TRULY, IT IS NOT BY MY POWER!

SATURDAY BREAKFAST with TONY OKOROJI

Okoroji

Please check: Anyone who has managed a band of a few musicians, will understand that bringing together thousands of creative people, managing their effervescent temperaments and molding them into a force for progress, as I have been made to do, over and over again, is not beans!

My phone rings practically off the hook. I take as many calls as I can Any problem of each of the thousands of members of COSON is my problem. I have lost count of how many funerals I have had to attend in far flung places. This morning, I will be at the wedding of the daughter of a cherished deceased member of COSON hundreds of kilometers away from home. The widow called me and pleaded so passionately, I could not say no. Yesterday, I had to make the long journey.

In the building of the copyright system in Nigeria, I have carried placards many times and led very risky demonstrations many-many times. I have been to court more times than many litigation lawyers and witnessed against top corporations, governments and individuals time and time again. I have gone many-many days without sleep, travelled lonely roads at dangerous hours, written opinion articles, delivered lectures, organized myriad conferences, seminars and workshops. Truly, it is not by my power.

I helped to construct PMAN and made it one of Nigeria’s most outstanding organizations respected across the nation, before greed and avarice sadly stepped in to tear PMAN into something that makes me want to shed tears. I have superintended over the building of the outstanding Nigerian institution called COSON which many said could never see the light of day. When the COSON House was commissioned, a lot of people were surprised that there was not one Naira of government money in the magnificent building, no donor dollar from anywhere, no bank loan and no debt of any type. I tell you that truly, it is not by my power.

For more than fifteen years, not one of the highly trained staff of COSON has received his or her salary one day late. No COSON member entitled to royalties has ever been denied money due to him. It might surprise many to know that no COSON member has ever paid any registration fee, monthly dues or subscription of any type yet every COSON member is entitled to some income every year. Believe me, that it is not by my power.

My dedication to the copyright cause has never been because of a title or because of personal wealth. I do not even have an office or table at the beautiful COSON House. My official car as Chairman of COSON was bought over five years ago, as a “Tokunboh”. I do not live in a house provided by COSON. Every member of staff of COSON goes to a hospital paid for by the organization. However, as Chairman, COSON does not buy Panadol for me or for any member of my family. I have written in Saturday Breakfast several times that I verily believe that the true worth of a man is not in what he takes but in what he gives.

Over and over again, I have been counted out by men who have made money their god and who do not understand the concept of giving and of sacrifice. They have tried every which way to harass me, torment me and count me out. I have been serially defamed; law enforcement agents have been unleashed on me, my personal and business bank accounts have been serially frozen, but each time they think they have finally got me, something new happens. They are confused and cannot understand why the good Lord has refused to count me out. The truth is, I work for Him.

I have repeatedly emphasized that I drive on a full tank of faith. I serve a living God. The work I do is to the glory of the Almighty. The power I use is not mine but His.

I have repeatedly asked my friends not to worship men or money. Worship the Almighty and take care of the needs of His children. Do not fret about how you will survive. You will.

Please do not take credit for that which the Almighty does through you. It is not by your power. All glory and honour belong to Him. Drive on a full tank of faith with your tires pumped with love and do not listen to anyone who tells you that your dreams are impossible. The word, impossible, belongs to the devil.

Please join me today in wishing the blessings of the Almighty on Kaodilichi Frances, daughter of my late COSON colleague and friend, John Ewelukwa Udegbunam, as she weds her heartthrob, Ekene Emmanuel Ukegbu today in Abuja. My prayer for them and their families is that the good Lord who has been there for me through many difficult times will be there for Kaodilichi and Ekene in their marriage as they build a great family.

See you next week.