Alhaji Haruna Ishola Bello Adebayo |
I
first came across Haruna Ishola in the shop of Uncle Lasco, the tailor. Lasco was our
neighbourhood tailor. He was Lagos trained, and in those days, that was like
having a Royal Charter. Lasco was also a good man. He allowed us to use his
charcoal iron to press our khaki school
uniforms. His shop was thus a sort of mecca for all of us.
You
are wondering what Haruna Ishola was doing with Lasco, the tailor? No, Baba
Gani Agba was not Lasco’s customer. I’m not even sure they ever met. Or may be
they met when Lasco was being trained in Lagos. Onigegewura didn’t know and he
didn’t ask.
Lasco
had a poster of Haruna Ishola in his shop. It was a big poster. It featured the
legendary musician with his trademark gap-toothed smile. Alhadji Haruna Ishola, MON was the
caption. I asked Lasco what MON stood for. He scratched his head for some
seconds before telling me it was an abbreviation for Monday. I wondered what
Haruna Ishola had to do with Monday.
Later
that day, I asked Anti Wura, Buroda Alani’s third wife, the meaning of MON. If
you are a regular reader of Onigegewura, you would know that Anti Wura had answer
to every question. Anti Wura told me that it was not an abbreviation for
Monday. According to her, it was a chieftaincy title that was given to the
doyen of Apala Music by the government after he won a court case against his former
business partner, Nurudeen Alowonle.
Of
course you know Anti Wura was my social media. She went on to regale me with
the story of the epic battle between the business partners. As usual, and as
she did in the case of King Sunny Ade and the story of Ayinla Omowura, Anti
Wura added spices and other condiments to the story.
Today,
Onigegewura brings you the true story of the epic battle between Haruna Ishola
Bello Adebayo and Nurudeen Omotayo Alowonle. It is a story of friendship and
partnership. And it is the story of the
death of a musical cum business partnership.
Let
me start from the beginning and tell you how and why a flourishing business
partnership ended up in the court of law.
Haruna
Ishola was the undisputable king of Apala Music. Notwithstanding the stiff
competition from his archrival, Kasumu Adio, Baba Gani Agba enjoyed a position
of pre-eminence in Yoruba social circle. His influence and popularity was
however not limited to the southwest Nigeria.
He straddled the west coast of Africa like a colossus.
In
the neighbouring Republic of Benin, the trio of Suradjou Alabi, Yusouf Oloyede
and Anafi Alao dominated Apala music. Haruna was however the toast of our
French-speaking brethren. His hit track Egbe
Majority Cotonou was a praise song dedicated to his fans in the country
formerly called Dahomey until 1975.You remember the track? Ti mo ba se faaji titi, ma ranti Egbe Majority ni Kutonu...Ni Porto Novo mo n ranti yin, Alhaji Shefu Arikose...
Haruna
Ishola was also one of the pioneer musicians to tour Europe. Before his epic
journey, apala music used to be derided as a local music. I am certain
that you have heard that ko si aye apala
ni ilu oyinbo [Apala music has no place in the white man’s country]. Well,
that was before Haruna Ishola. He succeeded in taking Apala music to London. He
went to Germany. He visited Sweden. He returned to Nigeria via Rome.
Of
course you remember On my way to London
ko s’ewu rara! That was the album he released on his return from his London
tour. It was a momentous occasion. Haruna Ishola had broken the jinx. There was
a place for Apala in the white man’s country, after all. Committee of Gentlemen of Ijebu Igbo hosted a lavish party to welcome him back from Europe.
Haruna
had certainly come a long way from the young musician who released his first
album in 1948 to mark the coronation of Orimolusi
Adeboye, the Oba of Ijebu-Igbo. The album was however not a commercial success. It was his
second album in 1955 that catapulted him into limelight. Strangely, the second
album was also in honour of Orimolusi who had just joined his ancestors.
Apala
first appeared around 1940 under the names ‘Area’ and ‘Oshugbo’. According to
some documented accounts which Onigegewura came across, Haruna Ishola was the
one who changed the name of the music from Oshugbo
to Apala when he formed his band in 1947 at the age of 28.
