The coast is now completely cleared for the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN), which has for the past seven years pride itself owner, assignee and exclusive licensee to also operate as a collective management society (CMO), alongside Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), which until recently, had bestrode the CMO terrain like a Trojan, following its approval and of course the decision of the Supreme on the matter of approval in its favour.
Already life is gradually returning to the premises of the organization which was almost deserted, no thanks to its incapacitation following the earlier decision of the powers that be at the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), to turn down its request for operational licence as a CMO and the subsequent criminal charges brought against and detention of some of its staff by NCC last.
Also old school musicians with lots of repertoire like Mike Okri, Edmund Spice have visited the Ikeja office of the company to show their support. The latest to show face at the premises is Spice who has been holidaying in Nigeria from his Manchester, UK base and was warmly received by Mr. Ortis Wiliki, the chairman of MCSN and Mayo Ayilaran the director general.
A visit by this reporter to Olabiriro Steet, Allen, Ikeja office of the society shows that everywhere looked spic and span in readiness for full operation to start.
Not only that, a source told this reporter that not less than four staff that are still remaining in the organization’s payroll out of which two of them were among those charged to the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos State for criminal offence, have been paid part of the seven years salary the organization owed them.
Though, Mr. Halim Mohammed, MCSN’S head of public communication refused to confirm or deny whether some of them have been paid their backlog of salary arrears but was quick to confirm that the organization has dispatched letters of payment to corporate bodies that have exploited their works without payment in the last seven years.
“You know that we have always said it, even before this our approval by NCC and the pronouncement by the apex court that we do not need an NCC licence to operate as a CMO, that we are first and foremost an owner, assignee and exclusive licensee.
It is on that basis that we have written to companies like Sheraton and others to pay us for exploiting our rights. Though, some have gone to court to say that we are not approved by NCC and so cannot pay us. But right now, as I talk to you, we have NCC licence coupled with the Supreme Court judgment, which have made a mess of that their argument. In any case we are already in court and will know who blinks last,” Mohammed said.
