Nigeria Content Online

The late poet and
dramatist, Esiaba Irobi, is among 11 writers that have made the initial
shortlist of the 2010 NLNG Prize for Literature.

Irobi, author of
poetry collections including ‘The Colour of Rusting Gold’, ‘Hangmen
Also Die’, ‘Inflorescence: Selected Poems, 1977- 1988′; ‘Nwokedi: A
Play’, and ‘Why I Don’t Like Philip Larkin’ made the list with his
‘Cemetery Road’.

The play had
previously won the World Drama Trust Award for Playwriting in 1992.
Irobi will be following the footsteps of late poet, Ezenwa Ohaeto, who
shared the prize in 2005 with Gabriel Okara if he eventually wins.
Irobi died on Monday, May 3, 2010 in Berlin, Germany.

Also on the list,
which contains eminent Nigerian dramatists, is Ahmed Yerima, former
Director General of the National Theatre/National Troupe of Nigeria,
and a past winner of the Prize. He won the 2006 edition of the Prize,
which is also for drama like this year’s with ‘Hard Ground’.

Renowned
playwright, Akinwumi Isola, is also on the list released by the judges
after five months of assessment of entries. His ‘Belly Bellows’ is
nominated. Other works on the list are ‘The Killing Swamp’ by former
Managing Director of Daily Times of Nigeria, Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo;
‘Perfect Mothers’ by Uduak Akpabio; ‘Leopard Woman’ by Philip Begho,
who is also a past nominee; and ‘Ata Igala The Great’ by Emmy Unuja
Idegu.

The others are
Zaynabu Jallo’s ‘Onions Make us Cry’; Ziky Kofoworola’s ‘Queen
Ghasengeh’; Irene Salami-Agunloye’s ‘Idia, The Warrior Queen of Benin’
and Uwem Udoko’s ‘Broken Pots’.

Members of the
Literature Prize Committee, led by its chair, Theo Vincent, will hold a
press conference on August 11 at Oceanview Restaurant, Victoria Island,
Lagos, at 10am to apprise the public on developments with the Prize.
Other members of the committee are Ayo Banjo, Charles Nnolim, Phebean
Ogundipe, Munzali Jibril, Dan Izevbaye, Zaynab Alkali, Rasheed
Abubakar, Ben Tomoloju, Abubakar Gimba and Joop Berkhout.

Judges who screened
the about 92 entries received for this year’s prize, which is for
drama, were theatre scholars, Dapo Adelugba, Kalu Uka, John Illah,
Tanimu Abubakar and Mary Kolawole. The Prize rotates annually amongst
prose fiction, poetry, drama and children’s literature.

The winner of the Prize will be announced on October 9, 2010 at the
Grand Award Night holding in Lagos. Managing Director of the NLNG,
Chima Ibeneche, will deliver the keynote address at the occasion while
veteran Nollywood actor, Sam Loco Efe, will be the special guest of
honour.

When Nse Ikpe-Etim
played Omoze, fiery wife to a philandering husband (the usual suspect,
Ramsey Tokunbo Noah) in the 2008 Emem Isong hit, ‘Reloaded’, little did
she know that the character would fetch her instant fame. She
immediately struck a chord with viewers, especially the female folk,
who responded with empathy.

Not only is
‘Reloaded’ her most talked about movie to date, it earned her a
nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the African Movie
Academy Awards (AMAA) a year later (Funke Akindele won the award, for
‘Jenifa’). After a 13-year hiatus from the scene, the leggy actress
bounced back with a sterling performance which, in her own words,
surpassed her expectations. “I had an opportunity to see the script
before anyone else, so I knew about the story line,” she says of
‘Reloaded’. “It was not the role I wanted, but when I was given [it], I
only prayed that the director (Isong) will not have my head because I
knew I was really rusty. I had not done anything in a while, but I
guess I delivered. Then I did ‘Guilty Pleasures’.”

The ambience of the
Swe Bar & Lounge on Lagos Island, where this impromptu interview
holds, is serene, with only pockets of people in some corners, yet the
Akwa-Ibom born actress does not go around unnoticed. As soon as she
steps in a few fans recognise her and then a male fan walks up to her,
hugs her, and says, “Oh, you are so beautiful!” Embarrassed, she
mutters “thank you.” At first glance, she does not come across as an
‘in your face’ actress, yet a conversation with her is a roller-coaster
ride, as her assertive nature and storytelling prowess kick in.

Daddy’s girl

As the first child
in a close-knit family of 6 children, the actress was at an early age
entrusted with the responsibility of looking after her younger ones. “I
learnt to read at an early age because my daddy would not let me read
what girls my age were reading, so I grew up really early. I started
reading Sidney Sheldon when I was about 11 or so. I had one doll; I
also had a dog and a canary. I grew up reading books much more than I
watched TV.”

As a child, she
knew she would end up in the arts but her banker-father, like many
Nigerian parents, would not hear anything of that because he wanted her
in the sciences. Ikpe-Etim was a step closer to reading her dream
course – Theatre Arts – after her father’s death, but she still had one
more hurdle to cross: her mum, a teacher.

“My mum filled my
Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) form for Law but I tore
it up, went to my dad’s friend, and begged him for money (told him I
didn’t have money to buy JAMB form). I bought the JAMB form, and then I
filled in Theatre Arts (laughs). Mum found out a year later; I was
already studying Theatre Arts at the University of Calabar (UNICAL).
There was nothing she could do, but she has been supportive.”

Nse enters Nollywood

As one of the few
actresses who starred in the early Nollywood flicks, Ikpe-Etim’s foray
into movies began in 1995 upon graduation from the university, when she
appeared in ‘Venom of Justice’ as an extra. She was then cast in ‘The
Scars of Womanhood’ – as an extra, but as a friend to the lead actress,
Kate Henshaw. Ikpe-Etim later featured in other movies, including
‘Rampage’ and ‘Inheritance’, before she left the scene in search of
bigger challenges.

The search

As a self-confessed
perfectionist, the actress has spent her life searching for greener
pastures in various disciplines. She tried her hands out at banking but
left because, “It was a bit too much and stifling for me, and I
couldn’t handle it. I was in banking for three and half years; in two
banks.” A love for fashion then led her into the fashion industry “as a
back end.” “I sewed lots of things, clothed men for a while, and worked
for an establishment as their brand and marketing director, and then I
left.” With a childhood love for cooking, Ikpe-Etim turned her culinary
expertise into an income generating business, launching a catering
outfit in Abuja.

Now back in the
Nollywood fold, she’s convinced this is where she belongs. “I came back
to the industry two years ago because I think I had tried everything
and found out that my heart and soul lay here in Nollywood. After
‘Reloaded,’ I discovered that I should come back to Nollywood. I was
literally forced to do the role by Emem Isong, so I did it. She was
like ‘you want me to call someone else from Lagos when you are here in
Abuja? (the movie was shot in the Federal Capital Territory). It’s up
your street…’ So I did it.”

