AZEEZAT QUEENOFLOVE - THE THINGS I HATE ABOUT COSON

 

I hate it when my COSON phone rings. Yes, I have a COSON phone, an around 2k 'palasa' whose shrill sound can wake the dead. The phone was given to me because as a member of a key committee of the Board, the management needs to track me 24/7, so I am always on stand-by.

I have been strategizing on how to tell them to change the phone since, but for where? The thought of saying that to Bernice, COSON's Head of Finance/Admin is enough to keep me quiet and continue to manage the ‘pure water’ phone, even if everyone on the other end continues to say they don't hear me, and then I put it on speaker. My hope is that one day, the GM will get tired of not hearing me and change the phone himself.
Now you have laughed, abi? Laugh all you can. That is what we go through as Directors at Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), the million-dollar-declaring Collective Management Organization (CMO) that everybody is talking about. Can you imagine?
That's why I laugh when I read stories about how COSON Directors are building houses everywhere and spending COSON money nyafun-nyafun. It's all so hilarious.
You would have expected COSON to give me at least one android Tekno as an official phone. No be so? But no! That is the kind of organization we run. Very stringent! There are so many protocols to ensure transparency and accountability. You cannot imagine how many people have to sign and counter-sign a voucher before you are refunded N5,000 of the N10,000 you spent doing COSON work. At COSON, every kobo must be counted and accounted for. I hear that some people even think that COSON is spending government money. Which government? Government has never given one penny to COSON. Ask anywhere.
So where was I? Yes, I said I hate my COSON phone ringing. It isn't just because of the shrill sound of the phone, it is also because of the nature of the job: COSON is in a hurry and you can be summoned at any time and given one very tough assignment and you have to do it. Don’t blame me if the stubborn part of me sometimes revolts. These people very well know that they don’t pay me a salary. Shouldn’t I have some time to earn a living?’ I thought I knew the COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji before I became a Director of COSON. Na lie, I did not know him. He is a perfectionist and demands perfection from everybody. He never stops working and thinks that everybody must be a workaholic like him. How I come enter this kind long thing?
I remember being called to pursue the collection of outstanding music copyright royalties at LTV8 (Lagos Television). LTV was like a home to me, if you know what I mean: I was always welcome. There was once that without a couple of hours at Feminar, the joint inside the LTV compound, my day was not done. From the gate o, to the receptionists, presenters/producers, Ogas dem, I was always given a warm welcome at LTV8.
Now it was this same LTV8 that I had to go to and chase the Permanent Secretary(PM) for music royalties. And guess who that PM was, the very admirable Lekan Ogunbanwo! There's more to this story o. The last time I saw Mr Ogunbanwo before the royalties issue, I had gone to appeal to him to grant free venue for a widows event that I was involved in, and he graciously did. So how thicker can this plot get?
Anyways I was sent on an errand, and errand I must go and deliver. First day I went, I was indeed able to look at him in the eyes after some wait and diplomatically ask "where is our money?" He calmly told me to come back the next week. Next week came and I was there but guess what, I was kept waiting for a long time at the reception downstairs, for the first time in my history with LTV. I couldn't believe it. Another one of my treasured goodwill bites the dust, ghen ghen!!
At COSON, there are no half measures. Nothing that can be done today must be postponed till tomorrow. The Chairman insists that the overriding interest at all times must be that of all the members and there must be no secrets in COSON. Everything must be placed on the table and discussed by everyone and known by everyone. Loong thing! So there are countless meetings. Everyone must know where every naira is coming from and where it is going to. I know how long it has taken for us to get something like COSON established and why the organization must be protected but it does become too much.
That's what working as a Director in COSON entails: your long-term built relationships and goodwill suffer, while trying to continuously build a million-dollar organization in which you have to argue over every kobo. But I hear that that's how strong long-lasting conglomerates are built: arguing over every kobo!
At COSON, rules are rules and there are no friends and no foes. I have had to sit at the opposite side of the table and argue vigorously with music/media greats like Baba 'Ke-ke' Kenny Ogungbe of Ray Power, Mr Larry Izamoje who owns Brila FM, Guy Murray Bruce of Silverbird, Senator Mike Ajeigbo who owns Minaj, Engineer Amin Moussali who owns Cool FM and Wazobia FM, Sony Irabor of Inspiration FM. I could give you a looong never-ending list of how I practically grew up in the hands of some of these people!! But when the matter involves COSON, you throw away your personal relationships out of the window.
But don't let me fool you with this image of a long-suffering human being in the service of Naija music homo-sapiens, Naaa. I love it! I love the fact that we have made history. At COSON, we have built the kind of professional organization that people said was impossible in Nigeria. I love to walk into the smart COSON office and see all those graduates working for Nigerian artistes. Because of COSON, everyone is now afraid of trampling on the rights of Nigerian artistes. I love the feeling of making a difference. I love that my opinion counts. I love looking at the faces of those old artistes/society members from the hinterlands, each time we have a COSON AGM and copyright royalties are being paid to thousands of artistes, I ask: Is this Nigeria?
Seeing how COSON works, I now know why PMAN has continued to fail. Boy, I love solving the problems of those old artistes. And I oh-so-love it when they pray for me. I like the feeling that all their prayers for me is in a bank in heaven, waiting for the day I'll need it. *wink*.

