The Nation Newspaper

Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

  • Supremacy of Agemo cult

    The Agemo cult is one of the highly regarded cults by Ijebu indigenes of Ogun State. They are sub-divided into two groups: Ijebu and Ijebu Remo that cover towns, such as Epe, Shagamu, Ijebuode, and Ijebu Remo.

    Agemo cult was a supreme deity with all other deities as subordinates. Some Ijebu myths claim that Agemofought other deities and over-powered them thus making an Ijebuman to be referred to as Omo Alagemo i.e. (Agemo child) or Omo Alare. All he has belongs to Agemo. But, Agemo origin is said to be derived from two narrations.

    The origin is linked to Obanta, who is supposed to be the founder of Ijebu. He is also the founder of the Awufile dynasty. The cult Obanta organised around his personal god grew into Agemo cult. Obanta appointed Tami (leader of Agemo cult) as his middle man. Tami performs human sacrifices every fifth day in those days and this brought scandals against Tami and he has to leave Ijebu Ode. But before leaving he appointed 15 soldiers and mount them in strategic locations around Ijebu land and annually meet at Imosan – the site of Agemo grove.

    The second version linked Agemo cult to Oloko of Imushin. It was said that Agemo priests were the middle men of the Oloko who came together to form the cult and Oloko’s senior wife controlled the priests.

    Agemo masquerade uses costumes that are made of raffia strips and it covers all over the body head to toe. Such raffia strips are dyed in various colours. The Agemo masquerade consists of head dress and it has chameleon as the central figure, and it was said that the chameleon represents the power of the Agemo deity. There are reasons why chameleon played significant role in Agemo cult. – It is said to be vital in making of very potential medicines.

    Oral tradition states that chameleon defeated his enemy by using his power of transformation. Chameleon is known for making a hiss when threatened, the Ijebus interpret it as a powerful course.It has large eyes that seem to see and know much.

    Chameleons’importance reflects on the Yoruba saying: “No matter how hungry one is, one never eats the meat of a chameleon.” The chameleon on the hair dress is surrounded by other animals, human being etc.The cult is made up of specific families. It has sixteen principal priests in Ijebu land and they each live in a village or town not too far from Ijebu Ode.

     

    Imosan, the centre for the  yearly festival and location

    Each town or village has a district or local Agemo grove supervised by the principal priest who has a subordinate Agemo priest. The subordinate Agemo priest does not take part in the general Agemo festival and ritual at Imosan and Ijebu Ode. The priest is also to oversee the market, guard against intrusion from enemies and maintain peace in the land, so the alagemo is also called ‘Oloja’.

    Tami of Odogbolu is a known leader of the group. He dances for the Awujale at Ojafa during the festival. He does not take part in washing of Agemo deity and not doing so and taking care of the grove made the priest at Imosan to sometime to claim leadership of Agemo cult.

    This yearly festival takes place in July and lasts for 13 or 17 days. “Ireku” is the formal opening of the gate for Agemo deity and it takes place a month before the festival. It is done by Imosan priest with sacrifices. The day after the Ireku ceremony is done, message will be sent to the Awujale that the ceremony has been done.

    Then “Idojo” comes up and the duration of the festival is determined by consulting the deity. This is also done with sacrifices at Imosan and is done by the 16 Alagemos (Agemo priests). The next day the priests return to their villages to prepare for the remaining part of the festival.

    The priests reassemble at Imosan towards evening for the next ceremony. They return separately with their entourage. There is excitement all over the town as people move around in hundreds. The Awujale dances three times the same evening toward Ipebi where the ancestral home is located. At the sound of the ‘gbedu’ drum, he dances towards sacred spots and perform ‘Ikose’ three times. After his second dance someone will shout “Eke e biren ma iwoooo” At this point, all the women disappear from the scene because they are forbidden to view certain parts of the festival. Kolanut can also be put on the ground as sign for woman to quit the scene. Message will be sent to the priest to enter Imosan that women had left.

