Author: Coson

The premises of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island, Lagos, will witness a beehive of activities on Monday, May 26, 2025, as policy makers, top legal minds and the crème of the Nigerian creative industry, come together for the COSON Lecture, one of the most sought-after events of the seven different back-to-back events of the master blaster COSON WEEK 2025.

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The epoch gathering will listen to and thereafter, dissect and discuss the paper: “The Political & Legal Environment Necessary for the Continued Growth of the Nigerian Creative Industry”, to be delivered by erudite lawyer, Hon Babatunde Ogala SAN, FNIM, Fbr, FIMC.

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Making the announcement on his return to Lagos, after a one-week whirlwind trip to Abuja, Chief Tony Okoroji, Chairman Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) said: “The COSON Lecture has a special place in my heart. Of the seven different events of the COSON Week, the COSON Lecture must strike a special chord that lingers long after everyone has left the lecture auditorium. The COSON Lecture must leave everybody thinking anew.

“It was practically impossible to find anyone more qualified to give life to the important subject we are discussing this year, than the very respected Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Babatunde Ogala. He is not just an erudite lawyer, for several years, he has been a critical political player, closely involved in policy making. Above all, he has been an enduring friend of the Nigerian creative family. At some point, during our discussions, I became afraid that due to scheduling challenges, we might miss the opportunity of having the Leaned Silk deliver this crucial paper at this period of the development of the Nigerian Creative Industry.

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“I could not help jumping for joy when I got the message that the SAN is good for May 26 and is already working on the paper. I therefore, on behalf of the COSON Board, thank the SAN and invite everyone interested in the future of the Nigerian creative industry to the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs on May 26, for a great 2025 COSON Lecture, in line with the COSON Week 2025 mantra, Nigeria will rise again!”.

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Babatunde John Kwame Ogala SAN was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1986. In 1997, he established the Law Firm of Babatunde K. Ogala which was later renamed Babatunde Ogala & Co. In 2007, he was elected a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly and became Chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary; Member of the Finance Committee; Committee on Public Accounts; Committee on Ethics, Protocol and Privileges; Committee on Human Rights and Public Petition; Committee on Infrastructure as well as several ad-hoc Committees.

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Mr. Ogala has been a Consultant to the Lagos State House of Assembly and the Conference of Speakers. He has also been a Resource Person to the Houses of Assemblies of Lagos and Kogi States on Constitutional matters. In 2018, Mr. Ogala returned to Politics, after a few years absence, and became the National Legal Adviser of one of Nigeria’s biggest political parties, a position he held till June, 2020.

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Babatunde John Kwame Ogala has attended several training courses and seminars at the World Bank, the International Law Institute, USAID, UNDP, British Council, Centre for Management Development, DFID, SAVI and Human Development Initiative. He has also attended courses at Thames Valley University, Slough London as well as in Kenya, Tunisia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, India, Canada, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and within Nigeria on varied subjects.

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He is a member of the National Council of State Legislatures in the USA and has attended all its Legislative Summits from 2007 to date in New Orleans, Philadelphia, Louisville Kentucky and San Antonio Texas. He has also attended several International Bar Association Conferences and Seminars as well as Regional Fora on the Court Systems and Judicial Administration.
Babatunde Ogala has been honoured by the Senate and House of Representatives respectively of the State of Kentucky, USA.

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Mr. Ogala has worked and consulted for several International Agencies on Law Review and Reforms.
Mr. Ogala is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, African Bar Association, International Bar Association and the American Bar Association, Section on International Law as well as Intellectual Property Law Association of Nigeria (IPLAN) and Capital Market Solicitors Association of Nigeria.
He is also a Fellow of the Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria; Fellow, Institute of Management Consultants, Nigeria; Fellow of Nigerian Institute of Management; Member; Society for Corporate Governance, Nigeria; Member of INSOL (The Global Insolvency Body) and Junior Chamber International (A Leadership Development Organisation). Mr Ogala is also a Member of Ikoyi Club 1938, Island Cub, Lagos Country Club and Ikeja Golf Club.

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He is Married to a judge of the High Court of Lagos State.

Gospel Musicians’ Association of Nigeria (GOMAN), has announced that it is whole-heartedly endorsing ‘COSON IN THE CHURCH’, the big National Day of Prayer scheduled to hold on May 25, 2025.

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In a letter signed by the National President of the Association, Evangelist (Dr) Philip Olayiwola and sent to Chief Tony Okoroji, Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), the Association wrote: “We are writing to express our wholehearted endorsement of “COSON in the Church” – A National Day of Prayer, scheduled to hold on Sunday, May 25, 2025. This event, with the theme “Nigeria will rise again!”, aligns perfectly with our values as gospel musicians and our desire to see Nigeria prosper”.