LARRY ZUKA IN "LIGHT FOR THE NORTH"

  Larry Zuka is presently co coordinating a musical all-star project tagged, LIGHT FOR THE NORTH. The music project brings together some of the best singers in the country. It is said to be best on merit and not of popularity. The song, a remix and rearranged version of Northern light, tears are not enough, was produced by Iyke Onka.

LYDIA EIRES CRIES FOR AMAKA IGWE,

According to Nollywood actress Lydia Eires, “Amaka Igwe is a visionary screenwriter, producer and director. Someone I’ve been looking forward to working with. I am so saddened over the news of her death. It is still a shock to me, Nollywood and Nigeria as a whole.

AZEEZAT QUEENOFLOVE RELEASES NEW VIDEO

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NEW RELEASE BY RHYMES ....BEAUTIFUL

THIS IS BEAUTIFUL MUSIC THAT YOU JUST HAVE TO LISTEN TO FROM THE STABLES OF MUVIT RECORDZ. 

Frank Chinedu Okafor aka Rhymes (Mr Ekeleba) is a talented Singer songwriter and instrumentalist. He has been in the Nigerian music industry for like 6years, perfoming on the same stage with the likes of Sound Sultan, Olamide, Faze, Sheyman, Phyno etc. Now he is ready to take the industry by storm with 5 tracks already recorded. Here Is his new single titled Beautiful.

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TRUE REASONS WHY BON IS THREATENING TO BAN NIGERIAN MUSIC

The attention of Copyright Society of Nigerian (COSON) has been drawn to repeated announcements on some radio and TV stations that the leadership of Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON) is threatening to stop the broadcast of Nigerian music on radio and television on a date soon to be announced. COSON is not surprised at this development.

It is instructive that the repeated announcements, mainly on AIT, Ray Power FM and Faaji FM owned by Daar Communications and Brila FM owned by Brila Broadcasting Services Ltd respectively,coincides with the recent court actions filed by COSON against Daar and Brila for unabated copyright infringement.

In the Nigerian democracy, the Judiciary is the third arm of government. COSON believes that when every attempt to resolve any issue fails, resort to the courts to interpret the laws and examine the facts is the most civilized way to bring the issues to a resolution and avoid breakdown of law and order.

The tasteless BON announcements complain of ‘incessant and continuous harassment, intimidation, blackmail and attack on broadcasting stations by COSON over un-negotiated payment of licensing fees which in all respect were and are fixed and imposed arbitrarily and unilaterally by COSON’. Unfortunately, the BON announcements do not give even one example of the alleged harassment, intimidation, blackmail or attack, the victim, the place or date. The fact is that BON cannot present any such information because the statement is a smokescreen based on barefaced lies. If the blatant allegations of BON were true, is the right thing to do not for the stations sued by COSON to take the evidence to court and let the courts, once and for all, rule that COSON is acting arbitrarily and outside the law? Why the resort to self-help?

