FLAGS FLY AT HALF MAST AT COSON HOUSE FOR MAJEK FASHEK

FLAGS FLY AT HALF MAST AT COSON HOUSE IN CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OF ICONIC MUSIC STAR MAJEK FASHEK WHO JUST PASSED ON IN NEW YORK

All flags at COSON House in Ikeja, the headquarters of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), are now flying at half mast in celebration of the life of Nigeria’s iconic reggae singer and frontline member of COSON, Majek Fashek, who passed on in New York in the evening of the 1st of June.

A condolence register has also been opened at the reception of COSON House for all those who want to pay tribute to the memory of this unique Nigerian artiste to do so. Also, videos of the remarkable performances of Majek Fashek are playing on the various video screens at COSON House.

Speaking on the passing of the reggae legend, COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji said, “In various ways, we will celebrate the life of this incredibly talented Nigerian. I hope that before the day is over, I will speak with Randy, his son who lives in New York. We have to deal with the time difference between Lagos and New York and we will make the necessary announcements.

“Everyone knows that Majek Fashek was not just my colleague. He was my friend. He stood by my side and supported me from head to toe over many years. We have shared many memorable moments together. His passing on tears at my heart but I am consoled by the fact that there is no need to immortalize Majek Fashek. He has immortalized himself through his unforgettable songs and lyrics. We will celebrate Majek Fashek to inspire the young people in the creative family”

“There is almost nothing that COSON has done that Majek Fashek did not fully participate in. He was 100% dedicated to the COSON cause. Majek was not just a COSON member by name. He was a COSON member in his heart and indeed. All COSON members across Nigeria and all of our staff at COSON House which he visited regularly, will greatly miss this Nigerian of incomparable talent, the great “rain maker”. Since yesterday, it has been raining across the nation. It has to as the great Rainmaker transits. It is said that Rastas never die. I take it that my brother, friend and colleague, the iconic Majek Fashek has not died, He has travelled and one day, we will join and make music together”.

PM Walker

for TOPS Ltd Ng

THE MAN TO DELIVER THE FIRST LECTURE

THIS IS THE MAN DELIVERING THE 1st RAS KIMONO MEMORIAL LECTURE, MONDAY, JUNE 10 AT THE MAGNIFICENT COSON HOUSE, IKEJA

Professor Duro Oni has been on the staff of the University of Lagos since 1976 and has held various positions including that of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Management Services);Dean, Faculty of Arts; Professor and Head of the Department of Creative Arts: Pioneer Director, Confucius Institute: He was also the Director of the Centre for Cultural Studies. In a career spanning over forty years at the University of Lagos, Prof. Duro Oni initiated and developed degree programme in; Creative Arts(Theatre Arts, Music & Visual Arts) at the Bachelor’s, Master’s, M.Phil. and Ph.D. levels and the Bachelor's Degree in Chinese Studies.

He was also the Director General / CEO of the Federal Government Parastatal, Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC) and Special Assistant/Adviser to the Hon. Minister of Culture and Social Welfare/Youth and Sports from 1990-1992. He holds the BFA and MFA Degrees from the California Institute of the Arts in the United States and a Ph.D. from the University of Ibadan. An academic of repute, Duro Oni has a total of ten books and over sixty articles in reputable journals and chapters in books in the areas of Theatre Arts Design and Aesthetics, Dramatic Literature and Criticism, Management, Cultural Studies and the Nollywood/Nigerian Films.

An Academic, Culture /Theatre Administrator and Production Designer, Duro Oni has also travelled widely and has trained in and or visited the following countries, among others; U.S.A., Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Finland, Spain, Yugoslavia, Bermuda, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Ecuador, China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Hong Kong, Canada, Barbados, Trinidad, India, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Turkey and a host of African countries including Egypt, Republic du Benin, Togo, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal, Libya, Morocco, South Africa, Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire and Ethiopia.

Prof. Duro Oni is a Fellow, Nigerian Academy of Letters, Fellow of the Society of Nigerian Theatre Artistes (SONTA), Fellow and Advisory Board Member of National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners(NANTAP), Senior Overseas Fellow of the Ferguson Centre, Open University in the United Kingdom (2006-2007),Fellow, Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, (RSA),UK.

Prof. Duro Oni, who was born inMinna, Niger State on the 15th of December, 1952 is from Iwoye-Ijesa in Osun state. He is fluent in English, Yoruba and Hausa.