Steamy roles

During her active
years, Eucharia Anunobi was dubbed Nigeria’s Sharon Stone on account of
her steamy roles. These days, she seems to have found a match in Nse
Ikpe-Etim who fills such roles convincingly. Laughing, she recalls her
infamous swimming pool and parlour romance scenes with Ghanaian actor,
Majid Michael, in ‘Guilty Pleasures.’

“I believe that as
an actor one must realise that you need to get into characterization
properly. I decided that I have to steal from different styles of
acting, so I stole a bit of Stanislavski and so I just go into it with
situations and emotions within me, and bring them out and I used them
for my scenes. It only gets difficult to interprete if you put them
into your mind and say: “my society”. So, as an actor, I have to give
my best.”

Thoroughbred

Nse seems to be
living out her childhood love for acting these days, with a high regard
for Italian movie legend, Sophia Loren (the first actress to win an
Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance). She would stop
at nothing to reach the zenith of her career. For budding actresses who
wish to play her in real life, she has some tips: “You would have to
live with me because I am not the girl next door. Sometimes, I am
called a ladette.”

Not every script
tickles her fancy, and she says she wouldn’t jeopardise her good name
and professionalism for anything in the world. “I don’t feature in just
any movie. I look at the construction of the script, I liaise with the
director on how he wants the story to be interpreted, and then if I am
in tune with the story, I give it a shot.”

The stage will
always be the first love for Nse Ikpe-Etim, born under the horoscope
sign of Libra. “There is no feeling like the stage because you feel
like a demigod, and you so can’t afford to make a mistake. If you do
make a mistake, better make it look as though you are acting. In a
film, you can just swing it because the director can say: cut.”

Lesson learnt

The actress says
she has learnt from the school of life which, according to her, is the
best place to gain knowledge. As this interview comes to a close she
shares with me the greatest thing she has learnt as an actress. “I have
learnt to accept my mistakes, accept me for me, live with my mistakes,
and just move on with the times.”

Our daughter
Ominira is at it again. She conned her mom into buying what my wife
thought was a cloth napkin. She is now wearing it proudly and
threatening to go out to dinner dressed like that. Mom asks her with
disbelief: “Is that a dress?” And Ominira looks at her mom with
disbelief [eyes roll!]: “Mom! It is a dress! You bought it for me!” Mom
wails: “It is too short! I thought I was paying for a napkin! You are
not going out looking like that” And Ominira wails: “Mom! I am going
out looking like that! See, (stubborn, unreasonable daughter lifts up
alleged dress) I am wearing shorts underneath!” Ominira gives me a
desperate look with gorgeous eyes I cannot say no to: “Daddy! Say
something! I can’t believe this!” This is the part that I don’t like,
where one of the combatants, usually the guilty one, invites me to
referee. I don’t like confrontations. Especially since my word doesn’t
really count. In our household, mommy is always right.

I look up with
trepidation while at the same time avoiding my wife’s furious gaze. The
dress looks fine to me. It doesn’t look too short, sure you can see her
legs, thighs, shoulders, arms and neck, but everything else is almost
covered. I actually like the dress. The colours complement her skin
very nicely. And her flip flops add a classy touch to the dress. Our
princess is pretty tonight. I don’t see the big deal here. We have a
problem, though: If I take our daughter’s side, I will be in the
doghouse by myself for a very long time. I don’t like sleeping by
myself. I really miss my wife when she is not talking to me. But then
if I take my wife’s side, I am dead to our daughter. She will say all
sorts of hurtful things that American teenagers say to their dads when
they don’t get their way. And then there will be a long period of
silence from this strong-willed princess. I really miss my daughter
when she is not talking to me. What to do, dear reader?

Olodumare! A light
bulb flashes in my head. I will say nothing. Brilliant. I have a good
reason to be quiet and stay out of this matter. I am home sick today. I
will go to the bedroom and face my own issues. I cough miserably and
quietly excuse myself from the living room. I hurriedly pack up what is
left of my dignity and flee the war zone. Unfortunately this brilliant
approach to conflict resolution satisfies none of the combatants. Each
side is furious at me for not taking a position, most preferably
theirs. My fleeing behind becomes the target of unnecessary roughness
with both sides temporarily united to thinking hurtful things about me
and expressing deep suspicion that I may not be sick after all (gulp!)
plus what kind of husband, or father avoids conflict, blah, blah, blah?
Well, I am thinking, as I race to the bedroom; that was nice, I have
reunited mother and daughter again. As I get to the bedroom door, I
hear my daughter, fearless one, she who never withdraws her head from
the jaws of a ravenous lioness: “Mummy, Emily and I are going to
dinner! Do you have cash? I have no money!” Then, I hear my
long-suffering wife, “Olorun ma je! This child will not kill me! How
many times have I told you never to go out if you are broke? Hear me,
we are not Americans, you cannot be eating out every day as if you are
a rich American!” Then, “Mommy, do you have cash…?” I gently shut the
bedroom door.

Life as a father is dangerous, especially with a child like Ominira.
She is always getting me in trouble. I do not remember all this wahala
when I was young. I come from a very rich family in Nigeria which meant
that outside of school uniforms, we got new dresses for Christmas.
These dresses were usually bought out of my mother’s “pocket money”
which meant that our sartorial needs were in unfair competition with
our mother’s: aso ebi, shoes, handbags and her monthly “isusu”
contribution plus a bottle of Guinness Stout (our mother maintains to
this day that Stout replenishes her blood cells). To make the dresses
last all year plus more, my mother would decree that Obioma De Tailor
(“Trained in French!”) should make the lengths as long as the muddy
floods of Benin City’s roads would allow. I wore one pair of trousers
from the age of ten until I was twenty-one. I still have my platform
shoes. I exaggerate not; look at my old pictures on Facebook. These
children do not know how lucky they are. Oh, by the way, Ominira went
out to dinner that evening, dressed in the offending napkin. Her mother
gave her money for dinner also. Moral of the story: never get between a
mother and her daughter. There will be only one black eye. Yours.

A programme on
Swiss national television, ‘Rundschau’ (Back to the Roots), features
five celebrities who have roots in other countries; and shows them
going back home to reunite with their families and learn more about
their origins.

According to its
presenter, Sonja Hasler, ‘Rundschau’ is a socio-political documentary
that was conceived to educate the immigrant-wary Swiss about so-called
‘foreigners’ in their land. “Some Swiss feel that most migrants in our
country are there just to profit from the system,” says Hasler, “so by
taking these celebrities back to their home country and documenting
their interactions with the people, we hope to show that these migrants
do add value to our country.”

