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.

OPEN LETTER TO JUSUN

Nigeria is already at war! A war of words is raging across the nation. The Generals have taken their positions and the "armies" are being radicalized on all fronts. 17 Southern governors just met in Asaba and fired warning shots. Interesting! 17 Southern governors? Where have they been all this while? I had begun to think that there was something in the constitution that allowed only the Northern governors to meet?

Many-many of Nigeria's prayer warriors are also presently in the battlefield, fighting the devil like mad. They are fasting, praying and supplicating, using every skill the Almighty has given to them to beg the good Lord to spare Nigeria the tragedy of Rwanda, Sudan, Syria and other places where things fell apart, the center could no longer hold and anarchy became the rule. But how do you continue to pray with faith when a major pastor, a general in the Lord's army, has already warned every sensible Nigerian to develop a "Plan B"?

Any student of history will tell you what you don't want to hear - the war may already have begun. The big guns may not yet be booming, the small arms fire may not yet be rattling uncontrollably, and the massive movement of very frightened people may not yet have begun but we may crazily have driven ourselves to the point of no return.

I have heard many reasons why some people believe that Nigerians will not go to war: We are too large. God loves our nation. We have too many material and personal investments across regions. We have intermarried… The reasons are all rational. War is irrational. Anything that will lead to the careless spilling of the blood of innocent men, women and children cannot be rational. When war begins, your best friend suddenly becomes an enemy simply because he belongs to the wrong tribe or the wrong religion. Killing him then becomes justifiable.

By the way, who told you that God does not love the nations that have driven themselves to fratricidal war? Why should God be worried about you when with your eyes wide open, you walk into those situations that lead to pain and destruction?

The other big mistake we make is to think that there has to be a formal declaration of war for the war to begin. So, all the "leaders" go ahead meeting, posturing and taking photographs pretending to be in control. With so many war lords all over the place? With so many private armies primed to go…? There is dried wood everywhere. Petrol is being poured on it daily. All you need is a little spark and the explosion begins.    

How do wars begin? First is the war of words which incubates the hate and mistrust and fires up the young, unemployed and restless. Just turn on the WhatsApp platform on your phone and try to follow the endless conspiracy theories and 'discoveries' of the plans of the other tribe and religion to annihilate your tribe and religion. How do you know what is true?  How many of your young and restless have the maturity to pause and ask questions?

Then there is the frustration that comes with the feeling that there is no way that you can obtain justice. When the prevailing conclusion is that the levers of justice have been hijacked and that you have become a mere spectator in a game in which you should be a major player, and the referee is a member of the opposing team and whatever you are given you must take without complaint and if you are not given anything at all, so be it.

That was the situation I was caught up in when three years ago, I began a one-man demonstration for several days in front of the Federal High Court in Lagos. I raised alarm because I saw the rule of law crumbling in Nigeria and the courts being shackled.

For someone who verily believes that the difference between a civilized nation and a banana republic is the respect for the rule of law, I could not understand why a judge after hearing a case, would not be allowed to deliver judgment as he deemed fit. Three years ago, mine was a voice in the wilderness. Today, I see JUSUN with the support of the lawyers go on strike for judicial autonomy and the courts locked up for weeks and weeks on end.

For the avoidance of doubt, I whole heartedly support JUSUN and everybody who supports the freedom of the judiciary. The type of democracy we are supposed to practice is a tripod made up of the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. With the leadership vacuum that the Executive arm of our government has been wallowing in, the Judiciary went on strike! What started as a mere threat by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has got out of hand. For weeks, all courts in Nigeria have been shut. Police cells everywhere are said to be over-flowing with awaiting trial inmates in a coronavirus environment. Many urgent issues that need quick resolution by the judges have become festering sores. This is after the Corona virus shut down that dislocated the courts for months. Those of us who depend on the courts as our last hope in a nation where the instruments of state are constantly used to intimidate citizens, are bewildered.

What ought to have been resolved in two days has gone on for weeks. Why is it that the powers that be do not seem to be anxious to get the third arm of government standing? Are we playing into their hands? Maybe, they like the situation as it is because without the courts, absolute power prevails everywhere. With anarchy looming and the growing frustration that you cannot obtain justice in Nigeria?

That is why I beg the patriots in JUSUN to give deep thought to the continuation of the strike at this time. Nigeria is already in a precarious situation. In the absence of the courts, it is difficult to restrain people from resorting to the cutlass.

See you next week.

