansion of rights and the subsequent extension of such rights to foreign authors, which were all promoted by France.

 

In England, different statutes were enacted to increase the term of copyright and to bring more types of works other than books, to enjoy copyright protection. For example, an Act of 1842 provided that copyright will subsist throughout the life of the author of a book and for seven additional years after his death. Most of these statutes were combined to bring about the 1911 Copyright Act of England. The 1911 Act was extended to apply to the Protectorate of Northern and Southern Nigeria by an Order in Council. And then came the Nigerian Copyright Decree of 1970 and the present Copyright Act of 1988 which this writer played no small part in getting enacted. 

 

This article is an adaptation from my book, Copyright & the New Millionaires

 

See you next week.

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MY FRIEND, MUSTAPHA AMEGO

 

2013 was a year of this and that. But one event during the year affected me more than any – the passing on of my friend, Mustapha Amego. It left me numb, dump and empty. I thought that I had come to an understanding of the concept of death and its inevitability but I could not reconcile myself with the death of Mustapha Amego.

I have written tributes and made comments about many colleagues that have passed on but I simply did not have the ability to say a word or write a word about one of the best Nigerians I have ever known. It is not as if I did not know that Mustapha was wrestling with his life. I knew. When the end came however, I was totally unprepared. Indeed, we had several telephone conversations about the situation. I once tried everything I could to see him in Jamaica, New York but it was one of those occasions where events conspire to make your best efforts inadequate.

I liked Mustapha Amego, producer and presenter of the favourite TV programme, Roll Tape, talented bass guitar player, 2^nd Vice President of PMAN and exquisite dresser – the original Funky Malam. With a free spirit, Mustapha was a Nigerian to whom tribe meant very little and social status did not count. My wife's kitchen was Mustapha's kitchen and he did not need anyone's permission to invade the soup pot and take care of the hungry worms in his system. His home on Bush Street in Maryland was to a large extent, our watering hole. It was there that we argued endlessly over issues of the day and now and again, shared some suya and a bottle of coke. 'Musty' loved Nigeria and wanted the best for our country.

Mustapha was a student of leadership. I recall Bill Clinton's first run for the presidency of the United States which we followed, frame by frame, as the process unfolded. On election night, we installed two TV sets in my living room, one tuned to CNN and another to SKY News. We were determined not to miss any tiny aspect of the developing story. We stayed awake all through the night as voting closed from the east coast to the west coast of the United States. We counted electoral votes in between bowls of pepper soup until Bill Clinton was declared winner over George Bush Snr and with bleary eyes, we celebrated!

When I lost my father, Mustapha was by my side in Atta, Imo State. In every sense, he was my brother. Anyone that threw a pebble at me had to be ready for a rock hauled at him by Mustapha Amego.

My first real crisis with Mustapha came in 1993 when I decided that it was time to say bye-bye to the PMAN presidency. For different reasons, too many people who knew not what to do with the office wanted the position and if I stayed on, their agitation would become a distraction. When Mustapha came to tell me that he wanted to be President of PMAN, I told him, point blank, that I could not support him and I gave him three reasons: I told him that the responsibility was so huge that it would drain his life away and as his brother I could not wish that upon him. Secondly, I told him that he was so close to me that he would acquire all those who had issues with me as enemies as he would be seen as my stooge. Thirdly as I informed him, my then 1^st Vice President, Epi Fanio Adebambo Joseph had told me of his intention to vie for the office and I had prayed with him over it and I told Mustapha that I could not betray Epi.  

Musty's desire to be president was overwhelming that it began to put a strain on our relationship. Eventually, we found a way out. I told him that the only way he could get any support from me was if he would convince Epi Fanio to drop out and support him and Epi Fanio would personally tell me so and he would refund Epi whatever expense he had incurred. I do not know how Mustapha did it but a few days later Epi Fanio, a gentleman in every sense, came to tell me that he had dropped out of the race for Mustapha. I then reminded Mustapha that I do not rig elections but I that I had what I considered significant goodwill within the union and that I would speak to as many of the delegates as I could on his behalf.

Two days to the elections which were scheduled for Benin-City, I went to see Mustapha at Bush Street, Maryland and asked about his readiness for the elections. I was surprised to find that nothing was on ground. His manifesto was not ready and little or no effort had been made to reach the delegates. I could see failure written all over and I was in a bind. From the time Mustapha announced his candidature, he was seen as representing the 'Okoroji camp'. His failure would have been seen as the failure of the 'Okoroji camp'. I did not want a camp. I thought I had done enough and just wanted to go away quietly so that those who had pebbles to throw could aim them at someone else.