He
was not only a musician. He had become a reference point as a social
commentator and a recorder of historical events. If Haruna didn’t sing about an
occurrence, it was not a landmark event.
He
sang when Ooni Adesoji Aderemi became the first African Governor [Ijoba Westan Naijiriya won n pon oba le, Ooni je gomina]. He released
an album when Oba Sikiru Adetona Ogbagba II ascended the throne of his fathers [Ogbagba a gbo ote wo le, lagbade fun..].
He waxed an album when Chief Obafemi Awolowo buried his mother, Mary Awolowo,
in Ikenne in 1971 [Won ti n sin oku eyi ti mo ti n ri, t'oku Mama Obafemi, akoko lo je]. His album Oroki Social
Club reportedly sold more than five million copies.
Onigegewura
had told you in the story of King Sunny Ade that the remunerations of Nigerian
musicians of 1960s and 1970s were not commensurate with their productivity and
creativity. Label owners, record dealers and music producers dictated the
terms. It must have been as a result of this reason that Baba Gani Agba decided
to become a label owner.
Nurudeen Alowonle |
Haruna
Ishola was not a legal practitioner but he knew that for the partnership to be
legal, the terms of engagement must be documented. On May 28, 1964, they all
entered into an agreement to become partners. The name they chose for the
partnership was Express Record Dealers
Association. According to the agreement, Express Record Dealers
Association was formed for the purpose of producing records with the
distinguishing label mark Alowonle Sounds
Studio. Nurudeen Alowonle was appointed the Managing Director of the
firm. They all signed the agreements. Everybody was happy.
Haruna
Ishola was indeed very happy. The son of herbalist and part-time musician had graduated from being a musician to
becoming a label owner and a record dealer. He had joined the league of
legendary record owners like Emmanuel Badejo Okusanya of Ijebu Imodi and Yakubu
Bolarinwa Abioro of Ipokia.
It
was as if the business partners had the Midas touch. Express Record Dealers
Association with its trade name Alowonle
Sounds Studio became an overnight success. There was no doubt that the
partnership was going to become a success story.
Then
people started hearing some strange things about the partnership. It was being
rumoured that the partners were quarrelling. Anti Wura told me that the partners began to talk to their lawyers
about how the partnership agreement could be terminated. There was no Instagram
at the time. There was no Twitter. Yet, Anti Wura always managed to get
information about what was happening in far away Lagos. Anti Wura definitely
came before her time. She would have given our contemporary bloggers a run for
their money.
It
was however not a rumour. By 1966, cracks had begun to appear on the walls of
the partnership. Owo lo n ba oju ore je is
one of Iya Agba’s favourite sayings. Money is the bane of friendship. It was
said that Express Records Dealers Association was selling records and making
money, but it did not appear as if the partnership was making money.
Haruna
Ishola and other partners called an extraordinary emergency meeting of the
partnership. The meeting had only one item as its agenda. The partners
requested the Managing Director to give an account of the recordings of music
made by or on behalf of the partnership. The Managing Director was given two
weeks to produce the account.
Two
weeks, three weeks, four weeks later, no account was produced. Another
extraordinary emergency meeting of the business partners was called. Again,
only one item featured prominently. Account of the recordings. It was apparent
that Express Records was going to die expressly. On February 7, 1967, the
partnership was dissolved.
But
that was not the end of the story…
Following
the dissolution of the partnership, the former partners had assumed that that
was the end of the Express Record Dealers
Association and Alowonle Sounds
Studio. Haruna Ishola was therefore surprised one day when he came across
some new albums recently produced in the name of Alowonle Sounds Studio. He bought some copies and began to make
discrete investigation. He wondered who could be so courageous to be using the
trade name of the defunct partnership to market the records.
Before
nightfall he had found the answer he was seeking. It was Nurudeen
Alowonle, the former Managing Director of Express Records. Haruna Ishola called
his lawyer. He had only one question for the legal luminary. Whether a former partner of a dissolved
partnership had a legal right to continue to use the trade name of the
partnership. The lawyer consulted his law books on Intellectual Properties,
Partnership, Trade Marks and Industrial Properties. He answered the question
with a NO!