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Continuing, the letter said: “As an Association, we believe in the power of prayer and music to bring people together and inspire positive change. We are excited about the opportunity to partner with COSON and other stakeholders to make this event a success”.

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GOMAN promised to publicly identify with the event and nominate persons to participate in the program at Chapel of Christ the Light on Sunday, May 25. It also pledged to encourage its members to fully participate in the event and promote it through their various channels.

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The letter also commended COSON for initiating what GOMAN believes is a laudable project and for using the event to also solicit funds for the COSON Music Foundation, which supports old or sick musicians and musicians in distress.

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“COSON in the Church” is the first of the seven mega events of the much-advertised COSON Week 2025. The event will be hosted by the beautiful inter-denominational Chapel of Christ the Light, located in the Central Business District of Ikeja, near the Lagos State Secretariat, on Sunday, May 25.

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COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji, has publicly expressed profound joy that the very important opening event of COSON Week 2025 will be held at a venue open to all Nigerian Christians of every denomination. Said Chief Okoroji, “I can assure everyone that the Presiding Chaplain at Chapel of Christ the Light, Rev Dr. Oladele Ajayi, is very excited that his church which does not belong to any sect, will be the epicenter of the National Day of Prayer from which the songs and praise of Nigeria’s topmost gospel singers and ministers of the gospel, will be beamed across the country and the world”.

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It has been reiterated that on Sunday, May 25, 2025 at 4.00 pm, from Chapel of Christ the Light, Alausa, Ikeja, citizens in towns and villages across Nigeria, will be linked by an unprecedented mix of simultaneous broadcast, streaming and videocasting, deploying various communication technologies, on a National Day of Prayer, as in one voice, Nigerians in supplication, will seek the face of the Almighty, to give the Nigerian nation a new lease of life, and optimism for Nigeria’s children.

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The event called “COSON in the Church”, with the theme, “Nigeria will rise again!”, is spearheaded by creative artistes across Nigeria, and will feature Nigeria’s most admired gospel music stars from different denominations. The nightingales will be joined by some of the nation’s most respected ministers of the gospel who will offer prayers for peace and progress in Nigeria.

Chief Tony Okoroji, Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Nigeria’s biggest copyright collective management organization, on a whirlwind tour of Abuja, the nation’s capital, was this Tuesday warmly received at the Wuse Headquarters of the National Film & Video Censors’ Board (NFVCB) by the Executive Director, Dr Shaibu Hussein, and all the members of the Board of NFVCB.

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Welcoming Chief Okoroji, Dr Hussein said that it was a great day for the Censors’ Board to receive in its premises one of the greatest pillars of the Nigerian creative industry and an indefatigable and sustained defender of the rights of creative people across Nigeria. Addressing members of his Board, Dr Hussein spoke glowingly about Chief Tony Okoroji’s unmatched impact on the entertainment industry in Nigeria as President of PMAN, which he is replicating as Chairman of COSON.

In reply, Chief Okoroji commended Dr Hussein’s leadership of the Censors’ Board and how he has so quickly repositioned the Censors’ Board and made the organization an active participant in key issues of policy affecting the creative sector in the country. The former President of PMAN said that he is excited by the tremendous energy Dr Hussein has brought to his assignment, which according to him, is proof that at NFVCB, there is presently a round peg in a round hole as a good leader will always positively affect the direction of any organization, state or country. He said that his presence at the NFVCB, the first time since the agency was created, is evidence of his acknowledgement of the great work of the leadership.

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The COSON Chairman said that part of the reason for his visit to Abuja, is to “mobilize all ‘mobilizables’” towards the unforgettable success of the much- advertised master-blaster COSON Week 2025, featuring 7 different big back-to-back events in Lagos, the nation’s entertainment capital, from May 25 to May 31. While inviting members of the NFVCB Board to the big COSON Week 2025 events which he said will be “stupendous” and “unmissable”, Chief Tony Okoroji repeated the mantra of COSON Week 2025: “Nigeria will rise Again!”.

Freedom Park, in the heart of the city of Lagos, will be the setting for an unprecedented 24 hours of non-stop hyper live music, singing, dancing and skanking, as the heavily advertised COSON Week 2025 explodes with the “COSON MEGA JAMZ”

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The “COSON MEGA JAMZ” unfolding from 12 noon, on May 28 to 12 noon, on May 29, will be one of the seven big events of the master-blaster COSON Week set to light up Lagos, Nigeria’s undisputed entertainment capital, from May 25 to May 31.