Coming back

One of the latest
celebrities to be featured on the programme is Swiss pop star, Nubya,
whose roots are in Nigeria. Tailed by a film crew which included the
presenter, a cameraman, and her sister Katherine, Nubya visited Nigeria
as part of the documentary. Though very popular in Switzerland and
Germany, almost nothing is known about Nubya here in Nigeria.
Interestingly, she is sister to Uche Eze, creator of the entertainment
blog, Bella Naija.

I found out about
Nubya and her potential visit to Nigeria via the cameraman, Mitja, who
happens to be a friend, and caught up with her at Tribeca Club,
Victoria Island, where she was scheduled to give her first ever public
performance in Nigeria, which would be filmed by the Swiss film crew as
part of the documentary.

Nubya’s real name
is Nnenna Eze, a name she seldom uses in Switzerland, as it posed
something of a security risk there. “I don’t use the name at all in
Switzerland. I am just known as Nubya,” she says. But now, she sees the
‘Nnenna Eze’ as one way of getting closer to “her family”- here in
Nigeria.

The singer’s family
moved to Nigeria almost immediately after her birth in Switzerland. She
moved back to the European country, which she calls ‘home’, with her
mother at the age of two. Her father, who has long remarried, hails
from Enugu State.

“I have visited
Nigeria often since [the age of two], mostly to visit my father’s
family,” she says. This is her tenth visit to Nigeria; her first as a
performer.

Music and me

Nubya’s interest in
music was first piqued, when as a teenager, a friend gave her a Whitney
Houston record. “It was beautiful,” she says of the listening
experience, “and led me to take [singing] lessons.”

She did not
immediately think of being a singer in any professional sense. “I just
did [the lessons] for myself.” Her training in music had really started
much earlier when, at the age of seven, she started to take piano
lessons. “It is sort of the custom in Switzerland for a child to learn
how to play a musical instrument,” she explains, “so when my mom asked
which one I wanted to learn, I chose the piano.”

After high school,
she moved to New York where she studied jazz music for one year at the
New School. These days, she is known as a pop singer but Nubya still
declares an undying love for jazz and the great names of the genre,
like Ella Fitzgerald. She also swears by Soul and Blues singers like
Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder.

After her year in
New York, she returned to Switzerland to study Economics for three and
half years at the University of Basel before dropping out to focus on
music. “I was singing while schooling and as I slipped more and more
into music, I decided to quit school to concentrate on it. I intend to
go back some day,” she says with a laugh.

Nubya started her
musical career as a back-up singer and member of the concert choir for
Swiss musician, Bo Katzman. In 1997, she performed at one of Celine
Dion’s concerts in Switzerland as part of the choir. Her big break came
in 1999 when she opened for Whitney Houston before 12,000 people at a
concert at the Hallen Stadium in Zurich. She recorded her first album,
‘From the Bottom of my Heart’, that same year; and then took a hiatus
to a makeover/variety show, ‘Cinderella’, which aired on TV3, a private
Swiss television station.

Although the show
featured live performances by singers, Nubya in her role as host, never
got to perform. This was a bit trying for her and she soon left the
show to go back to her music. She released her second English language
album, ‘My Wish’ in 2002, followed by a third album sung entirely in
German, ‘Auf Meine Weise’ (In My Way) in 2005. Her fourth album, ‘Love
Rocks’, followed in 2007. ‘Love Rocks’ was basically an album of covers
of songs originally performed by various artists, including Prince,
Beatles, Ray Charles, Kiss, and AC/DC – “But we added our own style to
the songs,” says Nubya.

Her next album is
scheduled for release in February 2011, and with this one, she hopes to
finally penetrate into the Nigerian market. She declares her love for
contemporary Nigerian music and musicians, especially the duo, P-Square.

“It feels great
being home and I would really love to come back, stay longer, and do
stuff with Nigerians. I would love to collaborate with P-Square,
D’Banj, and Asa,” she enthuses.

Her representatives
are current talking with “some people” here, to ensure her upcoming
album would be marketed and promoted in Nigeria on release.

Warm welcome

On the image of
Nigeria and Nigerians in Switzerland, Nubya says it is not entirely
good. “There are very few, mostly drug dealers, who portrait a very
poor image of themselves and hence give a bad name to the majority who
are really working hard at decent jobs.”

She talks about
being ‘black and Swiss’ before she became famous, and says it was not
easy. “I used to get the odd looks when I go into shops, people
thinking you are just there to steal something. Now that I am a
celebrity, it is much better, of course. Still…”

As she made ready to get on stage, one wondered the kind of
reception the Swiss pop star would receive from her ‘home-based’
audience. Still, knowing Nigerians and their love for all things “our
own”, I was sure that the reception of the Nubya and her forthcoming
album would be much warmer and far less cautionary than the ones that
inspired the documentary that brought her back to her roots.

A programme on
Swiss national television, ‘Rundschau’ (Back to the Roots), features
five celebrities who have roots in other countries; and shows them
going back home to reunite with their families and learn more about
their origins.

According to its
presenter, Sonja Hasler, ‘Rundschau’ is a socio-political documentary
that was conceived to educate the immigrant-wary Swiss about so-called
‘foreigners’ in their land. “Some Swiss feel that most migrants in our
country are there just to profit from the system,” says Hasler, “so by
taking these celebrities back to their home country and documenting
their interactions with the people, we hope to show that these migrants
do add value to our country.”

Coming back

One of the latest
celebrities to be featured on the programme is Swiss pop star, Nubya,
whose roots are in Nigeria. Tailed by a film crew which included the
presenter, a cameraman, and her sister Katherine, Nubya visited Nigeria
as part of the documentary. Though very popular in Switzerland and
Germany, almost nothing is known about Nubya here in Nigeria.
Interestingly, she is sister to Uche Eze, creator of the entertainment
blog, Bella Naija.

I found out about
Nubya and her potential visit to Nigeria via the cameraman, Mitja, who
happens to be a friend, and caught up with her at Tribeca Club,
Victoria Island, where she was scheduled to give her first ever public
performance in Nigeria, which would be filmed by the Swiss film crew as
part of the documentary.

Nubya’s real name
is Nnenna Eze, a name she seldom uses in Switzerland, as it posed
something of a security risk there. “I don’t use the name at all in
Switzerland. I am just known as Nubya,” she says. But now, she sees the
‘Nnenna Eze’ as one way of getting closer to “her family”- here in
Nigeria.

The singer’s family
moved to Nigeria almost immediately after her birth in Switzerland. She
moved back to the European country, which she calls ‘home’, with her
mother at the age of two. Her father, who has long remarried, hails
from Enugu State.

“I have visited
Nigeria often since [the age of two], mostly to visit my father’s
family,” she says. This is her tenth visit to Nigeria; her first as a
performer.

Music and me

Nubya’s interest in
music was first piqued, when as a teenager, a friend gave her a Whitney
Houston record. “It was beautiful,” she says of the listening
experience, “and led me to take [singing] lessons.”