Haruna
Ishola was happy. He already knew that the answer was going to be a NO. He
asked his lawyer to proceed to court. He told the lawyer of the issue of
account that had not been resolved. He decided to use one stone to kill two
birds.
Nurudeen
Alowonle received the court processes without fear. He looked at the reliefs
being claimed by his former business partners. They were asking the court to
compel him to give an account of all the profits that had accrued to Express
Records between 1964 and 1967. They also wanted him to pay to them their own
shares of the profits. That was not all. They wanted the court to compel him to
also pay them their share of profits made after 1967 with the name of the
partnership.
It
was however their last prayer that made Alowonle to jump up. Haruna Ishola and
co. asked the court for an order of injunction to restrain him from trading
under the name and style of Express
Record Dealers Association and from producing records under the
distinguishing label of Alowonle Sounds
Studio. He called his lawyer. He also had one question: Whether he could be restrained from trading
using his own name, Alowonle Sounds Studio? His lawyer consulted his law
books from all the Commonwealth jurisdictions. He answered the question with a
NO!
Nurudeen
Alowonle was happy. He already knew that the answer was going to be a NO. He
asked his lawyer to join issues with the plaintiffs. When you join issues in
the court of law, it means that you are disputing the claims of the other
parties. It is similar to what Iya Agba meant whenever she said that she was
going to wear the same pair of trousers with someone. So, Haruna Ishola and
Nurudeen Alowonle joined issues.
Let’s
go to court.
The
case was assigned to Honourable Justice Sowemimo. By now, you must have become
familiar with Justice Sowemimo and other revered Justices of the First
Republic. If you don’t know His Lordship, please raise up your hand. Hint?
Treasonable felony trial. Ha! You remember?
Hon. Justice Sowemimo |
Justice
Sowemimo listened to the parties as they called evidence in support of their
cases. Haruna Ishola and his friends were shocked when Nurudeen Alowonle told
the court that he was the sole registered
owner of the Alowonle business name. Alowonle was not just saying it by
words of mouth. He called a witness. It was not an ordinary witness. The
witness he called was an official in the office of the Registrar of Business
Names.
To
the shock of Haruna Ishola who went to London, Germany and Sweden and who came
back to Nigeria via Rome, the official produced documents in support of the
claims of Alowonle. According to the representative of the Registrar, Alowonle Sound Studio was registered on
June 28, 1967 and ceased to function on November 7, 1967. It was registered by
Nurudeen Alowonle.
That
was not all. On November 22, 1967, the name was registered by Nurudeen
Alowonle, Zaid Olatunji Alowonle and Saola Abiodun Yesufu. There was no mention
of Haruna Ishola Bello anywhere in the register.
The
plaintiffs, Haruna Ishola and his friends called for the documents of
registration. They checked the documents. They turned over the documents;
perhaps their names were on the back. They could not find their names.
Dejected, they returned the documents to the court registrar. There was no need
for any objection. The court admitted the documents as Exhibits.
In a reserved judgment, His Lordship Sowemimo agreed
with Haruna Ishola that his case was meritorious. The court ordered Nurudeen
Alowonle to file a full statement of account of all his transactions when he
was solely managing the partnership.
His Lordship restrained Nurudeen Alowonle from
‘placing orders as set out in Item 5 of the writ of summons.’ Effectively,
Nurudeen Alowonle was prohibited from trading using his trade name.
Haruna
Ishola jumped for joy. He mentally began to compose new songs to celebrate his
court victory. It was likely going to start with something like this: ‘On my way to Lagos High Court…ko s’ewu rara.’
Alowonle
could not believe his ears. The court had agreed that the name was registered
by him. He had brought a credible and formidable witness to court. On what
ground did the court now restrain him from using his registered name? He asked
his lawyer. His lawyer checked the law books again. They decided to go upstairs
to appeal the judgment.
I
hope you remember that Onigegewura had told you that only Western State had a
Court of Appeal then. I hope you also remember that Onigegewura had told you
that Lagos was not part of Western State. You remember? Good.
