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JUST IN: COSON Rejects Presidential Manifestos Of Atiku, Buhari

November 21, 2018

Speaking on the decision, COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji, said: “We are no longer going to stand on the sidelines. This is the era of the knowledge and creative economy and we will do whatever is necessary to make sure that our country is not just an onlooker in this new world but a key partaker and serious player, starting from 2019. We mean business.”

The Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Africa’s fastest growing collective management organization for musical works and sound recordings, has rejected the presidential manifestos of the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), President Muhammadu Buhari, and that of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar.

Rising from a meeting of its Board held at the COSON House on Monday, the group said that after reading both the #NextLevelNG manifesto of the APC and #TheAtikuPlan manifesto of the PDP, it is shocked that none of the candidates appears to have a plan to grow or develop the immense talent that exists in the Nigerian creative industry such as music, movies, theatre, fashion, content etc, an area in which the Nigerian nation has significant comparative advantage and the youth have tremendous flair for.

"COSON has said that the lack of strong policy positions in this area is evidence of the disconnect between the leadership and the followership in Nigeria. This is not withstanding the significant contribution said to have been made by the Nigerian creative industry when the Nigerian economy was rebased a few years ago under the Jonathan administration," read a statement by Tolulope Balogun, the group's communications officer.

"COSON has announced that the organization is inviting serious politicians to the COSON Arena to come and educate stakeholders in the creative industry on the concrete plans that they have to deploy the assets that the country has in this creative direction. It is the interaction of the industry with the politicians that will determine whom the thousands of members of COSON will endorse, support and campaign for and recommend to their fans to vote for."

Speaking on the decision, COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji, said: “We are no longer going to stand on the sidelines. This is the era of the knowledge and creative economy and we will do whatever is necessary to make sure that our country is not just an onlooker in this new world but a key partaker and serious player, starting from 2019. We mean business.”[story_link align="left"]65015[/story_link]

Buhari launched his 'Next Level' manifesto, which has now been dogge dby plagiarism claims, on Sunday, while Atiku launched his the day after.