    The luggage carriers with the Alagemos will enter Imosan. The Luggage is called ‘eru’ and is said to contain charms and other personal effects. The Oba conclude his third dance and goes back to his palace without looking back. The Agemo priest on arrival, camp separately and play his own music till late in the night.

    The following day each priest returns to wash his leg in the concoction, used to wash the Agemo Orisa. They wash the left or right leg depending online through which each became a priest that is either through the paternal or maternal line. The dancing festival starts around 3pm at Imosan in a large area cleared for the festival. Spectators stand around cleared area.

    Two of the priests Lijagbon and Adie do not dance for the reason best known to them. Another interesting dance is performed by Agemo and Eleni, he performs in raffia mat instead of raffia strip. He is surrounded with mat near the ground to make sure that no one sees him.

     

     

    The annual sacrifices are made that night with different types of animals like rats, fish, goats, dogs etc. the major animal that is the cow to be used will be provided by the Awujale.

    The last part of the ceremony takes place at Ijebu ode in three spots, this involves dancing on the fifth or ninth day after their offering of sacrifices. The first spot of dancing is in front of the Oba’s ancestral home, the second spot is at Ojofa where the Oba and Tami dance and at one point both come together protected from spectators view to reveal their faces to each other.

    The third spot is at Ishua grove and the festival ends after the dance here.

    The Oba may organize a feast for the priest that came for the ceremony the following day and same day marks the appearance of new yam in the market.

     

    *Adeseri is Asst. Chief Museum Educatiion Officer

    Education Unit, National Museum, Onikan, Lagos

     

     

     

  • Jos Festival Theatre opens May 7

    The 12th Jos Festival of Theatre will open in Jos, the Plateau State capital on May 7, with major support from United States Mission Nigeria, corporate bodies, international and local donors.

    This year’s festival with the theme Building a new generation for the arts will feature riveting plays as well as a variety of workshops for the art community. The classes in acting, dance, and arts management will also hold during the day with the theatrical performances taking place in the evenings.

    The festival’s plays will present poignant messages concerning honour, family discord, politics, and the abuse of power over the week of performances. The workshops will feature facilitators from Jos, Lagos and Abuja.

    This year’s edition will showcase the directing skills of two female directors – Olajumoke Olatubosun and Kalbang Afsa-Walshak.

    Among the plays that will be featured are one American classic, Arthur Miller’s All My Sons and novelist, playwright, Sefi Atta whose play Death Road will have its world premiere at the festival. The French contribution to the festival is Eugene Ionesco’s The Lesson, a comic-tragedy on a Professor, who lures students into his studio and kills them with the assistance of his maid. The Lesson is being performed in English by local actors under the direction of Olajumoke Olatubosun.

    Arthur Miller’s All My Sons is being directed by KalbangAfsa-Walshak. Sefi Atta’s Death Road is being directed by Patrick-Jude Oteh while Sunny Adahson will be directing Jerry Alagbaoso’sTony Wants To Marry. JRT will be reviving Zulu Sofola’s classic, Wedlock of the Gods under the Theatre Master’s programme of JRT.

    Sefi Atta’s Death Road is a classic tale about recruitment and radicalisation within a once peaceful household whose livelihood is threatened from within by the first son of the family.

    The festival also receives support from Plateau State Ministry of Information, Grand Cereals Limited, the International Performer’s Aid Trust (IPAT) and the prestigious Jos Business School.

    Arthur Miller’s All My Sons which will headline the festival is set in World War II when a manufacturer of military hardware short changes the military by producing defective military parts for war planes with the attendant consequences of loss of lives of young fighter pilots. A man is wrongly jailed for this crime while the perpetrator of the crime goes free thinking that he was freed because he was ‘smart’. His family discovers the scam decades later and in his old age, his sins come to haunt him. It is a classic play about war, honour, pride and retribution. It is a true story about an actual event during World War II.

    Over the last decade, the Jos Festival of Theatre has become a nurturing ground for artists to showcase their talents and creativity through Nigerian and international repertory.

