As part of his “No Music Day”, live broadcast on September 1, Chief Tony Okoroji, Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), called on Nigerian creatives to call out any person engaged in brewing the treacherous liquor of tribal and ethnic intolerance and hate which he says led Nigeria to the past civil war that took the lives of millions of Nigerian citizens.
.Chief Okoroji, in the broadcast, streamed across the globe, touched on several issues bedeviling the country and posited that they are all rooted in what has become a sordid national culture of corruption and flagrant disrespect of the people in power for the rule of law.
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In the broadcast, the former President of PMAN and best known activist for the rights of creative people on the African continent,said: “Yes, I very much recognize the deep despair in the land, the hunger that threatens the life of millions of Nigerians, the insecurity that has snatched the lives of so many of our countrymen and the anguish under which many Nigerians wake up in the morning and go to bed at night.
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“Nigerian creatives cannot afford to give up on Nigeria. We must work together for the unity of our country and the progress of our nation. We have again begun to witness the dangerous re-introduction and promotion of very treacherous tribal and ethnic divisions and hate, some of the reasons that incubated the past civil war which brought horror to many of our countrymen and sent millions of our citizens to their death. We must not let this happen again to Nigeria. I call on Nigerian creatives to call out any person engaged in brewing this treacherous liquor of intolerance and hate.
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“We must contribute to making Nigeria a nation in which our people, from the East, West, North and South, appreciate that our different languages do not mean different destinies. We must ensure that we use our music, our movies and skits; our literature, postings and the contents we publish, not to create suspicion and distrust but let our people know that though we might practice different religions, we worship the same God.
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“On this “No Music Day 2025”, I pray for all Nigerians who are going through trials, tribulations and hardship and beg the Almighty to please meet their needs. God bless the Nigerian Creative Industry and God bless the great people of Nigeria”.