Please meet the man we are all coming to listen to on the 2019 Ras Kimono Memorial Day and delivering the first Ras Kimono Memorial Lecture on Revolutionary Music for Equality and Justice. Please meet the erudite Prof. Duro Oni.

A SLEEK RED-CARPET TRIBUTE NIGHT IN HONOUR OF THE RUB-A-DUB MASTER

COSON HOUSE PULLS OUT ALL THE STOPS FOR RAS KIMONO AS PLANS ARE ROLLED OUT FOR A SLEEK RED-CARPET TRIBUTE NIGHT IN HONOUR OF THE RUB-A-DUB MASTER

The magnificent COSON House in Ikeja will on Wednesday, August 22 witness a super classy event in honour of the great reggae toaster, Ras kimono, who passed on in Lagos on June 10, 2018.

The sleek red-carpet event, a tribute night like no other, will... climax the week-long program of the funeral of the massively beloved music legend who will be laid to rest in his home town, Onicha Olona in Delta State, on Saturday, August 25, 2018.

Speaking on the upcoming event, COSON Head of Public Affairs, Mr. Chibueze Moses Okereke said “the event will be strictly by invitation. We know that people from all walks of life would wish to attend this big event especially as the sleek tribute night is being personally produced by the COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji, Nigeria’s undisputed master of special events. Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate everyone so if you get the IV, please honour the event because it means that you belong to a select group. Members of the Kimono family have met several times with our Chairman over the tribute night and I have no doubt that it will be talk of the town”

Also speaking about the forthcoming Red Carpet Tribute Night in honour of the great Ras Kimono, the COSON General Manager, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji, said, “Ras Kimono was not just a COSON member, he was a 100% committed COSON member, totally dedicated to the COSON cause. As a hyper creative person, he fought against anything that will destroy COSON as he saw the organization as a watershed development in our country and an important legacy for the Nigerian creative industry. No one should forget that until he passed on, Ras Kimono was a key member of the COSON Board and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with our Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji through every challenge. Chief Okoroji was one of the last persons Kimono spoke to on his sick bed, before he passed on.

“The COSON Board he left behind, has held a special meeting in his honour and has instructed that the magnificent COSON House that Kimono contributed to building must host a memorable event in his honour to celebrate this one of a kind Nigerian artiste as he sets out on his last journey out of Lagos. All hands are on deck at COSON , the organization he loved with all his heart, to ensure that Kimono is buried like the king that he was”

Chief Tony Okoroji Talks About Ras Kimono

How much do you care about the people around you? Is a very big question that some still can't find an answer to.
What is your relationship with them? Is another one that others can't define.

It is said that we don't know those that loves us, we only care about the ones we love, and you don't know how important it is, till you lose it.

It is a great shock and pain to everyone at Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), to the friends, fans, family and the entire nation on the passing on of a music legend and icon Okwudili ‘Ras Kimono Onwubuya Elumelu.

Many of us never had the time to personally reach out to this music legend and icon. We give glory to God because he lived a life worth emulating.

Here is what the Chairman/President of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Chief Tony Okoroji said.

"I am still in rude shock, says Okoroji"

When the news of the sudden demise of Okwudili ‘Ras Kimono Onwubuya Elumelu hit the Nigerian airwaves like a thunderbolt during a torrential rainfall, so many disregarded this castatrophy as mere rumours as it is has been the case for many of his kind in time past.
But it became an undeniable fact when indeed throng of the decease’s friends and associated visited the Lagoon Hospital in the upscale area of Ikoyi to see and pay their due respect to the Rhumba Style crooner. When interviewed by press men, Sir Shina Peters (SSP) described the late hit maker as ‘the best thing ever to happen to the music industry’ and so it really is, as the reggae icon as constantly remained as one of the few living legends of the musical revolution of the 90s.

His profundity on stage, his affableness with all and classical artistry has been the weapon of his relevance ever since his debut entry onto the Nigerian musical scene since the 90s till 10th June 2018 when he took the last bow.
According to Chief Tony Okoroji who once held the helms of affairs at Performing Musician Society of Nigeria (PMAN), and currently the Chairman of the vibrant Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) in a statement made available to the public, he described the late Ras Kimono as not just’ being a great musician but a fantastic person, this is absolutely devastating’, he said.

Since the ill-fated news broke out, the Nigerian media terrain has been awashed with myriad of tributes to the maestro. The death no doubt is a great loss to the entire music industry in Nigeria and an irreplacable loss to the Rastafarian followership worldwide.
He will be greatly missed.

FOR TOPS:

Map Walker.