For the avoidance of doubt, COSON is a very professional organization which operates strictly within the law and subjects itself to the transparent and unfettered regulation and oversight of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, the federal government agency charged with such function and the International Confederation of Societies of Authors & Composers (CISAC), the global organization representing collective management organizations in 121 countries. COSON has received support from the entire copyright community around the world for its professionalism and steadfastness in the defence of the intellectual property rights of creative people in Nigeria.With the work of COSON, the sad image of Nigeria as a lawless nation and bastion of piracy and other forms of intellectual property infringement has begun to abate.

Anybody familiar with the issue knows that the unfortunate threat by the leadership of BON is truly a smokescreen and a cunning ploy to precipitate a crisis in the Nigerian music industry. For more than 35 years, a section of the Nigerian broadcasting industry has fed fat from the abuse of the intellectual property rights of creative people in Nigeria. For many years, some leaders of the broadcasting industry in Nigeria have lived in opulence and squandered the money that should have been used to pay royalties to musicians whose rights they have continued to infringe recklessly while the artistes die in penury.

COSON has done everything to engage broadcasting stations in Nigeria to peacefully do what is done in every other country in a very professional manner. The Nigerian music industry has held countless meetings with BON for decades and each meeting has only provided the broadcast industry with excuse after excuse to kick the can down the road. The fact is that there is no genuine interest in some parts of the broadcast industry to negotiate and pay for the exploitation of musical works and sound recordings as is done elsewhere in the world and as required under Nigerian law and international conventions. The behaviour of a lot of BON members is that as long as the matter is not resolved, they can continue to exploit musical works and sound recordings for free without any consequence. They believe that it is not in their interest to have a negotiated settlement and so they find one excuse after another to kick the can down the road and endlessly delay any resolution. Indeed, there are many broadcast stations in Nigeria, broadcasting for years and receiving enormous advertising revenue that have NEVER paid one naira for the music they play.

If the issue of royalty payment has resulted in very expensive litigation against broadcast stations, the leadership of the broadcast industry must accept full responsibility for the crisis because it precipitated the crisis.

To force the issue, COSON has finally decided to take the individual stations which are infringing the rights of copyright owners to court since BON is not serious about resolving the matter. In any case, BON is not a regulatory body, not a broadcasting station but simply an association of the willing and cannot be held legally liable for the copyright infringement by any broadcast station.

The unfortunate statement credited to BON says that its members are frustrated by the injurious monopoly and arbitrary imposition of manipulated tariffs on its members by COSON. What exactly does BON mean? Is BON ignorant of the fact that COSON cannot impose a tariff on anybody? Indeed, the Copyright (Collective Management Organization) Regulations, 2007 has provisions for anybody who disagrees with any tariff issued by an approved collecting society to apply to the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) to set up a panel to review such tariff? Has any member of BON applied to the NCC as stipulated without the Commission taking appropriate action?

COSON has successfully negotiated copyright royalty agreements with numerous local and international organizations including Google, Multichoice/DSTV and the nation’s largest broadcast network, the federal government owned FRCN. COSON has also successfully negotiated royalty agreements with the hotel industry in Nigeria under the auspices of Hotel and Personal Services Employers Association (HOPESEA), Hotel Owners Forum Abuja (HOFA) and Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC). There are several broadcasting stations that have reached agreements with COSON and are broadcasting music comfortably as required by law. The fact is that COSON works very well with people who want to work with COSON and for the first time in Nigeria, artistes are receiving royalties for their works in a transparent and accountable system.

The repeated threat of the leadership of BON to ban music made by Nigerians on the airwaves belonging to Nigerians is to activate the ploy of the BON leadership to precipitate a crisis of confidence around COSON and to set COSON members and affiliates against their organization. The way they have planned it, while the crisis lasts, they will smuggle through the backdoor the approval of MCSN, the group which the government has long rejected and which together with its officers is being prosecuted for different criminal activities by agencies of the Federal government. The plan is to find ways to truncate the ongoing trial of the MCSN officers who willingly in turn issue arrangee copyright licences to them. Under this arrangement, the stage will be set for some of the members of BON, notorious for not paying their bills, to continue the wanton exploitation of the intellectual property of free citizens.