The
contention of Nurudeen Alowonle when the case got to Supreme Court was that the
High Court of Lagos State [Your lawyer will tell you that you can only appeal
against the decision of the Court and
not decision of the Judge] was wrong
to restrain him from using the trade name.
At the Supreme Court, the strangest thing happened. The panel which heard the case was made
up of My Lords GBA Coker [Coker Commission of Inquiry], Ian Lewis and Sir Udo Udoma [father of Senator Udo Udoma, Hon Minister of Budget and Planning]. Their Lordships read
through the records of proceeding carefully. They paid particular attention to
the evidence of the representative of the Registrar of Business Names. They
read the partnership agreement. They then discovered something.
Could
it have been a typographical error? Their Lordships wondered. They observed
that there was evidence before the learned trial judge that the trade name was
registered by Nurudeen Alowonle and his associates who were not the plaintiffs
in 1967. My Lords then began to wonder. Since Nurudeen Alowonle could not have
registered the name whilst it remained registered in favour of the partnership
which was formed in 1964, was the name ever registered by the partnership? That
was what My Lords discovered!
The
Supreme Court asked Haruna Ishola. Was the name registered by the partnership
in 1964? He shook his head. The apex Court asked Nurudeen Alowonle. He said No.
The Learned Justices looked at the Learned Counsel for the parties. The learned Counsel looked at their
respective clients. I hope you understand what was happening in court. You do?
Well, in case you don’t, let me explain it.
Haruna
Ishola and his friends whilst trading under the name and style of Express Record Dealers Association and Alowonle Sounds Studio in 1964 did not
register the name as trade names! You now understand! It was Nurudeen Alowonle who went ahead alone to first
register the name in June 1967 after the partnership was dissolved in February 1967! You are shaking your head.
The
Supreme Court then found that “the plaintiffs [i.e. Haruna Ishola and his
friends] had registered no trade
mark and as such possess no registered trade mark, the use of which by other
persons they could prevent by an order of injunction…It is obvious therefore
that the parties, prior to the dissolution of the 7th February, 1967
carried on the partnership illegally
and could not…seek the assistance of the court, to enforce claims which had
arisen by virtue of illegal exercise.”
In other
words, between 1964 and 1967, Haruna Ishola, Nurudeen Alowonle, F. S. Balogun
and the fourth partner had no registered trademark or trade name.
Alowonle could therefore not be restrained from using a name that was not
registered by the partners!
The
Supreme Court therefore held that the action filed by Baba Gani Agba was
incompetent. The Court set aside the judgment of the High Court of Lagos State
and struck out Haruna Ishola’s case. However in the light of the relationship
between Ishola and Alowonle as well as the history of the case, the Court did
not award cost against any of them.
That’s
however not the end of Baba Gani’s business venture. In 1969, he partnered with
the legendary I. K. Dairo to set up STAR Records. It was one of Nigeria’s first
indigenous record companies. Between 1979 and 1980, he established Phonodisc, a thirty-two track recording studio.
Oh! The MON? It was neither a chieftaincy title nor an
abbreviation for Monday as I was informed by Lasco and Anti Wura. Of course, it
was the Member of the Order of the Niger awarded to Haruna Ishola Bello in 1981
by Alhaji Shehu Aliyu Shagari, the then President of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria.
I
hope you and your partners have registered your business name. If you have not, please remember
Nurudeen Alowonle and Haruna Ishola Bello.
Onigegewura thanks you very warmly for your time.
-Olanrewaju Onigegewura©
History Does Not Forget
The right of Olanrewaju Onigegewura© to be identified as the author of stories published on this blog has been asserted by him in accordance with the copyright laws.
I have learnt something new. Thanks and God bless you Onigegewura for equipping us intellectually.
ReplyDeleteWhaooo whaoooo!!! Supreme Court always know better. ... but not in the same case of two premiers... that case was politicized because FG selfish interest...deligent job from Supreme Court. Baba GANI was knocked out on simple technicality.
ReplyDeleteAlways incisive and educative. Thanks to Onigegewura.