She did not
immediately think of being a singer in any professional sense. “I just
did [the lessons] for myself.” Her training in music had really started
much earlier when, at the age of seven, she started to take piano
lessons. “It is sort of the custom in Switzerland for a child to learn
how to play a musical instrument,” she explains, “so when my mom asked
which one I wanted to learn, I chose the piano.”

After high school,
she moved to New York where she studied jazz music for one year at the
New School. These days, she is known as a pop singer but Nubya still
declares an undying love for jazz and the great names of the genre,
like Ella Fitzgerald. She also swears by Soul and Blues singers like
Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder.

After her year in
New York, she returned to Switzerland to study Economics for three and
half years at the University of Basel before dropping out to focus on
music. “I was singing while schooling and as I slipped more and more
into music, I decided to quit school to concentrate on it. I intend to
go back some day,” she says with a laugh.

Nubya started her
musical career as a back-up singer and member of the concert choir for
Swiss musician, Bo Katzman. In 1997, she performed at one of Celine
Dion’s concerts in Switzerland as part of the choir. Her big break came
in 1999 when she opened for Whitney Houston before 12,000 people at a
concert at the Hallen Stadium in Zurich. She recorded her first album,
‘From the Bottom of my Heart’, that same year; and then took a hiatus
to a makeover/variety show, ‘Cinderella’, which aired on TV3, a private
Swiss television station.

Although the show
featured live performances by singers, Nubya in her role as host, never
got to perform. This was a bit trying for her and she soon left the
show to go back to her music. She released her second English language
album, ‘My Wish’ in 2002, followed by a third album sung entirely in
German, ‘Auf Meine Weise’ (In My Way) in 2005. Her fourth album, ‘Love
Rocks’, followed in 2007. ‘Love Rocks’ was basically an album of covers
of songs originally performed by various artists, including Prince,
Beatles, Ray Charles, Kiss, and AC/DC – “But we added our own style to
the songs,” says Nubya.

Her next album is
scheduled for release in February 2011, and with this one, she hopes to
finally penetrate into the Nigerian market. She declares her love for
contemporary Nigerian music and musicians, especially the duo, P-Square.

“It feels great
being home and I would really love to come back, stay longer, and do
stuff with Nigerians. I would love to collaborate with P-Square,
D’Banj, and Asa,” she enthuses.

Her representatives
are current talking with “some people” here, to ensure her upcoming
album would be marketed and promoted in Nigeria on release.

Warm welcome

On the image of
Nigeria and Nigerians in Switzerland, Nubya says it is not entirely
good. “There are very few, mostly drug dealers, who portrait a very
poor image of themselves and hence give a bad name to the majority who
are really working hard at decent jobs.”

She talks about
being ‘black and Swiss’ before she became famous, and says it was not
easy. “I used to get the odd looks when I go into shops, people
thinking you are just there to steal something. Now that I am a
celebrity, it is much better, of course. Still…”

As she made ready to get on stage, one wondered the kind of
reception the Swiss pop star would receive from her ‘home-based’
audience. Still, knowing Nigerians and their love for all things “our
own”, I was sure that the reception of the Nubya and her forthcoming
album would be much warmer and far less cautionary than the ones that
inspired the documentary that brought her back to her roots.

After soaking up an ample dose of Tony Allen’s “Lagos No
Shaking” album the night before, and particularly entangled in its rhythmic and
scatty vocals provided by Yinka Davies on the call and response track, “Don’t
Morose Your Face”, I was overly eager to meet the renowned co-inventor of the
Afrobeat sound and possibly one of the greatest drummers in the world.

As I knock at his hotel room door somewhere in the back streets
of Opebi, I am greeted by a lean looking Allen, dressed in a snug jersey
revealing toned arms. Also wearing a pair of blue jeans, a neck chain and
single earring, it’s difficult to miss his two-toned grey and black hair as he
bears a semblance to a yuppie granddad. He welcomes me to join him in some gin.

Tony Allen has been composing music for almost 50 years. It
seemed his career had really started peaking at the turn of the 2000s with his
new hybrid sound, fusing Afro-beat with Dub, electronica and funk. I was keen
to know how he felt about being described by former Roxy Music keyboard player
Brian Eno as the greatest drummer in the world.

“It feels great and cool. It means after all these years, there
was somebody who was there monitoring what you had been doing from day one till
now. I never thought somebody would come up with such an accolade. This means
that those kinds of people were even listening to your music in the first
place. The funny thing is that this is a guy that doesn’t like drummers at all.
He hadn’t seen anybody play the drums the way he would like.” Allen has become
one of Europe’s most in-demand collaborators, working with musicians across
genres, from world music supremos Susheela Rahman, and Zap Mama, to the
experimental artists like Charlotte Gainsbourg and Air.

On Damon Albarn

It was his collaboration with Damon Albarn (lead singer of the
indie-rock band Blur and creator of the 3-D band Gorrilaz) to create the band
“The Good, The Bad, and The Queen” that would earn Allen his place amongst the
drumming immortals.

“Damon happens to be my friend, you know, starting from when he
sang about me on his song “Music Is My Radar”, then I invited him to come and
sing a song on my own album “Home Cooking” and he did. Then we said sometime,
we should do something together, and we did.

“I brought him to Lagos for the first time to audition some
musicians, then we went back to London. We came back with all the equipment for
a studio, and we were at the Aphrodisiac set up for two weeks. We recorded with
a bunch of Nigerian musicians.” I asked what Damon’s impression of Nigeria was.
“First of all, his father told me, ‘take Damon to Lagos’ – because he was going
to places like Mali and Senegal. So I told him, ‘why not put your feet in the
place that you colonised?’ So he enjoyed it and he knows what he left behind.”

On return to London, the music they recorded became too grand
for them both, as they were ill-prepared for the task of shuffling all the
Nigerian musicians on the record for promotional tours around Europe.
Consequently, the music was relegated to a vault. Happily, Damon and Tony
started composing music again; and the “The Good, The Bad, and The Queen” was
born. I asked Allen what it was like creatively shifting from his roots in
Afrobeat to Indie Rock. He replied, “I’m a drummer that created my own way of
playing. I started off playing different styles of music. Afrobeat came much
later and took over and I have created my own way of manoeuvring around music.”

On new Nigerian music

Tony Allen is not enthused when it comes to the topic of the
current crop of musical talent in Nigeria. As I pick his thoughts on the
critique that Nigerian music has become disposable, he retorts, “Is it not the
truth? It’s the truth. For instance, look at what we are doing here now, this
youth of today. It wasn’t like that at our own time, you know. You were
supposed to learn how to play something. Not everybody wants to be a singer or
be miming and what have you. Miming is something of today.

“That is why you don’t see musicians. You see people going
around you but you don’t see the musicians, you don’t see where the music is
coming from. These are the things that make us not have any stance anywhere
because we don’t have anything to give. Why can’t they start learning something
if they want to stay in the music world? We are musicians. I have been playing
music for the past 50 years and it’s what I do.