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Announcing the “COSON MEGA JAMZ” from Abuja, where he is working through the week, the indefatigable COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji, said: “The assignment given to us by the COSON Board is to mobilize all “mobilizables” and make sure that COSON Week 2025 is unforgettable. We are mobilizing every mobilizable. We are sweeping wall-to-wall to create an experience for every segment of the society. My team is working 24 hours of the day. I have no doubt that Lagos will be the place to be from May 25 to May 31 and the happiness we generate with COSON Week will spread across the Nigerian nation”.

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Speaking further, the former President of PMAN who is well known for producing unforgettable shows, said: “I have been speaking for weeks with Theo Lawson who manages Freedom Park. He has assured me that all the facilities at Freedom Park will be primed like never before, for the “COSON Mega Jamz”, the first ever 24 hours non-stop music concert in Nigeria or anywhere in Africa. If you want unlimited fun, come to Freedom Park for the “COSON Mega Jamz”. We will in every way promote our mantra for the COSON Week: “Nigeria will rise again!”

Culled from: https://cigblog.creativeindustrygroupng.com/2025/03/07/cig-endorses-coson-week-to-partner-coson-for-successful-events/

CIG Endorses COSON Week; To Partner COSON For Successful Events

COSON Week, the epoch-making set of events that will bring creative minds across the country together for a week of unprecedented music driven activities in May 2025, has received the endorsement of the Creative Industry Group headed by Ambassador Felix Duke.

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COSON, in a letter signed by its erudite Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji, sought the collaboration of CIG, in the week-long set events to make COSON Week a huge success. The week will also be used to solicit for funds to bring to fruition, the COSON Music Foundation which will cater for elderly and sick musicians.

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Chief Okoroji noted that the first event of the COSON Week will be “COSON In the Church”, a National Day of Prayer, which will take place at Chapel of Christ the Light, Alausa, Ikeja, on the 25th of May.

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In his words: “During the service, citizens in towns and villages across Nigeria, will be linked by an unprecedented mix of simultaneous broadcast, streaming and videocasting, deploying various communication technologies, on a National Day of Prayer, as in one voice, Nigerians in supplication, seek the face of the Almighty, to give the Nigerian nation a new lease of life, and optimism for Nigeria’s children”.

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“COSON in the Church”, spear-headed by creative artistes across Nigeria, will feature Nigeria’s most admired gospel artistes from different denominations. The nightingales will be joined by some of Nigeria’s most respected ministers of the gospel, who will offer prayers for peace and progress in Nigeria”.

Chief Tony Okoroji noted that the essence of the one-week music fiesta with the theme, Nigeria will rise again, is because of COSON’s strong belief that Nigerian entertainers from every tribe, with their millions of fans have a key role to play in stabilizing the nation and healing the wounds that tend to threaten the unity and development of the country.

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The COSON letter further read, “In recognition of the important role that CIG is playing in promoting creativity in our country, we hereby request your support of “COSON in the Church” and all other programs of COSON Week 25. It’s our hope that you will publicly identify with COSON Week 2025 and that you will nominate persons that will participate in the different events”.

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Accepting the offer, CIG National President, Ambassador Felix Duke, promised that the group will fully participate in the COSON Week and give every support necessary to make it a success.

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He also called on other creative minds to join hands with COSON to make the events memorable.

Millions of Nigerians of all denominations across the country, will be mobilized to join in songs, prayers and worship on May 25, to lift the spirit of a nation whose citizens have in recent years wrestled with significant economic, security and developmental challenges that have left many depressed and desperate.

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On that day, citizens in towns and villages across Nigeria, will be linked by an unprecedented mix of simultaneous broadcast, streaming and videocasting, deploying various communication technologies, on a National Day of Prayer, as in one voice, Nigerians in supplication, seek the face of the Almighty, to give the Nigerian nation a new lease of life, and optimism for Nigeria’s children.

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The event of May 25, tagged “COSON in the Church” will be the first of the seven superlative events of the much-advertised master-blaster “COSON Week 2025”, spearheaded by members of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Nigeria’s biggest copyright collective management organization, with every event propelled by the mantra, “NIGERIA WILL RISE AGAIN!”

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The auditorium of a church in Lagos, the nation’s commercial and entertainment capital, which will be the epicenter of the National Day of Prayer from which the event will be beamed across the country and the world, will be announced in the coming weeks. The church will play host to Nigeria’s most captivating gospel singers and the nation’s most respected ministers of the gospel from different denominations, who, in a world class production, will lead the songs and prayer points for the revival of the nation, on a very special day.

