VICE PRESIDENT OSINBAJO TO DELIVER KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT 2015 COSON LECTURE ON MONDAY.

The Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo will deliver the Keynote Address at the 2015 COSON Lecture, one of the seven big events of the COSON Week which kicks off at 3.00 pm this Sunday with the much talked about show of shows, ‘COSON in the Church’ which begins with a magnificent plush red carpet and cocktails ceremony at the massive KICC Prayer Dome in Maryland Lagos. Final rehearsals supervised by the celebrated former President of PMAN and Chairman of COSON, Chief Tony Okoroji, the no nonsense producer of exquisite events, takes place on Saturday evening at the Prayer Dome.

Meanwhile, the premises of Lagos Sheraton Hotel & Towers Ikeja will be abuzz on Monday, November 2, 2015 as Nigeria’s best brains, legal scholars and the stars of the nation’s creative industries gather for the COSON Lecture. The theme of this year’s lecture, which is attracting significant interest, is “Intellectual Property Rights in the Digital Economy”.

Professor Bankole Sodipo, the immediate past Dean of Law, School of Law and Security Studies, Babcock University, will deliver the Lecture.

Sodipo is the Joint Coordinator of the African Intellectual Property Group, the founding President of the Intellectual Property Law Association of Nigeria (IPLAN) and a former Chair of the Commercial Law and Taxation Committee of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He is a member of various professional bodies including the Nigerian Bar Association, the International Bar Association, the Nigerian Maritime Law Association, the International Trade Marks Association, the Christian lawyers Fellowship of Nigeria and Advocates Africa.

Professor Sodipo has served as an Adjunct Research Fellow at Queen Mary, University of London, a visiting guest lecturer at the Nigerian Law School, the University College London and the Lagos Business School. He has written several articles and a number of books, one of which was published by Kluwer Law International. He is a frequent speaker locally and internationally. Sodipo and his law firm, Chief G.O. Sodipo & Co have won several awards including Copyright Law Firm of the year in Nigeria. Corporate INTL Legal Awards 2010, Commercial Law Firm of the year, Nigeria Lawyer monthly Legal Awards 2011, IP Law Firm of the year, Nigeria ACQ Global Awards 2012, Commercial Law Leading lawyer 100, Lawyer of the year 2012-2013 Who’s Who of professionals, etc. Professor Bankole Sodipo is referred to as the Dean of Intellectual Property Law in Nigeria.

A major highlight of the 2015 COSON Lecture will be the presentation of the Copyright Grand Medal to the nation’s elder statesman and unsurpassed legal luminary, Prince Bola Ajibola. Prince Ajibola, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association distinguished himself as a Judge of the World Court at the Hague. He was Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. Prince Ajibola was Attorney-General of the Federation in Nigeria and during his tenure played a pivotal role in the promulgation of the Nigerian copyright law which has formed the bedrock of the immense activity in popular music, movies, programming and similar creative endeavors in the country. 81 year old Prince Bola Ajibola who will be the Guest of Honour at the COSON Lecture will be the first individual to be presented with the Copyright Grand Medal.

Following the lecture, a star studded panel made up of the very cerebral masked musician, Lagbaja; the ‘A’ list actor now a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon Desmond Elliot; Mr. Audu Maikori, President Chocolate City Group and Mr Raymond Mgbeokwere, Head, Legal Services at Nigeria’s biggest bank, First Bank, will discuss the subject.

This year’s COSON Lecture will be chaired by the IT guru and business mogul, Chief Leo Stan Ekeh who is chairman of Zinox Technologies, Task Systems, Technology Distributions Ltd and several other ground breaking companies in the technology sector.

Speaking about the upcoming COSON Lecture, Chairman Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Chief Tony Okoroji said, “Everything is ready. For the Vice President and a living legend like Prince Bola Ajibola who is rarely seen in public, to accept to honour us with their presence at the COSON Lecture is mind blowing.

“I am also excited that we will have as Chairman another exceptional Nigerian, Chief Leo Stan Ekeh who has used technology to shape our country in ways which many people are unaware of. To have him chair the COSON Lecture dealing with the digital economy is a privilege”.

Other events of the much talked about COSON Week include ‘COSON in the Streets’ which begins at the National Theatre, Iganmu at 10 am on Tuesday, November 3; the COSON Green Ball at the MUSON Center, Lagos on Wednesday November4; COSON All Stars Table Tennis Blow Out at Teslim Balogun Stadium on Thursday November 5; the massive COSON Song Awards at the Expo Hall of Eko Hotel & Suites on Friday, November 6 . The COSON Week will end with a massive bang on Saturday, November 7 as COSON Storms the Beach with an armada of 100 of Nigeria’s ‘A’ list stars with high octane music who will take over the Atican Beach Resort, off Abrham Adesanya Estate, Ajah for what is billed to be Africa’s biggest beach concert ever.

FOR THE COSON WEEK COMMAND CENTER:

 ESTHER OLANREWAJU