He becomes even more fired up when our conversation delves into
the need to preserve our musical heritage. Currently, Peter Gabriel’s Real
World record label, DJ Miles Claret’s Soundway Records and Wrasse Records have
gained a reputation as the Holy Grail of World Music mainly of African
disposition. So when I ask why it is that a European is responsible for
preserving our culture, Allen gestures with his palms faced and says, “I have
asked this same question to people too. It is our mentality; what we have, we
don’t cherish it. It’s useless. It is made in Africa. We don’t cherish anything
that we have. To those ones that cherish it, they are making good use of it.
Tomorrow now, you will see that when everything disappears here completely,
when you are looking for archives, you have to go to Europe to look for it. I
think something is wrong and sometimes, I think it’s from the top.” He later
tells me that the French Cultural Centre is partly responsible for grooming a
lot of Nigerian artists, which is the responsibility of our own cultural
ministry.

On Fela Kuti

As we waltz down nostalgic pathways in our conversation, I ask
about the name that has become a prefix to his own career: Fela Kuti, with whom
he recorded over 30 albums. “Fela was like a brother to me. He is a guy that I
could never see a second of him. When I said I wanted to be the best drummer,
which I didn’t know how I would achieve that, but I said it, I started working
towards it until I met Fela. When I met him, I needed a challenge and he was
the only person that could give me that challenge. I will never be tired of
being referred to as Fela’s drummer; there is always a trace.”

Why I left

Allen feels saddened about the fact that he had to leave Nigeria
to gain recognition; and the Lagos he once knew, he believes, is almost
obsolete. “The music industry here has gone down, and recording studios folded
up. Where are the artists to play live? Nightlife has disappeared. Everybody is
scared of robberies and all the dangerous stories. Musicians arrive in the club
but they play to the empty house. So there was no point and that was why I
left.”

Despite his feeling of disenchantment, Allen has always been in
synchronised harmony with the tool of his trade: the drums. “It’s my passion,
it’s my baby, the drums are part of me. I don’t want to think of anything else.
It’s me physically and spiritually working on the drums. The greatest musical
experience is just to catch me unawares. Just let me be there.”

This August, Tony Allen will turn 70 years old and he tells me that despite
his accolades and achievements, he is only just starting. “I have done two
albums with Nigerians and everything is over there.” And in his grumpy granddad
reprimanding tone, he says, “All I want to do is just expose real Nigerian
musicians to the world, otherwise if they carry on doing their R’n’B, it will
stay here.”

Fela, put and emphasised an accentuated beat on ‘Afro’-rhythm
and, it became the pulse and trademark of his music, Afrobeat. The top end
remained the 4/4 (jazz) beat of the claves/sticks aided by the shekere and, the
bottom end was provided by the trio of Ghanaian Addo Nattey on one-membrane
conga, Oladeinde Henry Koffi on three-membrane drum (played with sticks as
‘borrowed from Rex Lawson’s Ijo Highlife music) and; Ladi Tony Alabi a.k.a Tony
Allen the anchor rhythm master on trap drums.

Not surprisingly Tony Allen was the leader of Fela’s Africa ’70
band that fashioned his unique brand of Afrobeat music. Tony Allen was and
remains a living legend; a complete drummer who kept the basic 4/4 beat
simultaneously on snare drums and high hat (cymbals) and augmented it with
rhythmic textures from the two tom tom drums and a deep bottom of bass drum
tattoos. He was a busy drummer with both hands and both feet always in action
and, he was an advanced African pop music trap drummer in that his
embellishments included playing the high hat with drumsticks and, rim shots on
the snare and tom toms. Tony Allen was everything top American Jazz drummers of
the 60s and 70s wanted to be: a master drummer of pulsing rhythms. Fela who was
very knowledgeable about the rhythmic structure of modern jazz music found a
genuine soul mate in Tony Allen to collaborate with and create Afrobeat; a
hybrid of jazz, highlife and African folk rhythms.

Demystifying Ginger Baker

That Fela knew Tony Allen’s worth as an innovative world-class
trap drummer, was proud of his prowess and, was prepared to let the world know
about it, was well demonstrated when Fela – cheeky rascal that he was – set up
his friend, drummer Ginger Baker, by inviting him to record with the Africa ’70
as a second trap drummer in London. Ginger Baker, touted as the greatest
drummer in pop music based on his knowledge and incorporation of Afro rhythms,
was completely blown away by Allen whose fluid multi-rhythms were a sharp
contrast to Baker’s lumbering heavy-handed flaying of the drums. This important
Fela record not only demystified Baker’s rating as a drummer, it also featured
fascinating spells of gong rhythms.

Interestingly, I caught Ginger Baker try and pull a fast one on
the music world at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games World Music Festival with his
band, Salt (made up of young Nigerian pop musicians including The Lijadu
Sisters whom he had recruited from Lagos). From the audience, it sounded as if
Ginger Baker was playing some ‘heavy drums’; but I was suspicious and decided
to check out what was really happening. On close investigation, I discovered
that Baker conveniently kept the second drummer in Salt, Laolu Akins, next to
him; then deliberately ‘under-miked’ Akins’ drum set, whilst his own drums were
literally ‘over-miked.’ All Ginger Baker was cleverly doing was feeding off
Laolu Akins’ original rhythms, reacting split seconds after Akins’ rhythms. And
because Baker was very well ‘miked’, it sounded as if he was the one creating
all the heavy rhythms of Salt!

Good times

In what many consider as the golden age of Africa ’70 and Afrobeat
and, when the band was still resident at the Shrine at the Surulere nightclub,
the best place to sit for hardcore aficionados was away from the Africa-shaped
table in front of the bandstand, where Fela’s friends, V.I.Ps and celebrities
like radical Naiwu Osahon and Wole Bucknor sat. Instead, you sat at the back of
the covered space, directly facing and listening to the duo of Henry Koffi and
Tony Allen as they laid down the Afrobeat rhythms and, admiring tall slim Ijo
Black Rose gracefully shimmying to the music in her ‘dance cage.’ Whenever
Koffi got into his groove, dancing and playing multiple rhythms on his
three-membrane drum, he would play the zinc roof of the stage with his sticks
and smile knowingly. A good time was always had by all!

Fela stamped his huge personality on Afrobeat and used his savvy
of marketing by deliberately creating controversy to make himself and his
Afrobeat very popular. He was immediately accepted by the youth, the ‘masses’
and later, grudgingly, by the middle and upper classes who felt threatened and
in some ways let down by one of their own! Musically, Fela brought his vast
expertise of composing and arranging garnered from Trinity College, London,
into making Afrobeat one of the most distinct genres of world popular music from
the twentieth century.

