Ever since Tony Okoroji came to the limelight in the Nigerian music industry, close to four decades ago, he has been a perpetual presence in the entertainment industry. From his humble beginnings as a musician/producer, to his days as PMAN president, and now Chairman of COSON, he has remained in the eye of the storm. In this interview with JANE KOLADE, he speaks of his life, principles, his nationalist fervor, and his latest book “On the Road to Change”.
CONGRATULATIONS on the release of your latest book.
Thank you very much. Thank you for attending the launch of ‘On the Road to Change’ despite the unprecedented fuel crisis that practically brought every activity in Nigeria to a halt. I know so many people who wanted to attend the event but could not make it. They were stranded across the country. There was even a suggestion that we postpone the launch. I do not like postponing things so I said no. How we still managed to have a venue filled to the brim with such quality attendance beats my imagination. I am eternally grateful to the Almighty for the love and support that I have received. You were there and could see that it turned out to be a quality event to remember.
How has the response to your book been?
The response has been overwhelming. Several people who have read “On the Road to Change” have called me to ask how I could have predicted the future so closely. Others have asked how I had the audacity to publish such thoughts in a nation like Nigeria. Let me say that there was no malice whatsoever. I believed that in the babble of voices, we had to find the courage to speak truth to power.
I do not belong to any political party but it was very clear to me that Nigeria was on the verge of a slide to anarchy and we had to speak up and save our nation or there would be nothing left for our children. Let me also say that as a writer, I am simply a tool or a vessel through which thoughts, and ideas are sent forth. Sometimes I have read what I have written and I have wondered where it came from. I hope that every Nigerian who can read can get a copy of ‘On the Road to Change’ and read it. I believe that there are a lot of lessons to be learnt from it.
What circumstances led to the release of your book?
Love of country, pure and simple. I am a Christian, and have Muslim friends in Nigeria who are excellent people. I love them. I am also an Igbo man and have enjoyed kindness from Yorubas, Hausas, Edos, Nupes, Efiks, Ibibios, Ijaws, Ebiras, Kanuris, Idomas, Urobos, Itsekiris, Igalas and persons from every corner of Nigeria. I consider every Nigerian my brother or sister. I love my countrymen, wherever they come from. I was concerned about the whole-scale deployment of tribal and religious arguments to divide Nigerians with the huge risk that it portends. People like us had to speak up and speak up loud.
People know you as a revolutionary manager of men, situations, and organizations in the Nigerian entertainment sector, why the foray into socio-political commentary?
We are all stakeholders in the growth of our nation whether we are politicians, civil servants, journalists, carpenters, or musicians. Every industry and group ultimately suffers from bad government, and pays a price as a result. As a manager of men, it was clear to me that Nigeria was being very badly managed, and sometimes completely unmanaged.
There was little motivation for Nigerians to seek to be the best they can be. The value system that propels or inspires a nation or even an institution to greatness had crumbled. We had become a patch-patch nation struggling every day to deal with all kinds of man-made crisis. I could not see a strategic vision that could make us a respected nation. I had a duty to speak up, and today I am happy that I spoke.
The vibrant conversation we had on social media helped. It gave belief to people who may have doubted that change is indeed possible. There were people who took a bet with me that Nigerians can replace an incumbent government through the democratic process. They told me that I was dreaming. I won and they lost. Now we have change and can begin again.
What drives you?
Again, love of country and the determination to be the best in whatever I do. I do not accept that there is anything that a man can conceive that he cannot achieve. I also do not accept that as a people, we are inferior to any group of people in the world. I do not tolerate mediocrity. Every task or assignment I have had to handle, I give 24 hour attention. I enjoy work.
Those around me may even tell you that I am a workaholic. I challenge everyone around me to find it in them to do a better job than they are doing and usually they do. It is in the same way that I challenge myself. I am not driven by personal wealth. I have no interest in owning many houses across the world. Much of the work I have done in my career I have done for the good of the society, and for free. I earn a living from 20% of the work that I do. I have said elsewhere that I drive on a full tank of faith. I have very strong faith that if what I am doing is right, failure is impossible.
You have been known through the years as a singer, producer, PMAN President and now COSON chair. How have you managed to evolve through the years?
I have also been a member of the committee that drafted the Nigerian Copyright Act. I have served on the Board of the Nigerian Copyright Commission. I am also author of the text book, ‘Copyright & the New Millionaires’, a pre-eminent material for teaching the complex subject of copyright, a book that is being used by judges and lawyers to resolve copyright disputes. In a few days, I will be off to Norway to lecture a large group of managers of copyright drawn from different countries across the world.