     

  • ‘Ekiti ready for African Drum Festival’

    EKITI State Council of Arts and Culture Director-General, Mr Wale Ojo-Lanre, has said the state Cultural Troupe would participate in this year’s edition of the African Drum Festival, opening in Abeokuta tomorrow.

    The third African Drum festival, which ends on April 27, a cultural event initiated by the Ogun State government, is a global pot of cultural convergence of creative arts stakeholders with opportunities.

    Speaking with reporters at the Cultural Centre, Ado Ekiti, Ojo-Lanre said Governor Fayemi has mobilised the Council to ensure quality participation at the global cultural event.

    He revealed that the level of preparedness of the state cultural troupe is encouraging, pointing out that the troupe was ready, not only to participate, but also to coast home with honour and trophy.

    He said: “The troupe is oiling its rehearsals and toiling night and day to stage the best performance during the festival and I am sure its effort will translate into victory at the festival and another cultural event in the country.”

    Ojo-Lanre added: “Part of my plans as the DG is to enhance the performance of this wonderful troupe, promote its activities and ensure its prominence in events within and outside shores of Nigeria.

    “The vision of our Governor Kayode Fayemi is to rejuvenate, showcase and promote the cultural values of Ekiti to the whole world and he has promised to give us necessary moral and financial empowerment to pursue and achieve this.”

    The DG also pledged the Council’s readiness to construct an art village and gallery as well as create enabling an environment for the development of talents and creativity to thrive in the state.

    Ojo-Lanre, however, called on indigenes to support the Council of Arts and Culture in promoting the rich and unique cultural values and heritage of Ekiti people and Nigeria at large.

  • Didi Museum’s journey to mastery

    Legendary institutions almost always start from very trivial incidents.

    As a child, Newton Jibunoh had a much-adored younger sister named Edith. In his stammering, the young Newton could not get to grips with pronouncing her name. What came out of Newton’s mouth  was the word “Didi”. Everybody else started calling her Didi!

    The monumental Didi Museum  on 175 Akin Adesola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos owes its birth to Newton’s mispronunciation of Edith as Didi!

    The story of Didi Museum may be long but I cut it short. I heard it from the horse’s mouth, that is, Chief Newton Chukwukadibia Jibunoh, a “building engineer, desert adventurer, environmental crusader, arts collector, museum owner, social activist”, and a “desert warrior.”

    Born on New Year’s Day in 1938 in the pastoral town of Akwukwu-Igbo in Delta State, Newton doted on his sister Edith until the kids lost their parents quite early, within months of each other, in 1943. Their mother, Zipporah, died first only to be followed soon after by their father, Samuel, with Newton really having no clear memories and impressions of them.

    While in secondary school, Newton suddenly got a message that the principal needed to see him. The young boy was afraid that he might have committed an offence, as that could only have necessitated the summons of the school principal. He was frightened beyond words when he met the principal. The message the principal had for Newton was quite devastating: his beloved sister, Edith, had died, aged just 13.

    Edith was born on May 11, 1941 and died in May 1954. Newton would later ask to know where her sister was buried, but nobody could tell.

    Newton Jibunoh set up Didi Museum to immortalise her beloved sister.

    The other dimension of the young Newton’s immersion in art started when as a choir boy he used to accompany the white missionaries and their acolytes in the mission of burning native idols. A precocious lad, he discovered that the missionaries did not always burn all they had gathered idols and deities. They kept some aside which they took away.

    It was in the course of his studies and travels abroad that he discovered that the idols carted away back then had found accommodation in the British Museum!

    Jibunoh decided to go to the villages to collect the idols as artworks. The range of such iconic artworks collected from the 1960s to today can serve as a befitting testament to Nigeria’s very first private museum, Didi Museum.

    Jibunoh inspires in the company of royalty as the late Emir of Kano Ado Bayero, Ooni of Ife Sijuwade and Oba of Benin Erediauwa helped lift the Didi Museum innovation.