Churches and other groups around Nigeria, will be requested to organize special sessions for their members to link up and participate, and those who cannot participate in groups, can sing and pray along, from home.

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Speaking on the upcoming events, the Chairman of COSON, Chief Tony Okoroji, the well-known master organizer of unforgettable events, said: “It is our strong belief that Nigerian entertainers from every tribe, with our millions of fans, have a key role to play in stabilizing the nation and healing the wounds that have threatened our unity and development, and to give optimism and courage to our people, at a time of severe national challenges. We believe that the task of rekindling the vigor and energy necessary for a greater Nigeria, should be all encompassing and not left to elected officials alone and that just complaining, is no longer, good enough.

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“We are determined to show that despite our challenges, we will move ahead and build a nation where every child has the promise of a future.

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“To meet this important national objective, COSON, with thousands of members across Nigeria, is rallying its members to storm Lagos, the nation’s undisputed entertainment capital, with seven explosive and exciting back–to–back events, titled “COSON Week 2025”, holding at seven key venues across Lagos from May 25 to May 31, 2025.

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“Our mantra for COSON Week 2025 is: “NIGERIA WILL RISE AGAIN!”

“As we are aware, COSON has as members most of the foremost music stars across Nigeria with millions of fans transversing all age brackets. We can say without apologies that no other organization in Nigeria has the capacity or expertise to match COSON with respect to the promotion and presentation of a kaleidoscope of exciting music anchored events.

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“Available to COSON are the nation’s most experienced, tried and tested producers of exquisite events who are being positioned to ensure that every event of the “COSON Week 2025” is organized to world class standards. The events of “COSON Week 2025” will be broadcast and streamed on several channels within the country and across the globe”.

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The celebrated former president of PMAN, went on to state: “I want to emphasize that are we non-political and non-sectional. We are simply concerned Nigerians from every tribe and region of the country who wish our country well and are deploying our skills for a better Nigeria. For instance, I have never belonged to any political party and have no plans to.

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“We are currently mobilizing all ‘mobilizables’ for the significant talents and resources necessary to bring the huge events to fruition. We are appealing to all Nigerians, individuals and institutions who can give us any assistance or support, to please do so. Nigeria will rise again!”.

COSON HOUSE GOES SOLAR!

The magnificent COSON House in Ikeja, the sparkling headquarters of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), the nation’s biggest copyright collective management organization, is now being significantly powered by solar energy. This was disclosed by COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji, in his address to the recently concluded Annual General Meeting of the society which took place at the COSON House Arena.

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Speaking on COSON House, Chief Okoroji said: “Fellow members of COSON, you would not have failed to notice that even in the very dark economic circumstances which have negatively affected every aspect of life in Nigeria and almost every structure in the country, your COSON House continues to sparkle and continues to be pristine, seven and half years after it was commissioned. You will not find a stain on any wall nor a dead bulb anywhere in COSON House. Every installation in the building continues to function at optimum. As I have mentioned before, there are ten toilets in this building and you can practically dine in any of them because they forever remain sparkling clean.

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“As you arrived COSON House today, you may have noticed that much of the left side of the roof of this edifice is almost completely covered by solar panels. Following a decision of our Board, COSON House is today being powered significantly by solar energy. Our substantial investment in solar power is helping us to confront the astronomical rise in the cost of diesel to fuel our big generators and to deal with the much-heightened cost of public electricity. More importantly, as a responsible organization, the deployment of solar energy represents our commitment and contribution to a clean environment and to the battle against global warming.

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“What I have just said, represents the COSON Spirit. The COSON Spirit is the spirit of continuous progress, a spirit that does not bow to any adversity but confronts hardship and danger with determination and purpose. The COSON Spirit does not tolerate failure of any kind and optimizes the adage, “where there is a will, there is a way”. The COSON Spirt is the reason that despite the unprecedented, coordinated and almost endless missiles that have been fired at us, COSON today, continues to fly high”.

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Former President of PMAN and now, Chairman of COSON, Chief Tony Okoroji, has declared that the COSON Week scheduled to take place between May 25 and May 31, 2025 will be truly unforgettable

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Chief Okoroji made the declaration in his address to the just concluded Annual General Meeting of Nigeria’s No 1 copyright collective management organization, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), at which the 2024 royalty distribution of a whopping =N=465.5 million was approved.

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These are the very words of the well-known master planner and producer of remarkable events: “one of the many important decisions taken by the COSON Board at its meeting of November 6 was the approval for the hosting of a master-blaster edition of the iconic “COSON WEEK” in May 2025. The Board also directed that every step should be taken immediately to begin the mobilization of all “mobilizables” to ensure that COSON WEEK 2025 is, in every way, unforgettable”. 

