Emmanuel Thomas l Wednesday, May 03, 2017
LAGOS, Nigeria – Music Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria, MUPMAN has called for the diligent prosecution of the 7 criminal cases slammed on Mayo Ayilaran and Musical Copyright Society Nigeria (MCSN) at the Federal High Court, Lagos.
In a statement, National President MUPMAN, Engr Sharon Wilson Essco Joshua warned that if the stunning and nefarious attempt to stop the trial of Ayilaran and MCSN succeeds, the music industry in Nigeria will have no choice but to conclude that the Buhari government’s war on corruption was after all, a joke.
MUPMAN further warns that with the conspiracy to have Mayo Ayilaran and MCSN escape justice through the back door, there will be no justifiable reason to prosecute any other pirate in Nigeria and the entire Nigerian copyright system would have been buried.
“MUPMAN is alarmed that it would even be contemplated that an organization and its Chief Executive Officer, both facing seven different criminal cases instituted by the Federal Government of Nigeria will be given approval by the same government to collect and distribute royalties in Nigeria. This development is not only mind boggling, it is an affront on common sense and exposes Nigeria to becoming the laughing stock of the world”, the association said.
According to him, members of MUPMAN are the owners of a substantial amount of Nigeria’s musical content marketed across the country and we wonder on whose behalf Ayilaran and MCSN is expected to collect royalties.
“Whose content will MCSN be licensing? Let it not be forgotten that all ten of the biggest national associations in the Nigerian music industry came together and resolved that we want ONLY ONE collective management organization for musical works and sound recordings in Nigeria. With the approval of COSON, it is not arguable that there has been substantial progress in copyright royalty collection and distribution in the country.
“The approval of COSON which has been very professionally run has brought peace and progress to our industry. For the avoidance of doubt, MUPMAN is happy, indeed very happy with COSON.
“We know that the likes of Onyeka Onwenu and Tee Mac Iseli want to destroy COSON because they have their personal axe to grind and do not care about the devastating effect their actions will have on the thousands of Nigerian musicians who receive income from COSON. Luckily, neither Onyeka Onwenu nor Tee Mac Iseli has any mandate to speak for the Nigerian music industry.
“Onyeka Onwenu was one of the loudest supporters and campaigners for COSON until she lost elections to the COSON Board in a free, fair and transparent process and suddenly, she turned against the organization she once fiercely promoted. It is also well known that she is a judgement debtor to Chief Tony Okoroji, the indefatigable Chairman of COSON.
“Tee Mac Iseli has been in a perennial fight to be President of PMAN and has unsuccessfully sought the support of Chief Okoroji. In any case, Tee Mac has no content of any type that will be licensed by a CMO. The fact that these individuals will back the approval of an organization with seven criminal cases against it run by a person with seven criminal cases against him is revealing”, the group said.
It called on the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to quickly call the bluff of Mayo Ayilaran and his gang of perennial trouble makers in the Nigerian music industry.
” In 2005, President Obasanjo called the bluff of this gang by ordering that their purported approval be withdrawn and torn to shreds.
“To restore sanity and growth in the music industry, the very fraudulent purported approval of MCSN needs to be withdrawn without delay. Ayilaran and MCSN should go and face their day in court like other Nigerians”, the group said.
