SATURDAY BREAKFAST with TONY OKOROJI
NOW THAT PRETTY OKAFOR HAS FALLEN, WHO WILL BE NEXT?
BY PATRICK DOYLE (GUEST COLUMNIST)
It is no longer news that Hon Justice A.A. Oyebanji of the High Court of Lagos State, Ikeja, on Thursday, June 11, 2020, restrained the make believe factional president of PMAN, Mr. Pretty Okafor from further defamation of the character of my friend, Chief Tony Okoroji.
Delivering judgment in a libel action filed on May 22, 2018 by Chief Okoroji, Justice Oyebanji also ordered Pretty Okafor to pay Chief Okoroji the sum of Two Million Naira as General Damages for the defamation of his character.
One would think that by now the Okoroji naysayers would know better than to come at Tony with lies and malice, but no, they persist to trumpet falsehood relentlessly maybe in the forlorn hope that one lie will ultimately stick.
I have continued to publicly defend Chief Okoroji because I know the man, I know his values and I know that his integrity is unimpeachable. I know that very few Nigerians work as relentlessly and give of themself so selflessly towards the progress of any national endeavour. Chief Tony Okoroji continues to succeed where others have failed woefully because unlike many other Nigerians, he is not driven by love of money but by the love of country and the wellbeing of all. With his intellect, creativity, extensive contacts and enviable work ethic, he could easily be a millionaire in any currency several times over but chooses to dedicate himself to contributing to the public good.
Look at how he took a little known PMAN and in no time, turned it into one of the nation’s most vibrant and richest associations. Everyone must ask: where is PMAN today? The agitators simply took over the association, fought over the money left by Okoroji, destroyed the association and turned it into a joke!
Just look at what Okoroji has done with COSON in about ten years. It is nothing short of a miracle. Ten years ago, no one had heard of COSON. Since then, COSON has distributed hundreds of millions of naira to musicians across the country. Have you been to the magnificent edifice called COSON House in Ikeja built by the society under Okoroji's purposeful leadership without a single naira from the government, no donor money and no debt whatsoever? Many had sworn that collective management of copyright would never work in Nigeria. Did Tony Okoroji not prove all of them wrong? Have you read Tony Okoroji’s internationally celebrated book, Copyright & the New Millionaires? The depth of the book defines the man. As incredibly busy as he is, Tony Okoroji has every single week for more than seven years written his widely read syndicated column, Saturday Breakfast. Not one week has he failed.
Tony Okoroji is an unusual Nigerian. His brilliance, personal discipline, unquenchable self-belief and never-say-die spirit can be intimidating and threatening to small people. His work ethic is such that whatever he touches seems to turn to gold and for this, many in the industry celebrate him. Fueled by greed and envy, small minded people never stop trying to cut him down. They tried to do it with THISDAY newspaper and Okoroji went to court and got a N40 million judgment against THISDAY. Charly Boy tried it and Okoroji got judgment against Charles Oputa. I was present in Okoroji’s office when Charly Boy came to plead with him. Femi Lasode got into the game, not only did Okoroji get judgment against him, Lasode’s entire possessions were confiscated by court bailiffs and his life has never been the same since. They even tried to use The Sun newspapers to damage Okoroji. When Okoroji sued The Sun, the Sun management had to settle out of court.
In an apology published in Vanguard Newspaper of November 19, 2012 and signed by the editor, the newspaper wrote, “On October 14 2011, we published an article titled “Okoroji must account for N3 million for Essien-Igbokwe Burial Funds” on our internet site, www.vanguardngr.com and on page 31 of Vanguard of the same date. We have since discovered the publication as incorrect and as such retract the said
news publication in its entirety.
news publication in its entirety.
“We therefore tender an unreserved apology to Chief Tony Okoroji, Chairman Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) and regret any injury the said publication must have caused him as we hold him in high esteem”.
The above words were published by Vanguard as part of an out of court settlement in a libel suit filed by Chief Okoroji against the newspaper with respect to false allegations made by Ms. Onyeka Onwenu against Chief Tony Okoroji and published in Vanguard shortly after the burial of late Christy Essien-Igbokwe.
Ms. Onyeka Onwenu went on to lose a libel suit brought against her by Chief Okoroji over the same issue and huge damages were awarded against her.
Ms. Onyeka Onwenu went on to lose a libel suit brought against her by Chief Okoroji over the same issue and huge damages were awarded against her.
Very few Nigerians have been attacked with falsehood like Chief Tony Okoroji. No Nigerian, living or dead has won more defamation cases than Tony Okoroji. No serious person can tell you that this great Nigerian is ineffective. This is the man whose efforts contributed immensely to make both the Copyright Act and the Nigerian Copyright Commission possible. This is the same man that created and produced the iconic and breath taking Nigerian Music Awards that brought the nation’s president and his wife, state governors, ambassadors from diverse countries and stars from all over the world to rub shoulders with Nigerian artistes at an entertainment event. It was Okoroji’s NMA that began the entertainment award culture in Nigeria.
They cannot match Tony Okoroji so they try to destroy him with blatant falsehood and multiple defamation. Tony Okoroji is Nigeria’s No. 1 expert in the intricate subject of copyright, a subject which he continues to work on with so much passion. Please ask anyone who has worked with him about this man’s incredible work ethic and ability to bring diverse people together for the public good and to constantly create something out of nothing. His work is very important for the future of a lot of young Nigerians and indeed the country.
On Thursday, Tony Okoroji won yet another libel suit, this time against Pretty Okafor. The loquacious Pretty Okafor who calls himself President of PMAN seems to have been obsessed by an insatiable desire to destroy Okoroji. It appears that he joined the gang that waited for Okoroji to build COSON House, make COSON an international brand with hundreds of millions of Naira in the bank. Then, they conspired and struck to chase Okoroji out of COSON and to feast on what he has built. When their coup failed, they decided to destroy Okoroji and COSON.
O la-la, the chicken has come home to roost and the boastful Pretty Okafor has fallen yakata. Nigerians will recall that I told everyone how this will end.
Who will be next?
- Patrick Harry Doyle
