ONE MORE EXCERPT FROM THE HISTORIC ADDRESS OF THE COSON CHAIRMAN & CELEBRATED FORMER PRESIDENT OF PMAN, CHIEF TONY OKOROJI, AT THE 11TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF COSON
Okoroji
“Fellow members of COSON, despite all the machine guns fired at us, our membership continues to grow. On the date of our last AGM, our membership stood at 4,934. Today, the membership stands at 5,173, an increase of about 5%.
“Regardless of the fact that we have done all the statutory audits required of us every year, which no other CMO in Nigeria has done, you will recall that those intent on dividing us and hijacking COSON were all over social media shouting that COSON is not accountable and that there had to be a forensic audit of COSON on top of the statutory audits, something no organization in the Nigerian creative industry has ever done.
Okoroji
“To set the records straight, your Board invited Price Waterhouse Coopers, otherwise known as PWC, the internationally reputed auditing firm to do a forensic audit of COSON. Instructions were given to all operatives at COSON to give unfettered and unhindered access of every COSON record and document to PWC.
“For over seven months, PWC inspected thousands of documents at COSON, contacted every bank in Nigeria with respect to COSON, went through bank records, invoices, receipts, minutes of minutes, etc, and interviewed several officials. A temporary office was indeed set up at COSON House for the operation of the PWC officials to make sure that they did a thorough job.
“No human organization is perfect and COSON is no exception. Our board also asked PWC to make recommendations to us in the ways we can improve on our systems and practices.
“I am very proud to inform you that after this intense process, no fraud or misappropriation of any funds was discovered at COSON. Your Board has begun the process of implementing the recommendations made by PWC to improve on our systems and practices.
“Some of you may wonder why we have so many court cases. It is not by choice. Our success has attracted so much envy and greed and if we do not defend ourselves, we will cease to exist. In our role as pathfinders in the building of the copyright culture in Nigeria, we are very much aware that COSON will continue to engage in constructive litigation and positive conversation with our judges. Because judges are human beings and make mistakes, a critical part of the judicial system in Nigeria is the appeal process and we are deploying it everywhere that it is necessary”.
