Akins, a member of the Copyright Society of Nigeria(COSON) was reacting to the remarks of Tee Mac published on www.starconnectmedia.com in which the musician called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) to probe COSON.
According to Akins,“Tee Mac is behind time; and I say this with due respect and without any prejudice. His allegations against COSON are all familiar and he is still bitter over COSON’s approval by the Federal Government of Nigeria ( an approval which was by law not lobbying or through arm-twisting)”, he said.
“He is also wrong in his argument that COSON does not have international affiliates; COSON has been and is daily expanding its working relationships with several international collecting societies and there is significant progress being made and better confidence being built among users in the Nigerian collective atmosphere”, he said.
Akins noted that instead of advocating for probe of COSON, he would prefer a situation where COSON finances will be subjected to scrutiny by way of external auditing.
“What I will advocate as a member of COSON is that the COSON finances should be subjected to constant scrutiny possibly by external auditing so that financial discipline can be ensured. COSON owes members the responsibility of transparency and accountability and must shun frivolous or bogus spending that may run counter to its members’ expectations/interests”, he said, stressing that Tee Mac has no moral justification to call for probe of COSON.
“But I dare say a Tee Mac has no moral justification to advance these arguments after turning PMAN to a private property where the affairs are run from private offices and homes, destroying the credibility that some focused, dynamic, passionate and hardworking musicians among us worked so hard to build for the union in the early years.
“PMAN now has many factions and no serious musician gets involved any longer for fear of being entangled in all the controversies. I wonder which faction of PMAN Tee Mac now runs as President of its caretaker committee. COSON is forging ahead, getting things right taking one step at a time. The work is enormous and cannot be rushed, but it’s coming along though we must thread carefully not to get carried away with the progress that is being made, and above all; be disciplined. “Let the music pay” joooo”, he said.
Emmanuel Ukudolo