I have done this consistently in the last four years. I am a great believer that intellect, and knowledge drive the world. I am a voracious reader, and would not enter a meeting, discussion, or negotiation without first thoroughly studying and researching the subject. I want to always be very well prepared. Whether as PMAN President or Chairman of COSON, I never went into any negotiation where my team was not the most prepared. Both as a producer of music, and a producer of complex events, I have learnt that preparation is everything. I do not work on conjecture
As the sole collector of copyright royalties in Nigeria, how has COSON coped?
I was told five years ago that collective management of copyright would never work in Nigeria. I was repeatedly told that broadcasting stations, hotels, and night clubs will continue to play music for free at the detriment of the creators and investors in the Nigerian music industry despite what the law says. Indeed I was told that the law does not work in Nigeria.
Since then, COSON has signed an agreement with the entire Nigerian Broadcasting industry for the payment of copyright royalties. COSON has also signed a similar agreement with the hotel industry across the nation. Indeed, COSON has collected and distributed several hundreds of millions of Naira to right owners across Nigeria. It is not yet El Dorado, and there is still a lot of work to be done but please do not believe anyone who tells you that things cannot work in Nigeria.
How does COSON handle the volume of work?
COSON has a licensing department which works with a network of consultants spread across the country. Their job is very tough because it involves the change of a culture or mindset. It is their responsibility to explain to everyone that music is property belonging to someone and if music is to be used in a public or commercial situation, a license must be obtained and payment must be made.
Such users include broadcasting stations, hotels, restaurants, night clubs, advertising agencies, telcos and digital service providers, event venues, stadiums, shopping malls, airports, aircraft, trains, buses, taxis, barbing and hair dressing salons, commercial motorcyclists (Keke marwa), etc. It is their duty to ensure that those who have no respect for the rights of artistes and investors in the music industry, or refuse to listen, and do not get appropriate license for the music they use, face significant consequences under the law.
There are people who claim that COSON hijacked a job being done by another organization, how true is this?
Such people do not know that the decision to set up a single collecting society called COSON was a decision of the entire Nigerian music industry. After several years of non-stop abuse of the rights of musicians in Nigeria, we had to do it differently to break the logjam. Is there any right thinking person who cannot see the huge difference that COSON has made?
Prior to the emergence of COSON, no one in Nigeria cared about the performing rights of any Nigerian artiste. Our music was used freely by everyone. Nigerians can bear witness that due to the painstaking work which COSON continues to do, the attitude has changed tremendously and most people in Nigeria now know that intellectual property has great value. There has not been any financial year since COSON is approval that COSON has failed to have its accounts professionally audited, and all necessary details sent to our members, filed with the Nigerian Copyright Commission, the Corporate Affairs Commission, and the International Confederation of Authors’ Societies (CISAC) ;of which COSON is a member. COSON has never filed any of these details out of time. Across Africa, COSON is regarded as one of the most professional collective management organizations, and a pride to Nigeria.’
It is important to make it clear that COSON is not a profit making organization, and has never received a penny from the Nigerian government. No member of COSON pays a penny to join the society. There are no dues or subscription fees of any type. With the checks and balances we have put in place, I can say with certainty that no COSON member can lose one penny due to him from the society. We are thorough. There is this assumption that every Nigerian organization is corrupt and ineffective. COSON is very different. At COSON, we maintain the highest international standards, and there is zero tolerance for any kind of shady dealing.
How is COSON’s job different from that of the preceding organization?
Due to COSON’s success, nearly every musician of note in Nigeria today is a member of COSON. We keep to every rule in the book. We also have reciprocal representation agreements covering over 130 collective management organizations across the world, through which we represent their music in Nigeria, and they represent Nigerian music in their territories. We know how long it has taken us to get here, and we manage COSON with absolute transparency, and accountability. Repeatedly, we call meetings of our members to discuss every issue at COSON. We have no secrets, and discuss everything. That is why there is stability in COSON and we are growing at a very significant rate.
Can you reconcile Tony Okoroji the creative entertainer and Tony Okoroji the nationalist?
If I am a nationalist, I have not done something that other artistes before me have not done. Fela was a nationalist. Sonny Okosun was a nationalist. What may be different is that I do not only write songs, I write prose and maintain a newspaper column, and there are many people who follow what I write.
What next? (What can we expect from you?)
As long as I have the ability, I wish to continue to work for a better Nigeria. I hope to engage the new government on how we can deploy the enormous creative talents of our young people to create a 24 hour economy across our nation so that while some people are going home from work, others are going to work. Nigeria has the potential to be a major music hub, a movie making hub, a hub for the making of content, and TV programmes, a tourism hub, a gaming hub, a sporting hub, a computer programme creation hub etc. It is doable, and that would substantially reduce our unemployment rate, and boost our economy.
Thank you so much for your time.
Thank you for the opportunity.