For nearly two years, COSON knew about the disingenuous scheme being hatched by the leadership of BON. The Director-General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, Mr. Afam Ezekude can confirm that COSON had notified him of this ploy both at a meeting and by a letter dated February 8, 2012.Excerpt from the letter to Ezekude reads: ‘Despite the close engagement which COSON has had with BON, the organization wants to claim that there is lack of clarity as to who its members should pay royalties to for the broadcast of musical works and sound recordings. It is clear that this is a scheme to precipitate a crisis in the collective management of copyright so that BON members can hide behind the crisis to continue the free use of the entire music and sound recording repertoire in Nigeria and slow down the progress being made by COSON. There is no question that if the BON scheme is allowed to be activated, no one can be sure of the exact consequences because the entire industry would be forced to go back to the trenches’

The Attorney – General of the Federation & Minister of Justice, Mr Muhammed Bello Adoke SAN can also confirm that by a letter dated February 28, 2013, COSON had also alerted him about the ploy of the BON leadership.

In the letter, COSON had asked the Attorney General of the Federation to investigate how the leadership of Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON), led by a paid employee of the Federal Government, Malam Abubakar Jijiwa, is taking active steps to  truncate the criminal trial of the unapproved MCSN and six of its officials which trial is being conducted by the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), an agency of the Federal Government.

COSON believes that the time has come to ask Malam Jijiwa to step aside as Director-General Of Voice of Nigeria. His open affront on the policies and decisions of the government paying his salaries are baffling and inexplicable and the fire he is allowing himself to be used to stoke can lead to consequences that the Nigerian nation will regret. Serious members of BON also need to get clear answers as to what is being done in their name and whose interest, their Executive Secretary, Mr Segun Olaleye is serving. For instance, it will be necessary to establish who called and who attended the ‘emergency meeting’ where it was decided that free Nigerians who have committed no offence should be banned from the airwaves of their nation.

The unenforceable threat issued by the BON leadership is a most childish and silliest announcement for an organization that wishes to be taken seriously. It has made BON the laughing stock of the world. Sadly, Jijiwa and Olaleye have allowed BON to become the megaphone of the unapproved MCSN being prosecuted by the Federal Government of Nigeria for various criminal offences. They have also become willing tools in the hand of an emperor who believes that because he has established a number of broadcast stations, he is now bigger than Nigeria and above the law. This needs to stop immediately.

COSON hereby assures all its members and affiliates that Nigeria is not a banana republic and that no one can stop them from being heard in their country. COSON’s dedication to the progress of the Nigerian nation remains unshaken. We remain committed to using the instruments of the law to fully defend the rights of creative people in Nigeria and to promote the Nigerian nation to the world. We will not be intimidated and will never act outside the law. We are committed to ensuring that musicians walk tall in Nigeria and earn a decent living for their work. We will do what is necessary to ensure that our industry offers gainful employment to the thousands of our countrymen who roam the streets today aimlessly. We will work night and day, without fear or favour, to continue to promote the spirit of the COSON slogan, ‘Let the music pay!’

RAY POWER & AIT IN DEEP WATERS AS NIGERIAN MUSICIANS SUE FOR 10 BILLION NAIRA

 NIGERIAN MUSICIANS UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF COSON HAVE FILLED A  N10 BILLION NAIRA SUIT AGAINST DOKPESI’S RAY POWER & AIT  IN WHAT IS KNOWN AS AFRICA’S BIGGEST COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT ACTION 

 Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Nigeria’s government approved collective management organization for musical works and sound recordings, who collects royalties on behalf of Nigerian musicians, has filed a Ten Billion naira copyright infringement action against Daar Communications Plc, Nigeria’s biggest privately owned broadcast network which operates stations such as Ray Power FM, Faaji FM and Africa Independent Television (AIT) scattered all over Nigeria. The suit No. FHC/L/CS/1392/13 filed on October 7, 2013 on behalf of COSON at the Federal High Court, Lagos by crack Intellectual Property lawyer, Mr. Justin Ige, is the biggest known copyright infringement action ever in the African continent.