ReplyDeleteYes oh, Onigegewura! This is another beautiful rendition full of incontrovertible pieces of advice and knowledge. Bravo.
ReplyDeleteOnigegewura thank you Agba onitan lorile o ase. Your blog is very educative as always
ReplyDeleteWow! Big lesson learnt.
ReplyDeleteMore inks to your pen broππ
Thank you onigegewura. I have a customer Mr Nurudeen but everyone calls him baba alowonle, now I know. I love your blog, thank you sir
ReplyDeleteRefreshing n educate as always
ReplyDeleteWell-done
It's sometimes painful dt in an illegal contract, d law lies where it falls. Alowonle must hv surreptitiously registered d name thus fully prepared for the eventualities
Refreshing and educative......
Deletemy question is regarding partnership... in developed cou tries, a partnership need not be registered. The courts can determine if a partnership exist or not based on business dealings e.g profit sharing. Simply put, you can have a business partner but legally a partnership does not exist. You mentioned they signed a partnership agreement, is that not tenable in court?
DeleteBrilliant as ever.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks sir.
I have a friend Nurudeen. I never knew Alowonle we usually call him is not part of his name. Thank you Onigegewura
ReplyDeleteThanks n very insightful write up. People should always cross check any agreement with the appropriate agency
ReplyDeleteHmmmmmmmmm! Great lessons learned. However I still like Anti Wura best! She was way ahead of her time! Lol!!! Well-done boss
ReplyDeleteSome people came before their time, some after their time. But Onigegewura came at the right time when all of us are fighting furiously to forget our past (history).
ReplyDeleteThank you Olanrewaju for bringing us back to reality, reality of where are coming from which will spur us to where we are going; for history indeed is not the past but the future.
"He was so popular that his name, Alowonle, became the nickname of any child named Nurudeen" Its obvious Onigegewura almost instinctively know the relevant part of history and language that help us make sense of incomplete facts. You have linked lots fragments and loose bits of information for me. Where else can anyone get this kind information quoted above? You don't even ask because you don't know you don't know. I wish you good health and may your knowledge continue to flourish.
ReplyDeleteO Salako, Asst Prof of Medicine, Ontario Canada
Very rich and exciting story with a lesson to take away.
ReplyDeleteI've learnt new things. Now I know why Nurudeen is called Alowonle and why the importance of doing things legally. No shere shere in business. Thank you Onigegewura.
ReplyDeleteThe big lesson is for partners in a business to ensure all due process was followed and reflected in the Partnership Agreement.
ReplyDeleteI read Ara (the female drummer) story in the punch today, and my mind went straight to this story and that of Sunny Ade as earlier published in the blog.
ReplyDeleteThe big lesson as stated by her is always get a lawyer before you enter into agreements and register your brand.
Nice wr
ReplyDeleteNice write up sir. I know Baba Alowonle personally and I can testify to him winning numerous court cases as a result of such technicalities when he was alive. He was really close to my grandpa. May their souls rest in peace.
Kudos for this insightful epistle.
Great Onigegewura, more ink to your golden pen. I was never disappointed. Pls I want to make a request: Can you do Nigeria the favour of putting together the history of the Nigerian civil war of 1967-1970? I would like you to do this now that some of the actors are still around. Because once they are gone, Na dem say, dem say we will have. Since your job is a sort of documentary, you can achieve this.
ReplyDeleteBravo brother, this is revealing and at the same time educative,the combination of enlightenment and academic injection is marvellous. More grease to your elbow
ReplyDeleteBravo brother, this is revealing and at the same time educative,the combination of enlightenment and academic injection is marvellous. More grease to your elbow
ReplyDeleteNice piece. More Grace...
ReplyDeleteThis is a lesson for all business men and women. Thank u sir
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! Pls I will like to know what happened between haruna ashola and kasumu adio
ReplyDeleteMan, I learned here today as someone who used to listen to Baba n Gani Agba, Olori Elere nla.
ReplyDeleteThan you for this Onigegewura.
Waoh! I was literally shaking my head. E don tey wey 419 start
ReplyDelete