Members of PMAN at the commissioning of the edifice<br />PHOTO: ENIOLA DANIEL
King Sunny Ade Opens Edifice, Urges Peace, Unity
The Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN) has launched its corporate edifice in Lagos after 40 years of existing without such property.
PMAN executives led by the president, Pretty Okafor, acquired the multi-million-naira edifice in Chevy View Estate, Lekki, Lagos to be used as the corporate office.
The building is a fully detached 5-bedroom duplex equipped with ultra-modern facilities, including a digital music library, radio station, conference rooms, and VIP lounge. It also has membership registration booth provided by Zenith Bank, and other necessary offices.
Okafor said the decision to acquire the property was borne out of good business sense. According to him, it is to reposition and rebrand the association as well as bridge the gap between PMAN and the new generation artistes.
“The edifice and everything today is not by my making, it’s the work of the excos. I couldn’t have moved around to get the connection to where we are today without their cooperation. Sunny Neji, Zaaki Azzay, Rugged Man, Michael Stephen, Asha Gangali and Boniface Itodo and others have worked tirelessly to ensure this.
“Since we got the last judgment on November 12, 2020, it has been a drive to prove a point. Our focus to bring out the association from the dungeon and set an example among our peers became a strong force and that is what birthed this. Through the acquisition of this property, we are sending an important message to Nigerian musicians and the corporate sector that PMAN, the Nigerian music industry powerhouse, is back in business,” Okafor said.
He explained further that the National Working Committee (NWC) of PMAN deliberately chose Lekki for the new corporate office because it’s the new epicentre of the Nigerian entertainment industry.
“It’s a deliberately made decision to leave Ikeja because Lekki is the new hub for the Nigerian music industry. It is the hotbed for the new wave of Afrobeats culture.”
Chief Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye, professionally known as King Sunny Ade, said: “All I want the PMAN to do is that the infighting should stop. There is nothing wrong with PMAN, it is the infighting that triggered so many things, and I thank God that during the tenure of Pretty Okafor, the infighting is now behind us. We must continue to pray for PMAN because every good thing needs prayers to be able to sustain it, just as bad things need prayers to be able to tackle them.
“I appreciate everyone that has made it to this level, now we are in our own house that we can be proud of. I do tell every entertainer in this country any time we meet that no matter any name we give any association, anything regarding entertainment is under PMAN.
“I beg members to look critically before they criticise. When I was the president, everyone had access to my office. In those days, musicians don’t sit together, and even our ancestors don’t greet each other. I don’t want that to happen. My royalty hasn’t been paid to me for the past 50 years by a body, but now I am in the house and I won’t be going to court alone, I have PMAN with me.”
Showbiz entrepreneur, Collins Enebeli, said: “I am happy to witness this occasion because I had looked forward to it over the years. A long time ago, when we were all aspiring within the creative industry space, I had absolute faith in what PMAN stood for and in line with that, I encouraged my children to be players within the sphere and made sure they underwent the tutelage to bring them to the market place where they can be successful. So, we must continue the current peace and move PMAN forward.”
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