BOY, I HAVE SEEN BIAFRA AND IT IS NOT FUNNY

No one can be more Biafran than this writer. I have seen Biafra. I have lived Biafra and been bathed in Biafra. Let me tell you something: It is not funny.

I was about nine years old in May 1967 when Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu pronounced what is today known as the South East together with a good chunk of the present South-South of Nigeria as an independent Republic of Biafra. Those were heady days. While Nigerians considered Ojukwu just a Lieutenant Colonel in the Nigerian army, to us, he was the General of the People's Army, a deity of some sort who did no wrong. Ojukwu was all knowing. After all, he had been to Oxford, one of the best universities in the world. His father was the great Louis Phillip Odumegwu Ojukwu, the richest Igbo man in the world with massive property across Nigeria. Added to that, he was one of the most senior Igbo military officers. Who argues with a man with such education, money and military might?

Despite all the grammar spoken in different cities across Africa to stop a dangerously fast-moving train, less than two months later, the civil war began and the big guns began to boom everywhere and the riffles began to rattle. I was struggling with Primary school then but it all ended very fast. There was no longer any school to go to. Indeed, the primary school in Ogada Atta, my village was converted to the headquarters of RAP (Research & Production) which manufactured the locally made bomb known as Ogbunigwe (Killer of multitudes) and the Biafran 'Sure Battery'.

My brothers and sisters in Nollywood have shot some movies trying to recreate the dire situation in Biafra. I can tell you that none of them has in any way truly captured the incredible suffering, deprivation and anguish that I witnessed under the relentless bombardment, air raid and economic blockade.

Please try eating without any salt for one month and tell me what it tastes like. In Biafra, there was no salt, no sugar, no bread, no soft drink, no beer, no drugs and no food for much of the thirty months that the war lasted. The only thing that looked like food to more than eighty percent of the population was the three spoons of cornmeal that looked like 'poo-poo' put in your plastic plate twice a week at a 'feeding center' after you had stayed on the line in the sun for hours. Of course, some people collapsed and died on the line while waiting for the 'food' that no sane person will recommend for his dog. The dead were simply taken off the line and buried in shallow and unmarked graves and the struggle with death continued. If death did not come by way of starvation or disease, it came through the bullets of a Russian made Mig fighter-jet endlessly flying above and terrorizing innocent people who had no hand in any coup or insurrection.

If you fell ill in Biafra, you died, pure and simple. There were no drugs to deal with anything. Unfortunately, there were many reasons to fall sick. As the war went on and Biafra lost a lot of territory, many people fled their residence and were found in strange places with strange people living under very unsanitary conditions with no food and no drugs and no work. Strange leaves were attacked for food. Rats, rabbits, lizards and snakes were chased after with frenzy in search of badly needed protein. The picture of the average Biafran child was that of a big head, big tommy, tiny neck, very tiny limbs, sunken eyes and pale colour, the picture of kwashiorkor.  In the midst of that, there were Biafrans who made a 'killing' hijacking and selling relief materials sent by charity organizations like Red Cross and Caritas to soften the blow.

Of course, the must-have companion in Biafra was a short-wave radio to listen to Radio Biafra and BBC. There was no electricity and no new batteries. All kinds of imaginative ways had to be developed to make batteries last forever in Biafra. Radio Biafra (the original one, not the IPOB one) must have been the first real 'mobile' in history. It kept telling you that it was broadcasting from Enugu despite the fact that everyone knew that the station was constantly on the move since Enugu had long been lost to the Nigerians. The propaganda was infectious and there was no one better at it than the great Okoko Ndem. On Radio Biafra, everything Biafra was good and everything Nigeria was evil and the 'gallant' Biafran soldiers with their bare hands were slaughtering the 'vandals' despite the sophisticated equipment supplied to the 'vandals' by the 'neo colonialist' Britain.

At ten years old, I had memorized and imbibed the Biafran National Anthem, "Land of the rising sun, we love and cherish; Beloved home, land of our brave heroes; We must defend our lives or we shall perish; We shall protect our hearts from all our foes; But if the price is death for all we hold dear, Then let us die without a shred of fear". There was no doubt in my mind that our cause was right and our method unquestionable. I did not see how we could lose the war. I sought to join the Biafran Boys Company, the youth arm of the military that undertook surveillance work behind enemy lines. I was devastated when I was rejected. I was told I was too young.

And then came January of 1970 and my village was overrun and one week later, the war was over. The General of the Peoples' Army had flown out 'in search of peace'. Incredibly, we lost. It did not make sense to me.