Tony Allen Live

In October 2007, I was part of a group of Nigerian artists
invited to participate in an annual Book Festival that honours Nobel Laureates;
held at the resort town of Aix en Provence in the South of France. Nigeria’s
Wole Soyinka was the guest of honour for 2007; Tunde Kelani showed his films;
George Osodi and I had a one-month-long photography exhibition and Tony Allen
was invited from his Paris base to perform an improvisational drum session with
Ara, the Nigerian female talking drum player.

It was nice renewing acquaintances with Allen and he gave me his
new CD, ‘Tony Allen Live KIP 002′, on his independent label. It has since been
a CD I play and enjoy a lot and one that has, not surprisingly, attracted the
interest and admiration of all who have heard it. A live recording from some
unidentified music festival in France, it starts with the master of ceremony
saying, “It is indeed a privilege for me to introduce to you a living legend.
Ladies and Gentlemen give it up big-time for Tony Allen and his Afro-Funk
Orchestra;” to great applause. Tony Allen, now based in Paris for two decades,
is hugely popular in Europe and has also been Nigeria’s Ambassador
Plenipotentiary for Afrobeat music worldwide.

The first striking aspect of Tony Allen Live is the excellent
recording which showcases his clean, snappy and intricate drumming at its best!
Afro-Funk? The instrumentation and young talented musicians; mostly from the
Diaspora, give an electronic flavour to the seven-tune 74-minute-long CD of
mostly laid-back foot-tapping body-shaking Afrobeat-funk.

The opening track ‘Asiko’ starts with frisky wah wah-guitar
riffs and the tune is sustained by the interplay of rhythms between guitar and
drums with Allen lamenting about women’s ways in Yoruba and, then comes an
extended efficient jazz-style trumpet solo, much like Tunde Williams with
Fela’s band. ‘Black Voices’ is an outstanding up-tempo tune with rich
instrumentation of claves, Fender Rhodes electronic piano, the usual ‘tenor’
guitar continually laying down rhythmic riffs, a second guitar that takes an
interesting fuzz-effect solo, a horn section, Allen on trap drums and vocals in
English after which there is a gravel-voiced segment in another African
language.

The album’s format is Fela-style in musical structure: long introductions
which Manu Dibango once joked are longer than the songs themselves and, order
of solos. Tony Allen’s drum sounds are unmistakeably stamped on all the tunes
particularly on ‘Yeshe’ (about sexual harassment) and ‘E Parapo’ with their
Campos Square/Faji Owambe flavour of rhythms maintained for long spells by trap
drums, guitars and marimba/xylophone effects from electric piano. An obvious CD
by a drummer-leader who has inspired his musicians to modernise and ‘funkify’
Afrobeat as they hear it!

Singer TuFace Idibia and other music stars are expected to
enter the witness box of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, on July 14 and
15, in the latest salvo in the battle against piracy in Nigeria. They are
likely to take the stand during a court appearance by the notorious ‘Eze Ndi
Awalawa’, the alleged kingpin of Alaba Market pirates.

The sanctity of artistic talent, and its rewards for its
creator, has for a long time been subject to incalculable violations in
Nigeria. It was therefore with jubilant resolve that stakeholders in the
Nigerian music and video industry joined forces as one formidable body to bring
to book, in a fierce legal battle, the much touted Tony Onwujekwe, also known
as ‘Alaba King of Pirates.’

Alaba Market, located in Ojo, Lagos, is the hub of artistic
piracy at its most virulent in Nigeria. Even works yet to be made public are
not spared in the perpetrators’ attempts to live off the intellectual efforts
of others. Many artists have since assumed the identity of fishwives in their
incessant complaints about the antics of these peddlers. Whole works, and
hastily crafted mélange of various artists works are given labels like “The
Best of Tuface”, ‘Timaya Versus P-Square’, ‘Nonstop Hits’, and sold at prices
that would make their creators cringe in pain.

First court appearance

This faceless, impenitent trade, after what seems to be a
lifetime characterised only by pointed fingers, ghost-hunting and lukewarm
efforts by government and its agencies in finding solutions, on Monday,
February 1, finally recorded an unprecedented breakthrough with the arraignment
of Tony Onwujekwe at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Presided over by Justice Okon Abang, it was an electrifying
atmosphere in the courtroom as the three-count charge of piracy of the works of
the best-selling Nigerians musicians today, including: Idibia, Plantashun Boiz,
Faze, Banky W, Timaya, P-Square, and Dbanj among many others – was read to
Onwujekwe. He pleaded “not guilty” to all charges; and was initially remanded
in custody but is currently out on bail.

Many entertainment industry stakeholders such as Kelvin Luciano
of Questionmark Entertainment, Charles Novia of November Records, Cally Ikpe of
Calivision and Toni Payne were present at the arraignment. Tuface Idibia, Muma
Gee and W4 have also made appearances in court. Organisational presence was
recorded in the persons of Tony Okoroji, Chair of Copyright Society of Nigeria
(COSON), Toju Ejueyitchie; and John Ewelukwa Udegbunam, President, Music Label
Owners & Recording Industries Association of Nigeria (MORAN).

Speaking at the arraignment, Okoroji said, “While we celebrate
this historic event and recognise the right of every suspect to due process, we
call on the judicial branch to understand the significance of this case to all
living and dead Nigerian artists. We cannot afford the matter of the ‘Alaba
King of Pirates’ to become one of those Nigerian cases that are forever trapped
in twisted logic, never-ending legal manoeuvring and eternal adjournments.” He
concluded by calling for Onwujekwe to be brought to book without delay.

Second court appearance

Investigations into the case have proceeded with the court’s
admission, on April 29, of evidence in the form of boxes and boxes of pirated
works retrieved from the business premises of the defendant.

Fresh charges of unauthorised reproduction and offer for sale
of the works of Nigerian artists as diverse as 9ice, Wande Coal, Banky W, Olu
Maintain, Idris Abdulkareem, Yinka Ayefele and Osita Osadebe – were also
brought against the defendant. To these, the so-called ‘Alaba King of Pirates’
again pleaded not quilty.

Led in evidence by a prosecuting counsel from the Nigerian
Copyright Commission (NCC), Obi Ezeilo, the first prosecution witness was
Mathew Oloruntade, a police officer from Ojo Police Station. Oloruntade
testified on the arrest of Onwujekwe on November 5, 2009, following a complaint
concerning the defendant’s alleged piracy of work by a certain Peter Devine.

The battle ahead

The saga of Onwujekwe’s trial continues on July 14 and 15, when
artists will finally get their chance to testify to the ruinous impact of
piracy on their intellectual properties. And with the artistic and
organisational support garnered in the prosecution of the once invincible
‘Alaba King of Pirates’, many believe that the tide may be changing for the
Nigeria entertainment industry.

