The biggest
kept secret in the Nigerian music industry presently is that the collective
management organization licence issued by the Nigerian Copyright Commission
(NCC) on the orders of the Attorney-General of the Federation & Minister of
Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, to Mayowa Ayilaran led Musical Copyright Society
Nigeria (MCSN) has expired for over seven weeks without any renewal.
The
situation is causing grave consternation at MCSN as it struggles to stay afloat
without its officers being prosecuted for operating a CMO illegally. This has
led to MCSN officers striking out in different directions in a desperate search
for any godfather who can arm twist the NCC to renew the three-year old licence
issued to MCSN in controversial circumstances on April 3, 2017. Every effort so
far has hit the rocks.
Ironically,
in the last two years since the CMO licence of its big rival COSON was said to
have been suspended by the NCC leading to several court cases, MCSN has been
flexing its muscles as the only approved CMO in the music industry. Suddenly,
MCSN has no approval and unlike COSON, has no lawsuits to offer it and its
officers any protection.
In its
desperation, MCSN has teamed up with Pretty Okafor, the self-styled President
of PMAN. Okafor who not long ago appeared to have formed an alliance with the
NCC to fight COSON, Nigeria’s largest and most admired collective management
organization, is screaming blue murder. Pretty Okafor is even threatening to
take the NCC to court!
In a letter
to the NCC Director-General, Mr. John Asein, dated 20th May 2020 and copied to
the Attorney-General of the Federation, Pretty Okafor complained that the main
reason given for the recent Diagnostic Audit of Collective Management
Organizations which Mr. Asein contracted to PUNUKA, a Lagos based law firm
working with KPMG, was to strengthen the CMOs in Nigeria. Okafor insists that
“signals coming out from the exercise point out clearly to the opposite”.
In his
letter, the factional PMAN President wrote: “A top official of PUNUKA, which is
your appointee for the diagnostic audit exercise of CMOs has been found to be
surreptitiously organizing and promoting the formation of a new CMO for the music
industry”. Okafor also accused Mr. Asein of having approved the participation
of a senior official of the NCC in the discussions and plans to annihilate
existing CMOs so as to float and approve a new CMO.
In the words
of Okafor, “the (back) engine room of this effort is the top official of
PUNUKA, which you appointed to do the diagnostic audit exercise of CMOs, but
now appearing to carry out a hatchet job against the interests of the CMOs in
the music and entertainment industry as a whole, to pave the way for their
planned new CMO” He said that some foreign music publishers, who are mostly
South Africans are using some Nigerians as cover and are positioning themselves
to take over and control the Nigerian music industry at the detriment of the
Nigerian economy.
Condemning
the entire exercise, Mr. Okafor complained that the report from the said
PUNUKA/KPMG audit is yet to be released to stakeholders by KPMG, however, its
content is already being used for propaganda purposes in the media to actualize
the planned takeover of the music industry
It is ironic
that while COSON was adamant that the NCC had no powers under Nigerian law to
order the audit of any CMO and indeed went to court to challenge the
PUNUKA/KPMG audit which it termed a witch hunt and to checkmate the NCC, Pretty
Okafor gave full throated support to the process. Now it seems the chickens
have come home to roost.
Reacting to
the development, Hon John Ewelukwa Udegbunam, immediate past President of the
powerful Music Label Owners & Recording Industries Association of Nigeria
(MORAN) said, “Chief Tony Okoroji has been proved right again. I know how hard
Chief Okoroji worked to bring the entire music industry together to have one
mighty CMO in the name of COSON that will stand stoutly to defend the interest
of the Nigerian music industry internationally. MCSN at first agreed to be part
of that process and at the last minute pulled out. PMAN was also part of that
process. As greed took over, they all wanted their own small kingdoms they can
rule. Without them, COSON has moved on and despite all the midnight
conspiracies and stones thrown at COSON, the CMO stands strong and firm. Anyone
who tries to pull COSON down will meet the wrath of musicians across Nigeria.
“In this
period of hardship caused by the coronavirus pandemic, COSON within one week
distributed over =N=70 Million to its members across Nigeria to cushion their
sufferings in a very transparent fashion. How much did PMAN give to anybody?
How much did MCSN distribute? Zero! Then, somebody wants the renewal of
approval of MCSN? What has MCSN done in three years with the so-called approval
they got? Has Malami not tried for them? They took the exam and they failed
woefully. They should go and recall what Chief Tony Okoroji said to them”
Culled from DailyNewsCover.com
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