US: Nigeria, Kenya Lose $286m Annually to Uncollected Music Revenue

…U.S. Patent and Trademark Office says stronger copyright systems could unlock billions for Africa’s creative economy

By: Michael Mike

Nigeria and Kenya are losing an estimated $286 million in recorded-music revenue every year because of weaknesses in copyright collection and enforcement, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has disclosed.

The revelation came as the United States intensified its campaign for stronger intellectual-property protection across Africa, warning that weak copyright systems are preventing artists and other creative-sector players from fully benefiting from the continent’s rapidly expanding global entertainment market.

Speaking during a U.S. Department of State Africa Regional Media Hub briefing, Katherine Hiner, USPTO Intellectual Property Attaché for Sub-Saharan Africa, said the enormous revenue gap demonstrated how much economic value was being left on the table in African creative industries.

According to Hiner, data presented during recent workshops in Lagos and Johannesburg showed that Nigeria and Kenya alone leave $286 million in recorded revenue uncollected annually.

“The talent and demand is there, element one, but the value is slipping through the gap,” she said.

Hiner said the situation was particularly concerning given the rapid expansion of Africa’s music industry, with the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) reporting that Sub-Saharan African music markets had recorded double-digit growth for five consecutive years.

She said the U.S. initiative, known as IP for Growth, was designed to demonstrate how effective intellectual-property protection could transform Africa’s creative industries into stronger engines of jobs, investment, exports and economic growth.

The year-long initiative began with a discussion at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) General Assemblies in Geneva before moving to practical workshops involving government officials, musicians, producers, entertainment lawyers, industry executives and other stakeholders in Lagos and Johannesburg.

Hiner identified three major areas requiring urgent attention across African creative markets: greater transparency and accountability in revenue collection, increased public education on intellectual-property rights, and stronger enforcement against piracy.

She stressed that merely having copyright protection on paper was insufficient if creators lacked practical mechanisms to enforce their rights.

“Having a copyright in your work means little if there’s no practical means of enforcing your rights,” she said.

She also called for stronger and more effective Collective Management Organisations (CMOs), which help creators manage their rights and facilitate licensing where individual, work-by-work licensing is impractical.

Hiner urged African governments to invest not only in legislation but also in the institutions responsible for administering and enforcing intellectual-property laws.

“Strong IP systems” require both up-to-date laws and the political will to fully implement them, she said, adding that governments must commit to sustained investment in personnel, enforcement and dialogue with rights holders.

The U.S. official said America’s experience demonstrated the economic benefits of sustained investment in intellectual property.

She cited the latest USPTO analysis using 2024 data, which found that industries that intensively use at least one form of intellectual property contributed $11.4 trillion to U.S. gross domestic product, representing about 44 per cent of private-sector GDP.

The industries also supported 65.8 million jobs, equivalent to about 44 per cent of private-sector employment, while accounting for approximately $1.58 trillion in commodity exports.

Hiner said copyright-intensive industries—including sound recording, film and video production, software publishing, broadcasting and performing arts—had produced particularly significant economic returns.

Workers in those industries earned, on average, 130 per cent more than workers in non-IP-intensive industries, according to the data she cited.

She said the earnings premium had increased by 30 per cent between 2014 and 2024, demonstrating that the economic value of copyright was increasing rather than declining in the digital era.

“Music isn’t just a mood or a vibe. It is a business,” she said.

US urges adoption of international digital copyright rules

Hiner identified ratification and implementation of the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) as important steps African countries could take to strengthen protection for creators in the digital economy.

She explained that the treaties provide legal frameworks supporting technological protection measures and rights-management information, mechanisms that have become increasingly important as music distribution moves toward streaming and digital downloads.

According to her, effective implementation of these frameworks could enable African artists to reach international markets and monetise their works more effectively.

She also stressed the importance of cross-border cooperation in combating online piracy.

Hiner cited work involving the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations unit and international partners, including an operation during the World Cup that resulted in the takedown of about 1,000 websites allegedly involved in copyright infringement.

She said such operations were important not only for protecting artists and other rights holders but also because illicit proceeds from piracy could contribute to organised criminal activity.

Beyond copyright and the music industry, Hiner disclosed that the USPTO had signed its first Accelerated Patent Grant Agreement (APG) with an African intellectual-property office, Ghana’s, on the margins of the WIPO General Assemblies in Geneva in July.

Under the arrangement, a rights holder who has already secured a U.S. patent can request that the Ghanaian intellectual-property office grant a corresponding patent based on the existing U.S. right.

Hiner said the mechanism could streamline patent examination in countries with limited numbers of examiners while also providing training and cooperation between intellectual-property offices.

She said the USPTO was open to similar cooperation with other African markets.