However, the war against piracy in Nigeria, while finally
making embryonic steps towards implementing a successful penal system for
intellectual theft, may still have some way to go. Even in the light of the
legal proceedings against Onwujekwe, pirates appear seemingly undeterred; and
the practice remains rife. Only recently, NEXT reported the massive piracy of
Mainframe Production’s latest film, ‘Arugba’. The speed of the reproduction,
just days after the movie’s launch, caused filmmaker Tunde Kelani to speculate
publicly that he might have to leave the country.

Commenting on the ongoing trial, Kelani said, “It is certain
now that [Onwujekwe] is the not the only one operating.” The cinematographer
informed that a third pirated version of ‘Arugba’ was released last week, along
with two of his earlier films, ‘The Narrow Path’ and ‘Yellow Card’. Amidst the
gloom, he is heartened by news that the National Film and Video Censors Board
(NFVC) has started raiding pirates in the South West of the country.

Kelani, who once said, “The government agencies have no clue as to what to
do or are intentionally refusing to act,” is also tackling copyright
infringements of his work head on. His lawyers have succeeded in getting
unauthorised full-length versions of ‘Arugba’ taken off YouTube. Nigerians were
responsible for the breach; and one of them has sent Kelani a threatening
email; and boasted about the intention to pirate even his future films. And so
it would seem that the impunity of pirates is far from dented by the current
case against Tony Onwujekwe; and there is a long way to go to reduce the
prevalence of piracy in this country. Much hinges on the outcome of the case
against the ‘Alaba King of Pirates’.

You may come across a dreadlocked man dressed in a T-Shirt and
a wrap-skirt walking the streets barefoot. It may be startling at first sight,
but that is the signature for the Ghanaian artist and self-proclaimed
propagator of Pidgin Music – Wanluv Kubolor (Kubolor means Vagabond in the Ga
language; one of the languages of Ghana).

The musician whose real name is Owusu Bonsu, recently launched
the first ever Pidgin Musical film titled, “Coz ov Moni” which he says would
soon be premiering in Nigeria. Ahead of the film’s opening in the UK on July
22, Wanluv Kubolor speaks to NEXT about his life and music.

The travelling musician

Music has always been around me, it always makes me happy.
While growing up I saw my parents enjoy music and every time there was music
playing, I saw my parents dancing. It just made me believe that music gives
happiness. While I was studying Computer Science in America, I was rapping and
singing as a hobby; one day, I realised that some of these small gigs was
getting me some kind of money. I knew that if I took it seriously I would be
able to live off music. Though I liked Computer Science and computers, I
realised I was enjoying the music more. I knew I had a rebel kind of life so I
knew I would not want to get an office job with that kind of life, so I did the
most logical thing and the best thing for me which was pursuing music.

The complexities of
Pidgin Music

The most appropriate label for the kind of music I do is Pidgin
Music, because my background is made up of different cultures that I grew up
in. In Ghana alone, I grew up in a Ga neighbourhood, but my family is Ashanti;
so with my father’s side of the family we were speaking Twi and in the house I
was speaking Romanian with my mother and listening to gypsy music. I was also
listening to Highlife, Hip-Hop and other folk songs on the radio. Highlife was
mostly in Twi and the folk songs mostly in Ga, while the gypsy music I listened
to was done in the gypsy language and the Romanian language. Generally, in my
life, I came into so many languages. I even learnt French at school. When I am
doing music I find it hard to separate these influences. A Romanian could be
listening to my music and hear a Romanian word or phrase that alone could
attract the person to the song. Being from a mixed environment has spawned this
style of music I do.

More than just the
buttock

My favourite thing is a woman’s buttock. I don’t really sing
about it; but if am doing a song that talks about a woman, it makes it very
compact. I do songs about many things around me like traffic – societal songs
which could talk about the people in uniform and what they do by the road side,
also I have songs like ‘Life Dey Jump’ which means: life is sweet, I also have
songs about the environment. As a wholesome human being I do wholesome music. I
keep myself open to all the forces around me to get inspired.

The short walk to music

I have been doing music professionally since 2004. I ran into
one of the greatest Ghanaian artist still alive, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley in Los
Angeles when he came to my show which was promoted by a Nigerian promoter.
After [Ambolley] saw my performance, he helped me take it to the next level
[and] he started booking some shows for me; I was also opening for him in shows
around the United States. Back in Ghana there is what we call PAYOLA which is
“Pay to Play” where people pay the stations for their music to be played.
Because of this system, my music has not reached a desired peak, but just the
small rotations I have got have made me one of the most popular artists in
Ghana.

I also do shows around the world. I attribute this to the
pidgin style. I did not release an album until ‘Green Card’ in 2007 (the cover
was designed by Lemi Ghariokwu who designed all the sleeves of Fela’s albums).
Some musicians who listen to foreign music believe that they have to sound like
the artist they ‘hear every day. So it’s a psychological battle. Now I have
‘Green Card’ and ‘Coz ov Moni’ out I am tending towards more traditional
sounds; am still sampling other sounds but am more into a live band traditional
sound. I enjoy touring the World [Music] circuit more than the Hip-Hop or the
Pop circuit. There might be money in the Pop circuit but you have a certain
life span.

Skirt wearing and
barefooted man

Growing up in Ghana I was always the odd person. In a way it
has desensitised me to comments or to stares. I wear a T-shirt or some
traditional shirt, a wrap-skirt and I don’t wear shoes. As a child, anytime I
was leaving the house to play, my parents will force me to put on footwear,
even when I put it on when am out of the house I hide it in the bushes or under
a block. When am coming back, I will remove it from where I hid it and wear it.
My parents always found out that my feet were dirty but my slippers always
looked new. As I grew older I started wearing shoes to school but later in 2006
as a student in America, I used to wear African slippers, the traditional ones
from Ashanti.

In 2007 when I got back to Ghana, walking around with these
ornamental shoes made my feet hurt by the middle of the day so I would put it
in my bag until I had to enter a Bank or the Club. After a while, I will forget
to wear them so I started leaving the slippers at home. One day someone came to
my house, his foot wear had cut so he borrowed mine. From that day I have never
worn shoes. I feel more alive when I walk around bare feet. For me it gives me
the enjoyment and freedom I had as a child, I feel that same youthful energy,
like Peter Pan. You also get a direct flow with the planet. The only
disadvantage for me is that the microphone I use to perform is not plastic so
it shocks me when I put it near my lips, so I put paper or cloth. I have been
walking around bare feet for three years. I have walked in places that no one
would want to go even with boots on.

The rap-skirt gives me easy access to things like fresh air. I
can’t think of a more comfortable wear and I think our ancestors had figured it
out a long time ago. Right now I can’t even wear supporters (underpants)
because when I wear it after sometime I feel uncomfortable. Our wearing
trousers came from European influence but that’s because of their climate which
is different from ours. When it’s cold I wear double wrap-skirt. The last time
I wore trousers was in December 2007; if you exclude the time I wore a trouser
on the set for ‘Coz Ov Moni’ for the closing scenes.