When the Ikemba returned to Nigeria under the NPN inspired amnesty, ran for a senatorial election in Anambra and lost, things became a little clearer to me. Eventually, I met my hero, the General of the Peoples' Army in his Queens Drive home in Lagos and we established a relationship that I treasured. He was my guest at a number of events. Any time that I had the opportunity, we discussed this and that. While we agreed on a lot, we also disagreed on a lot. It became clear to me that as incredibly charismatic as Eze Ndigbo, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was, he was not divinity but a man subject to the emotions and mistakes of a man. I have asked myself since then whether the Biafran adventure could have been undertaken in a different way.  

As I see the anger and frustration of the moment and listen to the arguments back and forth, I ask myself whether we are prepared to make the same huge mistake twice in a generation. Just look at Al Qaeda, Al Shabab, ISIS, Boko Haram and all the movements that the world is battling with and you see how easy it is these days to start an unquenchable fire with a 'Radio Biafra' or "WhatsApp" platform with thousands of unemployed, hungry and desperate young people with little hope. This is the real challenge of our times.

Please, if I am not seen carrying a placard and flexing my muscles everywhere for a Sovereign State of Biafra, I beg that you understand me. I am not a coward. I remain a very proud Igbo man committed to a great future for the Igbos of the world but I have already seen Biafra, lived Biafra and been bathed in Biafra and it is not funny.

See you next week.

HAS NIGERIA BURST ITS TUBE & BURST ITS TYRE?

Pa Jacob, the lanky willy old man in my village, once took a look around him, could not comprehend what was going on with the world and in a moment of utter astonishment and disillusionment exploded with the statement, "the world has burst its tube and burst its tyre!", a statement that has remained famous in my village and areas close to it till today.

When Pa Jacob of blessed memory made his profound statement, a sizeable loaf of bread was sold for one shilling and you could cook a good pot of soup for three shillings. Today, let me just give my young daughter, Booboo, who is in charge of the kitchen in the absence of her mum, less than five thousand naira to make one pot of soup. The way she will look at me will tell you all you need to know: "This man does not understand what is going on".

If Pa Jacob were alive today, how would he have described the crazy situation where the "Executive" Governor of my dear state of Imo, the most protected man in the state, who drives around in a convoy of armored cars with heavily armed policemen and sundry security paraphernalia protecting his house, would have his house set on fire by 'unknown' gunmen? If Mr. Governor with all the security around him cannot protect himself, how does he protect the millions of citizens who have no AK 47s, no police, no catapults and 'no nothing'?   

Tell me, how would Pa Jacob have summed up the situation where armed soldiers and policemen at check points are being murdered by "unknown" gunmen who terrorize and kidnap politicians, the clergy and innocent students practically at will, everywhere in the country?

Did you hear that Boko Haram has raised its flag in a good chunk of the landmass of Niger State which boarders the nation's capital, Abuja? As things go rapidly from bad to worse, will we be surprised to hear that Boko Haram has raised its flag at Aso Rock Villa, Nigeria's seat of government or that Nigeria is now being governed by the terrorist group? And Nigeria has as its President and Commander-in-Chief an infantry general?!

The type of democracy we are supposed to practice is a tripod made up of the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary.  In the midst of the leadership vacuum that the Executive arm of our government has been wallowing in, the Judiciary went on strike! What started as a mere threat by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has got out of hand. For weeks, all courts in Nigeria have been shut. Police cells everywhere are over-flowing with awaiting trial inmates in a coronavirus environment. Many urgent issues that need quick resolution by the judges have become festering sores. This is after the Corona virus shut down that dislocated the courts for months. Those of us who depend on the courts as our last hope in a nation where the instruments of state are constantly used to intimidate citizens, are bewildered. What ought to have been resolved in two days has gone on for weeks, again because of lack of leadership. Our democracy's tripod is standing on only one very weak leg. If this is not anarchy, please tell me what is.

During the week, several of my friends called asking for how to get visa appointments. You do not need to be told that their belief in the future of Nigeria has evaporated. Time was when people who doubted the ability of Mohammed Buhari to steer the ship of Nigeria were called wailers. Suddenly, practically every Nigerian has become a wailer. What would have been described as treason not long ago is being openly discussed as disillusioned Nigerians from across the nation ask Buhari to resign and leave them alone. Many are even calling for the break-up of the nation.  