On artificial intelligence, Hiner acknowledged that the rapid development of AI had created complex copyright and policy questions across jurisdictions.

She said established legal principles, including fair use and fair dealing, would remain important in balancing the interests of creators and innovators.

“Fact-based inquiries will help resolve those questions via established legal processes,” she said.

Hiner said the U.S. would continue working with African governments, creative-industry stakeholders and international institutions to strengthen intellectual-property systems and ensure that Africa’s creative boom translates into tangible economic benefits for creators.

The IP for Growth initiative is expected to culminate in December with a final event at the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights in Geneva.

For Nigeria, where Afrobeats has become a major global cultural export, the disclosure of $286 million in annual uncollected recorded-music revenue alongside the U.S. push for stronger copyright enforcement underscores the potentially enormous economic stakes in closing gaps in royalty collection, rights administration and anti-piracy enforcement.

US: Nigeria, Kenya Lose $286m Annually to Uncollected Music Revenue

Ogwashi-Uku Palace: Izediunor Faction Has Lost At Every Court Level, Including Supreme Court

Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State — The Palace of the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku, HRM Obi (Dr.) Ifechukwude Aninshi Okonjo II, has dismissed as misleading a recent petition sent to Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, by four individuals identified as Onyenor Ogwu, Pius Izediunor, Nodu Izediunor and PC Izediunor, describing it as an attempt to reopen a matter that has already been decided with finality by the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

The petitioners, who described themselves as representatives of an “Umu Obi Izediunor Royal Family” and an “Obi Dieyi Royal Family,” had alleged that buildings were demolished, fences erected and access to some properties restricted at Ogbenti-Obi Quarters in Ogwashi-Uku, and urged the Governor to intervene.

Responding on behalf of the Palace, Prince Onyema Okonjo, Chief of Staff to the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku, described the petitioners as recalcitrant serial losers who have refused to accept defeat despite losing the case at every level of the Nigerian judicial system, including twice at the Supreme Court. According to Prince Onyema Okonjo, “They are delusional and in denial and have refused the accept the reality of their situation.”

“This is not a fresh or unresolved dispute,” Prince Okonjo said. “The Delta State High Court ordered this same faction to vacate the Palace premises as far back as 2007. That judgment went to the Court of Appeal, which affirmed it. It went to the Supreme Court, which affirmed it. It went to the Supreme Court a second time, and was affirmed again. There is nothing left to litigate. What we are dealing with is a recalcitrant faction of serial litigants who have lost this case repeatedly and simply refuse to accept it.”

According to Prince Okonjo, rather than comply with the 2007 judgment, members and supporters of the Izediunor faction spent the years that followed selling portions of the ancestral Palace land to third parties and erecting structures on it, in defiance of the subsisting court order.

It was not until February 2021, he said, after all avenues of appeal had been exhausted, that court bailiffs, accompanied by police officers, moved in to execute the judgment and evict the occupants. A Certificate of Possession was subsequently issued to the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku, formally confirming legal title and possession of the premises.

“Even after the eviction and the issuance of the certificate of possession, some individuals refused to leave and continued to occupy parts of the grounds,” Prince Okonjo said. “What has now happened is that the Palace completed the fencing of its own premises and cleared illegal structures that had no business being there, on land it has held a valid court judgment and certificate over for years. That is not demolition in the sense the petition suggests. That is a property owner enforcing a Supreme Court judgment on his own land.”

The Palace also linked the recent petition to an ongoing criminal trial before the Federal High Court, Asaba Division, in Charge No. FHC/ASB/18C/2024, in which individuals connected to the Izediunor faction — including Mike Nwaukoni and Francis Okolie, also known as “Mayor” — are standing trial on charges of terrorism, attempted murder, attempting to force their way into the Palace which led to security official being attacked, waging communal war, and destruction of police vehicles. The prosecution has closed its case in that trial, and the defence is expected to open shortly. It is as a result of this incident that the Palace premises needed to be further secured and fortified.

Prince Okonjo further noted that the security works at the premises were carried out with police presence sanctioned by the Inspector-General of Police and the Commissioner of Police for Delta State, and questioned why a matter already settled by the Supreme Court, and enforced with the knowledge of the police high command, should require executive intervention.
“The Obi of Ogwashi-Uku recovered his ancestral Palace grounds through the courts, all the way to the Supreme Court, twice,” he said. “He showed patience by allowing some occupants time on the premises rather than enforcing his rights immediately and fully. That patience is now being repaid with a petition asking the Governor to look again at a case the highest court in the country has already closed.”