Coz Ov Moni

I grew up to sound of music from Indian films, where there is a
lot of music, even when the last killer is about to shoot they break into song.
Somewhere at the back of my mind I always knew I wanted to do a musical. The
idea came up between me and Mensah (a Ghanaian musician based in the UK) to do
a musical. Mensah is one of the pioneers of Hiplife in Ghana, by 15 he was
producing for Reggie Rockstone.

We were in secondary school together where we used to rap
together; we met again in 2005 in New York and decided to do a concept album
where everything happens in one day for two friends, so the album from the
beginning to the end is morning to night. So when you listen to one song the
next continues from where the last stops; as we started creating the album we
realised that we could make it a film.

We played it for producers who agreed to shoot it with about
three weeks of rehearsals and three weeks of shooting we were done we had
enough material to plan everything for ‘Coz Ov Moni’ It’s the first of its kind
in the world; and the professionalism we put into the production has made the
film to be accepted in so many film festivals around the world.

Following the approval, earlier this year, of the Copyright
Society of Nigeria (COSON) by the Fedreal Government as the Collective
Management Organisation (CMO) for musical works and sound recordings, the
organisation held a Stakeholders’ Forum at the Protea Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos on
July 1.

The event attracted key players in the music industry,
including: Admiral Dele Abiodun, President, Performing Musicians Association of
Nigeria (PMAN); musicians Onyeka Onwenu, Blacky, El Dee, Kenny Saint Brown,
Stella Monye, Adewale Ayuba, and Essence. Also present were producers Obi Asika
of Storm 360; Tajudeen Adepetu, of Soundcity; Kenny Ogungbe of Kennis Music and
Primetime Entertainment; as well as Clarence Peters of Capital Hill Records.
Broadcast, advertising and telecommunications media representatives were also
at the forum.

A short documentary narrated by musician Sunny Neji, was
screened to the gathering, to communicate the social, legal, business,
constitutional and international foundation for the emergence of COSON. In
Neji’s words, “With the approval of COSON as a sole CMO and the establishment
of a solid management for the organisation, the old excuse, ‘we don’t know who
to pay to’, is now dead and buried. COSON is here to make sure that never again
will Nigerian creative talents labour in vain.”

COSON chair, Tony Okoroji, took the podium after the
documentary. In his speech, he communicated his appreciation for the immense
support COSON has received, and its readiness to make a positive change in the
industry. “Never in the history of Nigeria has this calibre of people come
together to discuss these issues in one room,” he declared. “The era of free
music is gone. By the approval of COSON as a sole CMO, the Federal Government
of Nigeria has given us the marching orders to end the abuse of creativity in
Nigeria. We are determined to give meaning to the COSON slogan – Let the music
pay.”

The new management team of COSON, led by Acting General Manager,
Chinedu Chukwuji, was also introduced to the attendees at the forum. The
Director General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, Adebambo Adewopo, was
represented by Charles Amudipe, who assured delegates of the “full support” of
the NCC on behalf of the Federal Government.

Copyright training

The gains of the Stakeholders Forum was quickly followed up with
an introductory course on Copyright and Collective Management, held on July 7
and 8 at the same venue, the Protea Hotel, Ikeja. The course was held under the
auspices of the NCC, which provided trainers for the sessions. Originally
intended for operatives of COSON only, the two-day training was extended to
include copyright owners (musicians) who are members of the organization; users
of musical works; and the media. Welcoming all to the programme, Tony Okoroji
explained that the widening of the training was due to the fact that “there are
several elements that must come together for the success of the reformed
copyright collective management regime in Nigeria.”

Representing the Director General of the NCC was Bayo Aiyegbusi,
who assured participants that the government agency “will provide the
institutional support that COSON will need.” He noted that developments on
copyright and collective management in Nigerian are in line with developments
in the rest of the world. Speaking further, Mr Aiyegbusi disclosed that two
international agencies will visit Nigeria in the coming days, to assist COSON
in ensuring that musicians get due return for the use of their works. The
visiting organizations are: the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)
and the Paris-based International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers
(CISAC). “The music must pay,” said Aiyegbusi.

Among the papers delivered at the training were: ‘Introduction
to Copyright Law and Administration in Nigeria’ by John O. Asein, Director of
the Nigerian Copyright Institute; and ‘An Overview of the Provisions and
Imperatives of the Collective Management Organisation Regulations’ by Mike O.
Akpan of the NCC.

The Introductory course was attended by music industry figures
including singers Onyeka Onwenu, Sunny Neji, Nomoreloss, Kenny Saint Brown; and
ace producer Laolu Akins. Toju Ejueyitchie, Managing Director, Premier Music
Publishing Ltd and Chair of Nigerian Association of Recording Industries (NARI)
also attended; as did John Ewelukwa Udegbunam, President, Music Label Owners
and Recording Industries Association of Nigeria (MORAN).

‘Dem no send’

Speaking during one session, Kenny Saint Brown thanked Tony
Okoroji for “pulling me in” for active involvement in COSON. She revealed that,
like 95 percent of her fellow musicians, she had been resistant to joining any
organisation, even PMAN. But now, “I want to contribute hundred percent to the
growth of COSON,” pledged Saint Brown, who said she had never received a kobo
in royalties in all her 12 years as a singer. Now rebranded as KSB, the singer
urged for a youth-driven approach that would make COSON and its objectives
appealing to Hip-Hoppers who dominate the music industry. “Artists, we don’t
respond to things like this (training), it’s too serious. Artists like
jamborees.”

Nomoreloss concurred, saying, “Intellectual property owners are
young people. They are the ones keeping the music industry alive today and – to
use their language – ‘Dem no send’. They don’t know [COSON].” Efforts must be
made to bring younger musicians on board, he said, adding that the NCC should
be seen to endorse every major campaign by COSON because “Nigerians respect the
law when it is government law.”

Responding to KSB and Nomoreloss, Tony Okoroji reeled out the
names of a diverse range of musicians including Ruggedman, Muma Gee, Stella
Monye and Adewale Ayuba – all of whom are COSON members. To support its
application for approval, the organisation had supplied the details of over
1000 members, well above the government requirement of 100. “The problem of
COSON is not membership,” Okoroji stated; the problem is that most of the
members don’t speak about their involvement in the CMO. “Encourage them to
speak, because it is about their rights. “Among media representatives at the
training were Africa Independent Television (AIT) and newspaper editors from
The Guardian, The Daily Independent and NEXT. Participants were presented NCC
certificates at the end of the course by Mr Aiyegbusi.

COSON is to follow up its July 1 Lagos forum with similar events in other
cities. A Stakeholders Forum is scheduled to hold at the Bolingo Hotel in Abuja
on July 20; and another one at the Top Rank Hotel in Onitsha August 4.