In the action, COSON on behalf of Nigerian musicians is asking for the sum of N724, 500, 000. 00 (Seven Hundred and Twenty Four Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira) being amount due as royalties or license fees.

COSON is also asking for general and exemplary damages and a perpetual injunction restraining Ray Power FM, Faaji FM and Africa Independent Television (AIT) managed by Chief Raymond Dokpesi, their agents, privies or servants from further or other unauthorized copying, broadcast of musical works or sound recordings belonging to the members, affiliates and assignors of COSON and/or infringement of the copyright in the musical works or sound recordings belonging to the members, affiliates and assignors of COSON.

We need your opinion and participation on this matter. Tell us how you feel about this issue.

WHAT A PRESIDENTIAL CHAT: WHAT IS GEJ UP TO!!!

Over last weekend innocent lives to be précised of 40 students of Taraba state college of Agriculture were taken in their dormitory while sleeping by the suspected gun men of Boko Haram sect

Yet during his excellency media chat; the commander in chief of the federal republic of Nigeria-president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on the 29^th of September 2013, when asked about the major problem of terrorism in Nigeria by the Boko Haram sect, especially about the death of the head of the sect-Abubakar Shakaul which  became questionable when Abubakar Shakaul allegedly said he was actually behind the ‘Tuesday Bombing; that he is not dead, even after the videos of him being killed by some police went viral. On this our dear President responded thus ‘’ I don’t know who is Abubakar Shakaul, haven’t seen him, don’t even know if he is the leader of the set, whether or not he is dead.’’ He further said that ‘’during the emergence of the Militants, a group of terrorists from the Niger- Delta, they were objective, when called upon to know what they really wanted; they never hesitated to come out, agreed to negotiate with the Government and eventually reached a compromise but it is the opposite in the case of Boko Haram sect, they haven’t shown their faces, neither have they agreed to come bring to the Government’s table what they actually wanted, even when an Amnesty committee  was set up by the Federal Government to look into Boko Haram, yet there have not been any feedback regarding who they really are, what they want or how to proffer solution’’

To be honest, this response is not satisfactory. What are you telling me……? If it has got to a point where the President is seemingly evasive about the whole chat on the media…..

Anyways, whilst listening right back on my sit, I was thinking………, he seems like a good man, maybe... let’s give him a break, he might be really compassionate and is doing what he thinks is the best for the country.

Maybe he is the right person trying to lay a different and the right foundation so as to do away with the wrong and corrupt ones, as you know it is not easy to build an entirely new foundation. This is evident on the number of Cabinet Reshufflings within last month where a good number of Ministers parted  also on the media where  he said ‘’a thief is a thief, in my tenure, I’ve made sure that the government money is not open for anyone to steal, not to talk of getting away with the act, the agricultural sector where a lot of fund has gone down the drain in the name of fertilizer had been critically looked into, some huge amount of money for the purchase of fertilizer were being squandered a particular clique In the Government. The fertilizer don’t eventually get to the farmer as planned, even if it does, it is to a minute set of farmers who unfortunately get sands packed to the half of their fertilizer bags. This we have taken care of which is not very easy on us.’’

Hope rising, he made the/our day by saying ‘’power is being taken care of, maybe in my next media chat, power won’t be a problem in Nigeria anymore.’’

Imagine; many businesses that will be revived, so many young entrepreneurs that will emerge because the cost for the purchase of Generator set and fueling/dieseling won’t be anyone’s Migraine anymore; the explosive number of terrorists and armed robbers reduced because artisans now have a very important tool of constant power to render good services.

'THE NIGERIA OF MY DREAM' By Victoria E.