    Legendary Nigerian artists, notably Ben Enwonwu, Bruce Onobrakpeya, Solomon Wangboje, Demas Nwoko, Yusuf Grillo, Uche Okeke, among others, have passed on the baton of brushes to the younger ones, such that Didi Museum is significantly hosting the new generation artists, Uche Edochie and Ayoola, in a pivotal exhibition entitled: Journey to Mastery, which opens at 5pm on April 18 and closes on April 27.

    The exhibition lends pride of place to Didi Museum as the quintessential one-stop home of Nigerian art.

    The United States-based modern master Olu Oguibe has just sent a message to me that Jibunoh who “gave me my first one-person exhibition. Say hello for me.”

    Jibunoh is fond of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s twice-told story of how on their first visit, some white men gave out Bibles, asked Africans to close their eyes for prayers, whereupon after opening their eyes, they found out that their land and belongings were gone.

    Jibunoh was in the team drafted to go to Britain to help retrieve Nigeria’s artworks before FESTAC 77. Of course the British authorities stated that Nigerians could not take care of the works that had earlier been taken from their land.

    With the refusal of the British to hand over the works for the FESTAC colloquium, Jibunoh went to the Oba of Benin who told him of the artworks hidden in Isele-Uku. The Obi of Isele-Uku, in the end, gave Jibunoh the needed replica.

    Jibunoh laments that the British authorities may indeed be right in not releasing the artifacts because the works domiciled in Nigeria’s National Museum have since been destroyed!

    Towards the cause of righting the wrongs, the Oba of Benin wants Jibunoh to set up a world-class museum in Benin City.

    Jibunoh is at liberty in giving out his collected works freely to be exhibited across the globe, for instance, in the branches of a Nigerian bank in the United Kingdom.

    “Artworks must be exhibited, not dumped,” he asserts.

    He reveals that the climate control system put in place in Didi Museum is not enough to preserve all the works.

    The fulfillment of his drive comes in the realisation that he helped to end the fad back then of decorating Nigerian house with European lilies and landscapes. Artworks are now all the rage.

    The new age artists, Edochie and Ayoola, mounting the “Journey to Mastery” exhibition at Didi Museum are on the cherished throve of extending a compelling tradition.

    The dream that started out with the young Newton has turned into a revolution in the world of art.

  • ‘It’s been 20 exciting years’

    In this interview with Assistant Editor (Arts) Ozolua Uhakheme, the Executive Director, Junior Achievements Nigeria (JAN), Mrs. Simi Nwogugu, speaks on the group’s mission, vision and challenges at 20.

    Can you recall how the journey to the founding of the Junior Achievements Nigeria started? 

    While working with Goldman Sachs, Junior Achievements (JA USA) engaged us for a JA in a day volunteering programme in a school in the Bronx, and that was where I got the opportunity to volunteer and fell in love with it. I felt if I had access to such programme while growing up, I would have known directly that I wasn’t geared for the medical or legal industry but the world of business. After that experience, I reached out to the organisation for an opportunity to take it to Nigeria. Plans were already ongoing to kick-start JA in Africa with primary focus on South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Nigeria. The Executive Director of JA Houston came to Nigeria with me and we met with representative companies of his Board members, who took the mantle to support and thereafter JA Nigeria was birthed in 1999.

      How were you able to adapt the mission and vision of JA New York to the Nigerian society?

    The global mission and vision are the same for all member-nations. However, all programmes of JA Worldwide were reviewed to select those which address specific needs of the Nigerian society.

     How do you feel with JAN at 20.?

    It has been an exciting journey so far, looking at how far we have come since 1999. We have grown in reach and impact and this would not have been possible without the support of Board members like Citibank Nigeria, Schlumberger who have been on the JA Nigeria Board since inception, corporate bodies like United Bank of Africa who embraced the volunteering culture and bought into our vision and mission to inspire, educate and equip young people with essential financial, entrepreneurial and work readiness skills.