On the eve of the elections, Mustapha and I arrived Benin-City late at night. The situation was even worse than I had thought. Vying for the post of President of PMAN were the likes of Skid Ikemefuna and Pedro Okojie, both my friends but the guy who was properly armed for the war in Benin City was fuji music maestro, Wasiu Ayinde Marshal. Wasiu had touched down in Benin earlier than every other contestant, with a war chest and some sharp campaigners like Adewale Ayuba. If the elections had been held at 11.00 pm on that Wednesday night, Wasiu Ayinde Marshall would have been the next President of PMAN in a landslide.

Once we got our hotel rooms, I began a delegate to delegate campaign that lasted all night with Mustapha Amego that took us in the middle of the night to all kinds of dingy hotels in parts of Benin City I did not know. At election time, I was still not sure if we had pulled it off but when the votes were announced by the returning officer, Ogbonnaya Amadi of Vanguard Newspapers, Mustapha Amego had been elected President of PMAN with a margin of three votes. That evening, Mustapha and I went to make peace with KWAM 1 who handled the situation with admirable maturity and earned my respect till today.

See you next week.

 

        

 

THE POWER OF LOVE

I know that during the recent COSON disagreement, some people were sure that their pay day had finally come. "Yes! This man that behaves as if he is beyond destruction has been squashed at last! Let's celebrate!"

As their big guns targeted at COSON and this writer boomed, all the smaller people with one issue or another lined up to fire their own pot shots.

The laughable thing is that a good number of the people who talk about me and beat their chests with so much certainty do not know me. They probably have never spoken to me and know nothing about the issues for which they are losing so much sleep.

They have just inherited other people's hatred, covetousness, jealousy or envy. If their guy does not like you, then, they too do not like you. It does not matter if their guy has told them a big lie. They will join a fight they do not understand and break a head that has done nothing to them Afterall, how do they prove to their guy that they are loyal?

Those who do not know my values talk as if I were them and would think like them or act like them. That's how they justify what they do.

I know one young lady whom I truly like because I have always thought she is brilliant and ought to be part of Nigeria's future. I understand that she was all over Twitter and Instagram during the week heaping insults on me and telling so many half truths about me. I understand her.

A few months ago, I went to court against her principal who had published blatant lies against me. I went to court because I want her principal to come to court with his facts and establish the truth for the benefit of the young people whom we lead and whom we must not mislead. I understand that she is doing what she is doing in what she considers loyalty to her principal. If I was her principal, she would be saying exactly the opposite of what she is saying now.

In fact, I worked very closely with her principal for over seven and half years and for much of that period I was a very good man. Now, I disagree with her principal and overnight I have become evil. The truth is that I neither hate her nor her principal. They are just behaving like average Nigerians.

Not long ago, I was asked by a journalist what my reaction was to the relentless attack on me. The lady seemed shocked when I said that my real focus is on the work we must do for the progress of the Nigerian creative community.

Long time ago, I learnt that hatred of anyone is a very destructive emotion. It eats you up. If you hate someone, you will probably find it difficult to sleep at night as you nurse the disease while the object of your hate may indeed be snoozing away and living a good life. Who is the loser? I have trained myself to stay away from hating anyone. We carry too many burdens as it is; why do I want to add another heavy burden on my shoulder? I might not like a situation or an action but not the person behind it.

When you think of it, a lot of people should be pitied and not hated. When you analyse them, they are driven by ignorance or fear of some sort, lack of self-esteem; religious or tribal bigotry; jealousy or envy, etc.

Because of the passion I express for what I do, I have found myself being the victim of hate by some people. I am aware that there are those who pray all the time that I fail in what I do. The fact that the Almighty has not allowed me to fail drives them even more mad and makes them to even hate the more.

I have met many in Nigeria who are driven by love and the desire to do good for the greatest number. The problem is that some people believe that everyone is like them. They cannot understand how someone can sit down and think of how to better the lives of people he does not know. They believe that when we announce that COSON is distributing millions of naira to thousands of musicians, it is a scam. In their heads, they cannot imagine how anyone can give away millions of naira to people who were not there when the money was made. 'How can someone give away that much money without pocketing some?', they ask.

I find that with such people, no explanation is good enough. The fact that you are driven by other values than lust for estates and money makes no sense to them. They shoot at you from every corner expecting you to crumble. When you don't crumble, they conclude that you must have a very strong juju man working 24 hours a day for you.

When you are driven by hate, you can never experience true happiness because there is always something new to hate. Every day, I create something new and beautiful to keep me busy. I make sure that love and the good of the greatest number are central to what I do. Yes, I drive on a full tank of faith and love is my engine oil.

See you next week.