The immortal Zik of Africa was once quoted as saying, "a broken bottle has no mmekwatarism". You may ask, what is "mmekwatarism?" Mmekwatarism is coined from the word, mmekwata, which in Igbo means 'to repair'. In other words, what the great Nnamdi Azikiwe seems to have said is that a broken bottle is not repairable. Has Nigeria become a broken bottle? My nephew, 'Mr. Cash', insists that the Nigerian bottle is not just broken, it is shattered.

When we used to drive with tyres that had tubes inside, if your tyre went down, you patched the tube. You would see some tubes with so many patches on them that there is no question that the car is spending more time with the vulcanizer than with the owner. But there comes a time when even the vulcanizer cannot help you – when both the tube and the tyre explode in one moment of madness.

I am the eternal optimist, characteristically the last to give up on anything so I wish Pa Jacob was still alive. I so badly need to ask him whether Nigeria has finally got to the state of no return, in those words of W.B. Yeats when the falcon can no longer hear the falconer, things fall apart, the centre can no longer hold and mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, because I am disheartened, traumatized, disillusioned, astonished, astounded, devastated … by what I see around me.

Please tell me from wherever you are, Pa Jacob, has Nigeria finally burst its tube and burst its tyre?

See you next week. 

SCAMMERS BELIEVE THAT EVERYBODY IS A SCAMMER!

On the 20^th of May 2020, we celebrated the 10^th anniversary of the official take-off of the operations of COSON which has become Nigeria's must successful and most admired copyright Collective Management Organization (CMO).

On the same 20^th of May 2020, we marked the 3^rd anniversary of the commissioning of the COSON House in Ikeja which continues to sparkle and which my communications team does not talk about without prefixing with the adjective, "magnificent".

Yes, we always wish to remind everyone that there is not one Naira of government money in the acquisition and construction of the "magnificent COSON House", no donor dollar or pound came from anywhere and that we acquired, built and equipped COSON House with no bank loan and no debt of any type. The sparkling national green colour of COSON House tends to suggest to some people that it is federal government property. No! COSON has never received any type of money from the government.

Fired up by our exhilarating slogan, "let the music pay!", COSON has in its less than 11 years of operation, distributed hundreds of millions of Naira as royalties to its members and affiliates. In April 2020, even with the major bank accounts of COSON frozen and the issues in court, COSON in a responsive and responsible manner reacted to the suffering of thousands of its members across the country under the pressure of the COVID 19 lockdown. The society became the first Nigerian institution to provide anti Coronavirus palliatives to its members at a time of great need. At first, =N=50 million was approved by the COSON Board for this purpose. An additional =N=22.5 million was later approved. The distribution was done in a very structured, professional and transparent manner which has been widely celebrated by members of COSON. You know what? Bad belle people are writing petitions saying that it was a scam and nobody received the money. The fact is that nobody was paid in cash. There are bank records showing the payment of the Covid 19 relief to thousands of COSON members. The reality is that scammers believe that everybody is a scammer!

Suddenly, everybody wants to set up a CMO, to copy COSON! In the typical Nigerian fashion, all the people who want to make quick money think that they can replicate COSON. They want to turn the very complex system of collective management of copyright into their new "pure water" business in which everyone has his own cheap cellophane bags littering the streets.

Not too long ago, I was President of PMAN. With a driven team, clear vision and never-say-die passion, I worked 25 hours every day, eight days a week, to make PMAN a glorious national brand. Everyone across the world, from the President of the Federal Republic, governors, ambassadors and stars of all colours wanted to associate and rub shoulders with PMAN. PMAN became a much-admired name and the toast of the nation and the continent. And the dam broke!

Every musician in Nigeria who could afford a rickety 'tokunbo' SUV began to see himself as President of PMAN. To be PMAN President became the burning ambition of a lot. At some point, there were four people simultaneously calling themselves PMAN President! With all due respect, none of them understood the vision or the mission. PMAN is a registered trade union but none of the 'Presidents' understand the Trade Union Act or even the PMAN constitution. We all can see where it has led PMAN.

In my service to the creative industry in our nation, I have always been driven by those almost forgotten words, "together we stand, divided we fall". The strength of PMAN came from the bringing together of diverse people across Nigeria to share in one vision. I toured nearly every nook and cranny of our country to make that possible. It required an incredible amount of work and heaps and heaps of personal sacrifice. The language was one of unity and not that of division and hatred. Today, when you go to any of the platforms opened in the name of PMAN and read the gutter language, the language of hate and odium that is everywhere, you must shudder. The ignorance on most of the issues is incredibly shocking.