    What were the teething challenges at the early stage of its founding?

    JA Nigeria thrives on volunteering because programmes in schools are consistently run by the volunteers. However, at the time I got to Nigeria there wasn’t a volunteering culture unlike what is exhibited in the western world. So, it was difficult to run the programmes solely on volunteers. Over time, things gradually changed and people became more aware of the need to be socially responsible and embraced the “giving back” culture, which is carried out by individuals and organisations in various capacities.

    What endears the various partners and volunteers to the organisation?

    For Partners, I believe highlighting the effect/impact relative to the amount of money pumped into a project, including deliverables achieved,  products and services beneficiaries create and deliver to solve needs and problems within their community; all of these and more encourage partners/donors to keep funding our programmes and projects. Furthermore, the strength of the Board members like Aliko Dangote Foundation, Citibank Nigeria, FirstBank and Stanbic IBTC also increases our chances of working with potential donors and volunteers.

    For volunteers, partnering JAN is a way to give back to the society, change the mind-set of the growing population by teaching, encouraging and mentoring them to be better and live their dreams as regards their personal and professional development.

    How well has JAN impacted positively on the youths, especially the students?

    From various success stories recorded since our inception – like that of Ink Eze who participated in JA Company Programme and LEAD Camp in 2005 – and through her participation was able to emerge a digital entrepreneur, or Bright Dikko from Caro Favored College in Ajegunle whose participation in JA Company Programme opened scholarship opportunities for him (He is a scholar at the African Leadership Academy on  scholarship). So, our programmes have a great impact on our youths and we will continue to work with them to achieve more.

     At 20, can you say that JAN has realised its objectives?

    Yes, we have! But, there is always room for more, which is why we are seeking partnerships with more credible socially-responsible organisations to do more thereby deepening our impact.

    Which of JAN projects do you find very fulfilling and memorable?

     All of JAN programmes are fulfilling, but of all, especially in terms of level of impact, we will refer to the Leadership, Empowerment, Achievement and Development (LEAD) Camp for senior secondary school girls, JA Company Programme for senior secondary school students, and Venture in Management Programme for NYSC members. From our impact stories gathered since inception, these three have remained the most memorable.

    Lead camp, in partnership with Union Bank, is one of your flagship programmes. How do you select the 50 young girls for the event?

    First of all, girls who participate in the LEAD Camp are drawn from the JA Company Programme, which is run in JAN partner schools across the country. The girls are asked to write essays and those with outstanding essays, including a recommendation from their teachers, are shortlisted and brought into Lagos to attend the Camp.

  • Project Alafia gets CYFI’s best team award

    A health team, Project Alafia, has emerged Team of the Year as the curtain falls on the Carrington Youth Fellowship Initiative (CYFI).

    It bagged the award for its impact-driven initiatives.

    A leading member of the Education group, Hammed Alabi, went home with the Fellow of the Year Award, at the graduation  hosted by the United States Consulate-General, Lagos to celebrate the fellows’ works in underserved communities.

    Alabi was part of the 19 young Nigerians that formed the 2018 cohort of CYFI, an initiative named after former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington, who championed civil liberties and democracy in Nigeria.

    The CYFI brings together Nigerian youth of exceptional vision, skills and experiences to design and implement projects that have a positive impact on Nigerian society.

    US Consul F. John Bray highlighted the positive impact the initiative has had on local communities since its inception in 2011. He also commended the graduating fellows for their selfless service and commitment to stimulating positive social change.

    “Our fellows made us very proud again this programme year, as they executed group projects on improving civil liberty, promoting economic empowerment, education and health in different communities. Their smart planning, hard work, and passion have led to  positive change and inspired others, as they in turn, developed strong leadership skills in the process.

    “The CYFI programme is near and dear to us at the U.S. Consulate General Lagos. Through it, we are connected to Nigerian youth. CYFI gives us a front-row seat to witness and learn from their dynamism. The future of Nigeria is in the hands of young people such as these and we know that you will lead your country forward,” Bray said.

