By Myke Pam
About thirty four years after the clarion call from the late lady of songs, Christy Essien Igbokwe metamorphosed into the first meeting of musicians and industry eggheads at the famed Ariya Nite Club owned by King Sunny Ade, PMAN, the baby that was birthed at the end of that parley is still behaving and tottering around like an uncouth toddler.
The Performing Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria PMAN, was originally conceived and organized as the umbrella body of band leaders and employers of musical labour, as the name implies, and was meant to shield and cover them from all the unfavorable elements within and without the industry, as well as creating avenues to further enrich and gorge themselves at the detriment of the already impoverished hardworking “band boys” and “session men”.
It is of course worthy to note that the men and women who peopled that meeting were leaders of bands and some well known and upcoming recording artistes who employ the services of instrumentalists and background vocalists (session men) in their recordings and live performances. It is therefore not unlikely that the first body they obviously would favour is one that caters for their own immediate needs (whether selfish, nocturnal or otherwise), as against one with a general overview of the entire industry practitioners.
Well, be that as it may, the nomenclature “employers” have been muffled and PMAN has basically become a body of all genuine Nigerian musicians irrespective of one’s hierarchical setting in the industry. Though, some of us are still of the opinion that the offensive word itself must be scrapped entirely from the body’s nomenclature, some appreciable progress has been made over the years (unfortunately, not by all the successive administrations) in integrating and making every musician feel like a bona fide stake holder in the body.
PMAN has had its own share of intra-fighting and factional brouhahas with very slippery banana peels strewn all over the corridors and offices in the different buildings that have served as its national headquarters. Yes, I said different buildings because it is very sad to note that after all these years, PMAN cannot boast of its own secretariat or concert/recreational centers or music school. Like I observed earlier, it is still trapped in time, behaving like an uncouth toddler, and this is a very sad commentary indeed.
From the interim Presidency of Sunny Ade in the formative years of PMAN to the last officially acknowledged administration of TeeMac Iseli, the body has gone through plenty of progressive and retrogressive transformation. All the past presidents aided in one way or the other in the regrettable decline of that once enviable music house called PMAN.
One or two of them can be said to have performed creditably well in some aspects while failing abysmally in others, but some of the past leaders are known to have failed woefully in advancing the cause of the music house in particular and the welfare of musicians themselves in general. In fact, some of them are known to have lined their pockets with ill-gotten proceeds meant for the entire house without batting an eyelid. When you ask questions, they will tell you that PMAN is a microcosm of Nigeria, so what obtains in our political space inadvertently influences, or rather, affects the body too.
It suffices that in spite of all these inadequacies, challenges and self-inflicted maladministration and total absence of good governance, PMAN of yore was still able to maintain a presence, even if modicum, as some analysts have pointed out. The few gains that were recorded before the forceful takeover of the PMAN secretariat by the Dele Abiodun led faction were all squandered on the petty mudsling, counter insurrections and multiple court cases and the attendant destabilization that ensued.
It got to the point that street urchins and miscreants were being hired by opposing factions to inflict bodily harms on their fellow musicians and brothers all in the name of leadership tussles. Ever since the first set of hired goons invaded PMAN headquarters sometime in April 2008, the music body has not recovered. In fact, there’s a theory that has been making the rounds that fifth columnists (coached and funded by some faceless persons) were purposely infiltrated into the union to cause its eventual but gradual demise.
It’s been nine years since the first devastating blow landed on the body’s lifeline and things have never been the same again. We’ve had more than ten phony ‘presidents’ operating and running the affairs of ‘PMAN’ from as many ‘secretariats’ as they can muster within this period. We’ve had some unscrupulous persons and their cronies going around brandishing all manner of ‘court injunctions’, ‘summons’, ‘restraining orders’ and other legal papers infused with jargons that would ordinarily make a regular artiste swoon with confusion.
A lot of odiferous and utterly offensive water has passed under this rickety bridge, while a lot of us have decided to slumber on. Meritocracy is therefore sacrificed and continues to be slaughtered on the altar of mediocrity as PMAN continues to slide deeper into the abyss. The fight has gone on for too long and it’s time to put an end to all the bad blood, suspicion and intolerance bedeviling the union.
Having said all these, it is therefore pertinent at this juncture to look at the merits and demerits of a united and virile PMAN, and to ask the question which a lot of industry practitioners have been shying away from. Who benefits from a divided PMAN? Who is happy that the Nigerian house of music is in disarray? Who is making true reconciliation impossible, and why is it that people who should know better are either lounging on the proverbial fence, paying lip service to or, out rightly ignore this cancerous growth that is threatening to snuff life out of PMAN?
Personally, it is very instructive to note that PMAN’s travails and unending squabbles seems to be somewhat intertwined with MCSN’s long drawn incapacitation and fight for survival. This is because all through the time that MCSN was struggling to survive the forces of darkness that are bent on slaying it, PMAN had no helper or active collaborator in its quest to survive. There’s no gain denying the fact that the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN) has always been in the vanguard of initiating and brokering peace in PMAN whenever the need arises. It has supported and championed some innovative strides involving PMAN and Nigerian musicians. It is also on record that all through the glorious days of PMAN, MCSN have been involved in one laudable project or the other with the music house.
So, now that the Nigerian government through the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has done the needful by restoring MCSN’s license to operate, it then behooves this time-tested collective management organization (CMO) to take up the gauntlet once again and bring all warring factions to the round table to dot the I’s and cross the T’s in order to save PMAN from itself. This can only be achieved by a body like MCSN and other well-meaning entities and individuals who are known for their neutrality and sincerity of purpose in issues like this.
MCSN is out of the doldrums now and should therefore, play its hitherto acknowledged role of restoring order to the Nigerian house of music by activating this essential peace-mode. Ultimately, it is very important for all well meaning industry practitioners to close ranks and work with such a body for the overall benefit of the industry. The time to apportion blames is over, and it is time to move forward. To paraphrase the great Madiba, MCSN, “it is in your hands.” PMAN, it’s now or never!