Either as President of PMAN or Chairman of COSON, I have never gone into a meeting or discussions without first getting a good grasp of the relevant laws, the rules, the issues, the statistics or the trends. I believe that every great leader must remain a student through his tenure with the appetite and humility to learn as much as possible. I wish to repeat that there is nothing worse than an ignorant leader.

I have repeatedly told people that you can never become rich by doing the kind of work that I do. What drives you must be the genuine love of people and not the love of self. You can never build a great trade union or an outstanding CMO if you are driven by self-interest or the interest of you and your handful of friends. When you lead a CMO or a trade union, you work for others and not for self.

I see all the people positioning themselves to launch new CMOs in Nigeria and ask myself whether they truly understand what it takes to make a CMO work. Do they know how many years of study, work and patience it has taken COSON to be where it is? Do they have the requisite technical knowledge? Do they know how many court cases that litter the road COSON has had to travel? Do they think that there is anyone out there with bags of money waiting to give to them just upon their asking? Do they think that there would be no new arguments, quarrels or disagreements within whatever contraptions they have in mind?

I look around and I see all the people who not long ago thought they would become super rich by becoming PMAN President and I ask, "how did it pan out guys?"

That is why I say that setting up a CMO is not pure water business. If you want to be rich?... Please, don't go set up a CMO! 

Happy Easter everybody.

See you next week. 

THE WORD, “IMPOSSIBLE”, BELONGS TO THE DEVIL

I have written before that I have been to court more times than many litigation lawyers 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, all with a smile. It is not by my power.

I helped to construct PMAN and 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 over three 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. The building continues to stand tall and to sparkle. I tell you that it is not by my power.

I also worked with others to construct the Nigerian Copyright Commission which like several badly led Nigerian institutions, has made the pursuit of Tony Okoroji its key objective. I helped in writing the law setting up the institution and with the unassailable Prof Egerton Uvieghara and Bayo Aiyegbusi, an unforgettable public servant, drafted the first amendment to the law.

For ten years, not one of the highly trained staff of COSON received his or her salary one day late. No COSON member entitled to royalties was ever denied money due to him. Not until some meddlesome interlopers went to court behind our backs in a typical example of the famous Nigerian 'bad belle', to shut down the bank accounts of COSON. It might surprise many to know that no COSON member has ever paid any registration fee, monthly dues or subscription of any type yet every COSON member is entitled to some income every year.  Believe me, that it is not by my power.

My dedication to the copyright cause has never been because of a title or because of personal wealth. I do not live in a house provided by COSON. In fact, I live in exactly the same house I lived in before COSON was born. Every member of staff of COSON goes to a hospital paid for by the organization. However, as Chairman, COSON does not even buy Panadol for me or for any member of my family. I do not go on a vacation on the bill of COSON. I have written in Saturday Breakfast several times that I verily believe that the true worth of a man is not in what he takes but in what he gives. My dedication to the copyright cause is a passion and my contribution to nation building.

Over and over again, I have been counted out by men who do not understand the concept of giving and of sacrifice. They have tried every which way to count me out. Each time they think they have finally succeeded, something new happens. They are confused and cannot understand why the good Lord has refused to count me out. I work for Him.

I have repeatedly emphasized that I drive on a full tank of faith. I serve a living God. The work I do is to the glory of the Almighty. The power I use is not mine but His.

You might face trials upon trials but like Job, you will prevail. I advise that you do not worship men or money. Worship the Almighty and take care of the needs of His children. Do not fret about how you will survive. You will.

Please do not take credit for that which the Almighty does through you. It is not by your power. All glory and honour belong to Him. Drive on a full tank of faith with your tires pumped with love and do not listen to anyone who tells you that your dreams are impossible. You can achieve whatever you set your mind at. I consider nothing to be impossible. The word, "impossible", belongs to the devil.

See you next week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YES, I DRIVE ON A FULL TANK OF FAITH AND LOVE IS MY ENGINE OIL

I know that during the recent disagreement in COSON of which I am Chairman, 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 me, then, they too must not like me. 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 After all, 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 who I truly like because I have always thought she is brilliant and ought to be part of Nigeria's future. Last year, she was all over Twitter and Instagram heaping insults on me and telling so many half truths about me. I understand her.

Two years 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 lady 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 and our country.

I have learnt that hatred of anyone is like the coronavirus. It can easily kill! If you hate someone, you will probably find it difficult to breath well, eat well or sleep well so I wear a mask against hatred and socially distance myself from anyone whom I suspect will transmit the hatred virus to me. As you nurse the virus called hate, unknown to you, 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 much burden as it is; why do I want to add another heavy burden on my shoulders? There are some of my friends who think that I am too tolerant of people who have openly betrayed me. I tolerate them because I do not want to hate them. I am not perfect, so rather than hate a man for what he has done, I give him another chance to redeem himself.