    In a goodwill message,  Carrington and his wife, Arese, congratulated the 2018 cohort, urging them to remain exemplars of honesty and taht they should care for the less privileged.

  • Filmmakers urged to send right messages

    A Movie producer, Mr Seun Dania, has urged producers and directors to make movies that send the right messages to the audience, especially the youths.

    Dania, who premiered his debut movie Nimbe, said some Nollywood movies send wrong messages to their audience.

    “As a producer or director of any movie, we must aim that the movies we are directing, entail the right messages for the audience, especially the youth in our country.

    “We must have it in mind that many movies have impact on people, especially the youth; so we must learn how to pass the right messages in our movies.

    “We can’t be encouraging the use of drugs or violence in movies, as this passes the wrong message to the youths who would interpret it in a wrong place.

    “Film makers must learn to use their movies as tools to correct the bad vices in our society,” he said.

    Dania, who is the Executive Producer of Nimbe, noted that the movie was created to curb the rise of drug abuse and hooliganism, among youths.

    “The essence of this movie is to equip the youth with functional knowledge and understanding of consequences of drug abuse, rape and gender based violence.

    “The movie would help to trigger an attitudinal change in their lifestyles which would help them in making the best judgment when required,” he said.

    He said the movie had been endorsed by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Dr Lanre Tejuoso and the National Orientation Agency, who posted the movie in their social media accounts.

    Also, people have sponsored so many students to watch the movies in the cinemas across the nation. He urged Nigerians to watch Nimbe in the cinemas and shun piracy.

  • Mohammed: we need to recreate our culture

    The Minister of Information and Cultural, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said there is the need to recreate Nigeria’s culture.

    This, he said, would serve as a viable alternative to oil as the mainstay of our economy, which is invaluable to diversification.

    The Minister added that the relationship between culture and economic development could not be over emphasised as studies have shown that culture is a major pillar of sustainable economic development.

    He stated this in Mararaba, Nasarawa State, at the two-day workshop on repositioning Nigerian cultural workers for improved productivity, organised by the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO).

    His words: “lt is worthy to note that the sector has been identified as one of the key drivers for economic growth in tandem with global trends hence the urgent need to recreate culture to serve as a viable alternative to oil as the mainstay of our economy.

    “The relationship between culture and economic development cannot be over emphasised as studies have shown that culture is a major pillar of sustainable economic development.

    “The economic impact of the contribution of arts and culture to the global economy is so enormous that countries that continue to neglect culture as the driver and enabler of the socio-economlc growth do so at their own detriment.

    “In this regard, it is of critical importance that cultural officers are adequately trained and equipped to come to terms with the professional demands and challenges of a modern economy with culture as the fulcrum of our economic diversification policy.”

    NICO Acting Executive Secretary, Mr Louis Eriomala stated that the vices, such as kidnapping and armed robbery i the country were caused by loss of cultural values.

    He said: “We told the workers that in doing their job, they should also bring cultural values to the front, honesty, respect for elders should be put in doing their jobs.

    “The things that drive any nation are the values, belief system and attitude. If they are wrong, you cannot do anything meaningful.

    ‘’You can see the vices today, the get- rich-quick syndrome. It was not like this in our time. People took time to make their money but today’s generation are in a hurry. There is nothing you tell them that they want to listen to. You can imagine the vices going on – ritual killings, armed robbery, kidnapping. Because there is this upsurge that I want to make it by all means.

    ‘’We have lost our values of dignity of labour, honesty, respect for the rule of law, which is why you find people doing things that were not done in the past. Our problem is the values. If our values are wrong, then everything else will be wrong.”

     

  • Iroko Band for Easter show

    One of Nigeria’s leading highlife bands, Iroko Dance Band, led by Dr. Ola Balogun will thrill residents and visitors to Lagos on Easter Sunday at Ikeja GRA, Lagos.

    The first-class hospitality hub, known for its unmatched ambience, exquisite food and recreational facilities, both indoor and outdoor, will offer excellent ambience for family recreation this Easter season.

