There is no doubting the fact that the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN), was there, in the collective management organization/administration (CMO/A), before the rest. It will also not be out of place to say that aside the London based, Performing Rights Society (PRS), through which the likes of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Chief Stephen Ositadinma Osadebe, Ik Dairo among others through which other first generation Nigerian musicians were paid by Radio Nigeria (RN) and others, in the 1960/70s, for the exploitation of their rights, MCSN may have started the culture of CMO/CMA in Nigeria. MCSN was the pathfinder. It paved the way for others to follow. And like they say in the Nigerian local parlance, “na the company open Nigerian musicians’ eye” to the fact that right exploiters are liable to pay them for their works, which they use. And for that, it enjoyed the privilege of being the first before the rest. All payments to musicians by rights exploiters were made through it.
That was the position of things until the late 1980s/early 1990s when a young, intelligent/brilliant man, Chief Tony Okoroji, mounted the saddle of the leadership of the Performing Musicians’ Employers’ Association of Nigeria (PMAN) as its president. His coming changed many things in the Nigerian music industry whose practitioners had earlier been regarded as the dreg of the society; in fact, Jetsam. Okoroji turned things around for good for them; aside introducing an award system that would have equaled the famed America Grammy Awards, in terms of popularity across the world, though, like most things Nigeria, it died as soon as he was done with PMAN presidency. He also founded a CMO/A owned and ran by PMAN. The CMO/A was named Performing and Mechanical Rights Society (PMRS) with him, Okoroji, as the chairman and veteran highlife musician cum producer, Pa. Chris Ajilo, as the general manager. Mrs. Keji Okunowo of the then Sony Music that gave the music world, Sir Shina Peters’ ACE and Adewale Ayuba’s Mr. Johnson et al, Mr. Laolu Akins among others were on the board of PMRS. That signaled the genesis of MCSN’s trouble. Most musicians who were hitherto members of MCSN began to withdraw their membership except the likes of IK Dairo, King Sunny Ade and some others, who ‘stubbornly’ stood with MCSN. They (the musicians) resigned their membership of MCSN to identify with their own, PMRS, The coming into existence of PMRS further made matters worse instead of solving it as those who do not want to pay for the rights they exploited used the ‘confusion’ brought about by the existence of two CMOs to refuse to pay, claiming that they do not know who to pay to.
While the ‘confusion’ persisted, the musicians like the proverbial grass that suffers when two elephants fight, continued to wallow in abject poverty while cheats, who live off their sweats, continue to smile to the banks.
That was the situation until a group of now generation musicians led by Mr. Efe Omorogbe and other like minds, said oto ge and came up with the idea of one CMO for the whole country; they approached the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), headed then by Prof. Adewopo Adebambo, for its workability and approval in the form of granting of a licence so that music can pay. Armed with that beautiful and workable proposal aimed at solving the CMO crisis, NCC held series of meetings with those behind the idea, MCSN officials and PMRS authorities were also initially in attendance. Some of the meetings MCSN’s officials attended, some it turned down when it was suggested that MCSN and PMRS should dissolve into one CMO. While MCSN said that it will not lose its identity to a new body unless he knows what PMRS was bringing to the table in terms of catalogue, some of those who attended the meetings said that it refused to open its financial books for all to see. And to solve the riddle, NCC called on interested persons, organisations including MCSN and PMRS to appeal for its licence. Both, (MCSN and PMRS) and many other persons did and after months of going through the applicants’ applications, PMRS which had applied with the brand new name of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), emerged successful and was conferred with NCC licence as the sole organization charged with collecting the royalty of musicians from right exploiters in Nigeria. Meaning that anybody or corporate person(s) that engages in the business of CMO/A in Nigeria on behalf of Nigerian musicians without the express permission of NCC in the form of licence does that on its own peril. That was how what turned out to be MCSN’S ban for seven good years plus started.
But with a never say die Mr. Mayo Ayilaran as its director general and Mr. Orits Williki as chairman, MCSN, which had at various times in the past had IK Dairo, King Sunny Ade as its chairmen, dung in. It went to court to challenge the decision. As they go in and out of courts to challenge every and all decision of NCC on the status of the new CMO, NCC on its part held its ground; though, in court too, that MCSN is not licenced to operate as a CMO in Nigeria. For seven years, both parties became regular customers of courts, especially, the Federal High Court, Ikoyi Lagos. The crisis under the immediate past Director General of NCC, Mr. Afam Ezekudo, got to a stage where the Ikeja office of MCSN was raided, computers, documents carted away and about seven staff members including Ayilaran arrested, charged before justices Okon Abang, Ibrahim Buba, Mojisola Olateregun, Baba Kuewunmi and Mohammed Yinusa at various times and remanded in prison custody for periods ranging from one week to 90 days (three months) at the popular Ikoyi and Kirikiri prisons.
While their detention lasted, the industry was expectant. Expecting the day they will be committed to prison on account of criminal charges brought against them. In fact, a top official of COSON, who was to serve as NCC’s witness against MCSN in the case, was so sure that the pendulum of justice will swing against Ayilaran and co., he openly boasted to this writer that their case, is a forgone conclusion. But like they say, man proposes, God disposes.
Such was the scenario when the unexpected happened. God used the Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, whose ministry is the supervisory ministry of NCC to order the cessation and withdrawal of the case from the court. Not only that, the Minister also instructed the NCC to approve the application of MCSN for a licence to operate as a CMO. Double triumph for MCSN you may say.
While all these were happening at the level of the justice ministry and NCC, the story was different at the court. Both the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court were declaring MCSN victorious in all the cases it brought against NCC challenging the it’s (NCC) refusal to grant it licence. The latest and more symbolic is that of December 18 2018 in which the MCSN said in a release signed by its Head, Corporate Communication, Mr. Halim Mohammed, that the apex court in Nigeria said that MCSN having acquired its rights long before the enactment of the Copyright Act, the requirement that MCSN should get the approval of the NCC before it can enforce its rights, doesn’t affect it. Besides, the Act was slated to go into effect in 1999, so the law was in retrospective and therefore doesn’t affect MCSN, which acquired its rights in the 1890s, to enforce its rights as a rights owner.
That was how the long fought battle of seven years died.
In fact, for MCSN, it was indeed a long, courageous walk to approval!