“We understand that some people find it difficult to move on after losing at the Supreme Court, but that difficulty cannot be turned into a licence to keep dragging a settled matter back to the public square. Furthermore, there is no Izediunor who was ever a legitimate Obi of Ogwashi-Uku. The courts have already made that clear. They are illegitimate usurpers and were illegal occupants of the Palace premises” Prince Okonjo said. “This case is closed. What remains is for the law to be respected.”

Efforts to reach the petitioners for further comment were not immediately successful as at the time of filing this report.

Ogwashi-Uku Palace: Izediunor Faction Has Lost At Every Court Level, Including Supreme Court

2027: Group Takes Tinubu Re-election Campaign to Abuja Streets

By: Michael Mike

The 2027 presidential election campaign took an early turn towards grassroots mobilisation in Abuja on Wednesday as the Hope Alive Initiative (HAI) deployed about 40 giant, colourful human mascots across strategic locations in the Federal Capital Territory to promote President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid.

The unusual street activation, which marked the opening phase of HAI’s multi-platform campaign, saw the mascots deployed around major roundabouts, markets, motor parks and other busy areas, drawing the attention of motorists, commuters and residents.

Carrying banners and campaign messages, the mascots moved through parts of the capital as HAI sought to take its pro-Tinubu message beyond conventional political gatherings and directly into public spaces.

The initiative is the first phase of a broader campaign that will combine physical mobilisation with digital and traditional media, including a city-wide SMS campaign, a weekly Pidgin-language radio programme and an original campaign jingle.

In a statement signed by its Director of Press and Communications, Ernest Omoarelojie, HAI said it decided to support Tinubu’s re-election based on what it described as the administration’s “bold reforms and initiatives” aimed at repositioning the Nigerian economy and strengthening national institutions.

The organisation listed reforms in the petroleum sector, developments in the foreign exchange market, increased government revenue and foreign reserves, moves towards greater Local Government autonomy, police and internal security reforms, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), tax reforms and major road projects among the areas it believes should inform the 2027 electoral debate.

“While these reforms have come with short-term challenges, we believe they are difficult but necessary steps towards a more sustainable, prosperous and better governed Nigeria,” the organisation said.

Omoarelojie, who spoke during the street mobilisation, said the group was deliberately adopting a grassroots approach to ensure that its message reached Nigerians outside traditional political structures.

“We are asking Nigerians to look beyond sentiment. Let us look at the facts as they are,” he said.

According to him, citizens should assess the administration on the basis of its policies, programmes and measurable outcomes rather than political sentiments.

He cited the student loan scheme, economic reforms, foreign exchange management and infrastructure development as areas in which HAI believes the administration has made significant progress.

The organisation acknowledged that some of the government’s reforms had imposed short-term economic difficulties on citizens but argued that their long-term benefits would depend on sustained implementation.

HAI’s campaign will also deploy SMS messaging as a direct communication channel to residents across Abuja.

The organisation said the digital mobilisation would constitute the first stage of a wider communication strategy designed to expand as the 2027 election approaches.

Another major component of the campaign is a weekly Pidgin-language radio programme titled Wetin Tinubu Don Do Sef, designed to explain government policies and programmes in language accessible to a broad section of Nigerians.

According to HAI, each episode will concentrate on a specific policy area, examine its impact and explain how citizens could benefit from relevant government initiatives.

The programme is expected to feature a presenter alongside guests or co-hosts, with expert perspectives, citizen contributions and practical examples incorporated into discussions.

HAI said the programme would subsequently be syndicated on selected radio stations across the country as the campaign expands.

The organisation is also preparing an original campaign jingle intended to give the mobilisation effort a distinct identity and reinforce its political message across radio and other platforms.

HAI said the jingle draws inspiration from the tradition of memorable Nigerian political campaign songs, including the famous Hope ’93 campaign associated with the late businessman and politician, Chief M.K.O. Abiola.

The organisation said its August 19 street activation was only the beginning of a sustained campaign that would combine grassroots mobilisation, traditional broadcasting, digital communication and public engagement.

Subsequent phases will focus on explaining government policies and programmes in the economy, education, security and infrastructure sectors, with particular emphasis on NELFUND, economic reforms, security initiatives and road projects.

Omoarelojie said the 2027 election would offer Nigerians an opportunity to examine the country’s direction and decide whether the Tinubu administration had earned another mandate.

He urged voters to engage with the issues and judge the administration by its record, policies and their effects on citizens rather than political rhetoric.

With its deployment of human mascots, SMS mobilisation, Pidgin broadcasting and campaign music, HAI’s Abuja activation signals an effort to give the Tinubu re-election campaign a distinctly grassroots character long before the 2027 presidential contest reaches its peak.

2027: Group Takes Tinubu Re-election Campaign to Abuja Streets