    Iroko and its scintillating production will definitely set new standards in modern highlife rendition this Easter season as Balogun aims at making a statement with this comeback performance. He has promised to thrill his audience to a memorable experience.

    The lead artiste believes this collaboration could not have come at a better time than now, describing the partnership with Radisson Blu Hotel, venue of the event, as “the coming together of a top class hotel with elegance and wonderful food and Iroko, a well-known brand that has existed for many years and is appreciated both in Nigeria and outside”.

    The organisers said they were looking forward to a great show.

    Director of Legal and Esther Ukandu, Marketing Communications and Public Relations Manager, Olaitan Salaudeen-Tajudeen, spoke on the coming event and the surprises that await everyone.

    Aside from Iroko and the anticipated turnout of highlife lovers in Lagos, which is a major attraction, the duo also talked about Radisson Blu’s wider Easter offerings, envisioned to aid absolute relaxation, reflection and connection with family and friends.

    According to Salaudeen-Tajudeen, “it is our business to ensure we provide the right feel, activities and space to enjoy this time together with our loved ones. Our Easter brunch buffet is available at a reasonable price and the kids will have access to the bouncing castle, Easter egg hunt, egg colouring and dying, popcorns and all the amazing things to entertain them”.

    She drew attention to the unforgettable moments that await couples at the private executive lounge, the Amani spa experience, which offers a complimentary flotation pool treatment and the amazing room deals for adults and children.

    Food and Drinks Manager Mariam Ogboluprovided new perspective on the superb and rainbow food and drinks available, the low-prices of different kinds of food and drinks obtainable, even from the entrance and the exciting time the facility hopes to offer to guests and visitors this Easter.

     

     

  • NCC, MTN collaborate on regulations

    The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) and MTN Nigeria Communications Limited are collaborating to strengthen copyright regulations to ensure adequate reward for copyright owners and users across the country.

    The commission made this known after a consultative meeting with NCC’s Director-General (DG), Mr John Asein and a delegation of MTN, led by its General Manager, Commercial, Legal Corporate Services Division, Mrs Ifeoma Utah.

    Accompanied by MTN’s Manager, Regulatory Government, Mr Anas Galadima, and Legal Advisor, Mr Chukwukaelo Ajuluchukwu, Utah stated that MTN was interested in exploring a deal aimed at ensuring that the commission achieves its statutory mandates, especially in the implementation of regulations that would protect all stakeholders in the copyright system.

    While congratulating the DG on his appointment, she underscored that the collaboration of MTN with the commission would be on a long-term basis. She stressed the need for periodic Intellectual Property (IP) updates and awareness training for critical sectors, including the Bar and the Bench, assuring the commission of the firms collaboration in achieving results.

    According to a statement, signed by NCC Director, Public Affairs Department, Vincent Oyefeso, the DC underscored the commission’s commitment to promoting the policy of the Federal Government on the ease of doing business, especially to ensure sustainable growth and development of the creative industries.

    He added that the commission would create an environment conducive for all players in the copyright space to grow their business profitably within the ambit of the copyright law and regulations.

    To this end, he hinted that the commission was developing an institutional framework to provide alternative disputes resolution (ADR) services to stakeholders to engender a win-win situation for copyright owners and users.

    Asein informed that the Copyright Amendment Bill was drafted to bring about a more functional copyright regime, adding that the Bill has been sent to the National Assembly while the Commission is engaging with stakeholders to facilitate its passage.

    He stressed that the Commission was committed to midwifing a copyright system that empowers right owners and users, and called for dialogue and more opportunities to create awareness amongst right owners who must remain the primary beneficiaries in the copyright ecosystem.

    The DG noted that MTN as a  major player in the communications, social and creative sectors needed to expand its corporate social responsibility in order to promote and sustain the creative sector.

    He invited MTN to key into the programmes and activities of the commission, including its forthcoming 30th Anniversary.