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Continuing, Chief Tony Okoroji, the creator of the famous Nigerian Music Awards that played host to Presidents, Governors, Ministers, Ambassadors and stars from around the world, said, “COSON Week is the flagship week of our great society, during which we roll out wall-to-wall high-profile events to entertain, to inform, to communicate, to educate and to project an unassailable brand. COSON week 2025 will bring joy to many. We will deploy the events of COSON Week 2025 to tell Nigerians that despite the difficulties we face, all is not lost. We will use COSON Week 2025 to propagate the importance of creativity and entertainment to the economic and socio-political well-being of Nigeria”.

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Chief Okoroji went on to say: “We are now at the planning stage of COSON Week 2025. We intend to mobilize all “mobilizables” as ordered by the Board.  As we enter the new year, we will begin to unfold the different events, the venues and their specific attractions. One thing I can assure you is that COSON Week 2025 will be truly unforgettable. Please, fasten your seat belts!”.

COSON MEMBERS CELEBRATE BUMPER =N=465.5 MILLION ROYALTY DISTRIBUTION!

It was singing, jubilation and merriment this Tuesday, December 10, as members of Nigeria’s No 1 copyright collective management organization, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), approved a 2024 royalty distribution of a whopping =N=465.5 million for COSON members and associates. Following the approval, the distribution which is the highest in the history of the organization, began immediately as several COSON members started receiving bank alerts on their phones while still at COSON House.

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They came from the East, the West, North and South of Nigeria: gaily dressed musicians who stormed Oluwaleimu Street, in the Allen Avenue Area of Ikeja where the magnificent COSON House stands sparkling in the sun, and in which COSON’s  2024 Annual General Meeting took place.

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The AGM practically turned into a carnival as the former President of PMAN and Chairman of COSON, Chief Tony Okoroji, who presided at the General Meeting, delivered a moving address which he titled, “the COSON Spirit”.

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The celebrated copyright warrior was praised repeatedly by joyous COSON members after delivering his speech in which he said, “We have deployed the law, like no other organization in the history of Nigeria, to form a bulwark against the people, in and out of government, who have tried everything to hijack and plunder COSON or if they fail, to kill COSON.  You know the modus operandi of the vampires among our citizens: they grab every good thing in Nigeria for themselves, their friends and families with no thought for the millions of other people in our country. They are not satisfied with owning one house. In a nation where millions do not own even a hut, they grab what belongs to all of us and build 735 duplexes for themselves alone and want more as if they have a contract with the Almighty that they will never die.

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“I wish to state that I have been to practically every court in the land, have mounted the witness box and testified, and have won victories on behalf of COSON that many had thought were impossible. We have retained the services of four first class senior advocates and several other senior lawyers.

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“Without the decisions of those distinguished Judges of the Courts who remain committed to truth and justice, COSON, this great pan Nigerian organization that has become the nation’s most formidable agent of strength, unity, progress and growth for the creative industry, would have since been sucked dry and wiped away.“

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With sadness in his voice, Chief Okoroji said, “Fellow members of COSON, let me state that I verily believe that in these hard times, we could have done more, much more for the musicians of Nigeria. It is a paradox that the institution established by the state to enable us to soar and achieve great results for our nation, conspired with carpetbaggers and fraudsters to become the greatest obstacle to our progress and success. But… we continue to fly, due to the unbreakable COSON Spirit”.

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In his speech, the COSON Chairman thanked the Management led by General Manager, Mrs. Bernice Eriemeghe Ashibuogwu, for their contribution to the success of the society,

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Identified at the AGM were such persons as the President of the Creative Industry Group, Amb. Felix Duke; President of the Music Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria (MUPMAN), Eng Sharon Wilson; Afro Juju music super star, Sir Shina Peters; Reggae Music giant, Righteousman Erhabor; celebrated female singer, Stella Monye; Pop Music sensation, Alex O; Gospel Music Minister, Kenny Saint Brown; Showbiz Impresario, Koffi Da Guru, Popular entertainment die-hard, Steve Black and many more.

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Also present were members of the COSON Board such as Abuja based, Chief Uche Emeka Paul, a workhorse of the Catholic Charismatic Music Ministry; Enugu based music toaster and publisher, Angus Power Nwangwu; Oge Kimono, first daughter of the unforgettable Rub-A-Dub Master, Ras Kimono who himself was a COSON die hard, before his death; renowned drummer, Richard Cole, famed producer Zdon Paporella and Gospel Music Minister, Evangelist Olusegun Omoyayi.

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Hundreds of COSON members joined the jubilant AGM on-line via Zoom.