When you think of it, a lot of people should be pitied and not hated. When you analyze them, they are driven by ignorance or fear of some sort, lack of self-esteem; religious or tribal bigotry; mental poverty, 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 who really do not know me. 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. No evidence will satisfy them. Crooked people believe that everyone else is crooked. The fact that you are driven by other values than lust for 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 try to create some new and beautiful purpose to keep me busy. I make sure that love and the good of the greatest number are central to what I do each day of my life.

Yes, I drive on a full tank of faith and love is my engine oil.

See you next week.

I AM A DOER NOT A TALKER

I have written before that I am an unbelievably lucky guy and that 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.

Believe me, I have repeatedly seen the treachery and betrayal of men and how they rationalize their duplicity and all the nonsense they do. When a guy you thought was your guy begins to manufacture a dispute between the two of you when there is really nothing to quarrel about, your antenna should go up. Nine times out of ten, your guy is fabricating a justification for treachery which he is hatching. Take it from me, it will soon manifest. Then the guy you used to eat and drink with will tell everybody how horrible you really are and why he must perch somewhere else. It is all cock and bull! He was never your friend. He has not been able to use you as he wishes. He is looking for a new chopping center.

The average human being is selfish and is out for where he thinks his bread is buttered, and a good number of such people live in our part of the world. Do not be surprised to find out that the person who has behaved like he would go to the grave with you is in fact praying that you should die quick so that he can grab everything that belongs to you. All the while, your guy has only been using you as his ladder. If he gets to wherever he has been climbing to or finds a better ladder, he will create a scene and dump you like rotten ewedu soup.

I have learnt to be weary of praise singers. If a guy begins to tell me that I am the best thing he has seen since man discovered sliced bread, my antenna goes up! I know that I am a mortal being and no mortal being is perfect. The guy is setting me up for the kill. Have you ever got any telephone call from a guy you do not know from Adam who begins by sweet talking you and telling you how the two of you met at an event you never went to? From there, he will tell you about the huge demand for a special stone in some place that only he knows and which you can obtain and be stinking rich or an NNPC contract that he wants to execute with you as his partner. 

I have seen betrayal upon betrayal and evil men in every colour. I seriously have to restrain myself from believing that there is no good man in the world anymore and there is no reason to do good to anyone. Fortunately, there are still good men left and there is good reason to do good to people. If I cannot do good to people, then what am I alive for?

There is hunger in the land – biting hunger! Almost everyone is desperate for where to connect his pipe and get some succor. There are people who think that if they connect their pipe to me, their days of hunger will be over. Wrong investment. The truth is that I am hungry too. The difference is that some of us wear our hunger well, with a smile. I rarely eat three times a day. If I find a slice of bread, I will eat it with joy without any butter and drink some water. I pray to God Almighty for better days and I don't attack anyone for my situation.

In my work, I hear all kinds of things from people who have made themselves believe that I owe them a livelihood. They think that I have a duty to take what belongs to others and hand it over to them. So, they stay awake at night making evil plans. In the day, they snipe at me and attack from every corner. I understand their frustration. May God forgive them.

At COSON, some complain that I am 'Executive Chairman' and do too much.  Let me repeat 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 am a doer, not a talker. I simply do not believe in talk without action. That is why despite all the AK 47s fired at COSON, the future of COSON remains bright.

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 to the benefit of our members and affiliates. 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 truly mean and not what they say. They will in one breath tell you that Okoroji is "Executive Chairman" and is doing everything himself. Next minute, the same people will tell you that Okoroji did not do anything, "we are the ones who did all the work"! It does not matter. Let the work be done!

I have always asked the Almighty to give me an opportunity to give. 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 being Chairman of COSON.

A year and nine months ago, at Lagos Sheraton Hotel, I stepped down as a Director and Chairman of the COSON Board. My term was up and as a rule, I have never stayed in any position one day longer than the rules allow. Despite a full auditorium of COSON members from practically every state in Nigeria at Lagos Sheraton, no one stepped up to take the position. They know that the work is rough and tough. In conformity with our rules, I was re-elected.

In this land full of treachery?

That day it struck me that while there is a lot of evil in the world, there are still good men left and that there is good enough reason to do good to as many people as possible. May the Almighty be praised. That is why I will do anything to protect the legacy that is COSON.

See you next week.