My life is the synthesis of the happenings around me as a citizen of this country. The elders say that ''whatever does not kill one only makes one stronger''. It is not out of place for a young woman of my age to dream. Indeed i want to dream but the irregular supply of power makes it impossible for me to sleep for any considerable length of time. Erratic power supply has ensured the death of several business investments and reduced attraction for investments by high powered industries. Those who dare to do business are paying the price at too much of a premium. That makes basic service industries to be expensive and unreliable.

On the 1st october 1960, Nigeria, under the leadership of president Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe with the help of other visionaries got her independence. Apparently, what we had with the government then was just a fluke; we are free but slaves to some greedy and selfish leaders.

Violence is now seen as a gainful enterprise as terrorism is regarded as the feasible platform for Nigerian political opponents to get back at themselves. These are part of the major reasons a good number of Nigerian women are afraid to show interest in the politics.

Still, i forge ahead and have the courage to dream, even in the small snatches of sleep i manage to get. in my dream, behold; a land in Niger area with hills in the east, forests in the west, grasses in the north and rivers in the south, a land with enormous human and natural resources, my fatherland; Nigeria; a country where all the Nigerian women have a voice; A Nigeria where prostitution is no longer fashionable in government, higher institutions and the corporate world. Ultimately, in my dream, the government completely resolves the issues of strike and ensures proper regulation of funds allocated to its higher institutions and universities. I dream of a country where the police and other security agencies secure the citizens and not their pockets; A Nigeria where religious leaders do not make merchandise of their God, but lead by good examples and preach the gospel at all cost; a nation where the youth build businesses and the artisans master the craft of their artistry in other to provide not crappy but premium sevices; A nation where moral uprightness and transparency are the guiding principles of every citizen; a nation where the judiciary, police and all public servants despise corruption in every form and fashion; a country enjoying constant supply of power; a beautiful place, where the resources and wealth are evenly distributed, such that only a thin gap distinguishes the poor from the rich; A one Nigeria where there is peace and tranquility irrespective of our sociocultural, religious and ethnic leaning; where political parties are formed, based on the zeal to serve the fatherland, such that the government of the people will indeed be for the people and by the people.

VICTORIA . E

This dream is achievable if i accept to play my own part, just as the next man towards developing Nigeria. This is 'the Nigeria of my dream'.

THE ‘CHANGED’ CHRIS BROWN [THANKS CHRIS BROWN FOR PROVING ME WRONG]

You know what, some months back, thing I heard about this guy made me kind of wonder what was really wrong with him, I mean, his head. Don’t get it twisted, I used to be one of his fans and still am. After the whole Rihanna thing; after Chris Brown allegedly smacked Rihanna and was dealt with for it, he appeared to have lost his sanity, always being on the negative spotlight, like; kicking people up, causing noise pollution, by playing music all loud around his neighborhood, completely tinted his hair blonde and brows, black, tattoos all over his body, which obviously promises to get to the face soonest in order to complete his ‘good boy’ look.

Honestly, on hearing this, I was like ‘please dude, you are way too talented for all these confusion, that’s  quite immature of you; you need to continually stay out of trouble, please concentrate on your music and most importantly, you need Jesus now, just as I told your ex-Rihanna.

Ultimately, he was sentenced to one eighty (180)days of community service for assaulting his ex- girlfriend and a singer, Rihanna, the sentence was reinstated with 1000 days of community service because a certain woman claimed that he hit her car and attempted to run away. Although the charges were later dropped, but he was ordered to complete his probation in the next one year. Only for us to receive another blow of disappointment of news some weeks back, that Chris Brown Faked his community service hours. On this I was like, ‘’dude, you don’t do that, you are on probation, the least you could do is, to ‘form good boy’ and complete your probation’’.

But, Hallelujah, recently, he proved me wrong by tweeting ‘’the community service isn’t a problem anymore. I’ll do whatever duty I need to fulfill my requirements as a man and a leader’’.  Hmmmmmm! ‘The responsible Chris Brown’, thanks to Probation.

Hoping that this good version of Chris Brown will last forever though!