Audu Maikori

Audu Maikori
Born 13 August 1975
Kaduna, Nigeria
Occupation Lawyer, creative industry consultant
Website
www.chocolatecitygroup.com
http://www.lawallianz.com

Audu Maikori (born 13 August 1975, Kaduna) is a Nigerian lawyer, entrepreneur, social activist, poet, founder and CEO of the Chocolate City Entertainment, and is well known in Nigeria as a former Nigerian Idol. He worked as a legal consultant holding a variety of legal positions before founding Chocolate City in 2005. He signed M.I Abaga, touted as one of the Africa's biggest hip hop icons, in 2006 and profited from the success of other artists he signed.

Maikori's Chocolate City is a hip hop labels in Africa, helping to guide the careers of several artists including Asa, Djinee, MI, Jesse Jagz, Ice Prince, Nosa, Brymo etc.

A multi award winning entrepreneur and creative industry specialist, Audu soon took off the role of social activism by funding and participating in a variety of youth empowerment projects. Audu was a key member of the Enough is Enough rally in 2010 in which he had a face-off with Nigerian military police, when he refused to back down when a rifle was pointed at him in a bid to stop him from leading the peaceful protest to the gates of the National Assembly.

Maikori is also a much sought-after public speaker and has travelled widely to speak on the creative entrepreneurship. In 2013, [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] selected him to speak at their annual Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship event in Boston, USA.

YNaija Magazine, one of the leading youth influencers, named Audu one of the most powerful people in Nigerian Entertainment in March 2014.[1][2]

Early life

The third of five children, Maikori was born to a Christian family and hails from Kwoi, Jaba Local Government, Kaduna. Jaba Local government is best known as the home of the Nok Culture. He was raised in Lagos by his parents Adamu Maikori, a lawyer-politician and mother Laiatu Gyet Maude, a princess of the ancient Jaba royal family. He attended Adrao International School and King's College before obtaining his Law degree from the University of Jos, moving to Abuja for Law school and youth service.[3]

Career

In 2001, Maikori and business partner Paul Okeugo formed the Guild of Artistes and Poets, a non-profit arts society aimed at encouraging creativity in Abuja, which has held art exhibitions along with collaborations with the French Cultural Centre. It was through GAP that he met with a range of artistes and started out rendering free legal services to aspiring artists. Two years later, Maikori registered Chocolate City – a record label, recording studio, events consultancy, and artist management company –with earnings from his bonus quarterly, and enlisted Okeugo and brother Yahaya (who is also co-owner of Maikori's Chinese restaurant Oriental Express) as directors of the board. The company has numerous artists on its books, including M.I, Jesse Jagz, and Ice Prince, Brymo, Pryse, Nosa, Dj Caise.[4]

Maikori, is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators UK, International Association of Entertainment Lawyers, the Nigerian Bar Association and International Bar Association (IBA). Maikori cut his teeth as an Associate with the litigation-inclined firm of Chief Afe Babalola SAN & Co. and worked thereafter as Legal Advisor to Leasing Company of Nigeria (a subsidiary of Bank of Industry,Nigeria, and company secretary of Abuja Markets Management Limited (a subsidiary of Abuja Investment and Property company) all before the age of 30. In 2002, he teamed up with his elder brother Yahaya Maikori to start Law Allianz, a firm of legal practitioners based in Lagos and Abuja which focused on Intellectual property, gaming as well as key privatization transaction advisory services. Maikori was in part of the legal team for key national infrastructure projects such as the Lagos Rail Mass Transit project, Abuja Mass Transit project, Kano Mass transit project in 2011.

In 2006, Maikori was appointed Senior Legal consultant with CPCS Transcom International, a Canadian infrastructure firm, where he worked on the legal and regulatory aspects of privatisation transactions including the Nigeria Ports Authority, Nigerian Railway Corporation, unbundling and privatisation of PHCN. He represented Nigeria in the UNIDROIT Sub-Committee of governmental experts for the preparation of a preliminary draft Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters specific to Space Assets in 2005.

In May 2007, Maikori co-organized the first Nigerian International Music Summit aimed at establishing a legal and regulatory framework for the Nigerian music industry in March 2007. Over 400 music industry stakeholders drawn from all over Nigeria attended the event. His belief in the creative industries of Nigeria and Africa made him a spokesperson and mentor for many youth in and around Nigeria.

Activism

Maikori has received both local and international commendations for his work in developing the youth including being invited to Albania in 2008 to deliver a keynote speech at a seminar organized by the Albania Ministry of Youth and Employment, Minister of culture and British Council.

In 2010, Maikori was part of the Enough is Enough campaign which saw thousands of Nigerians protest against issues such as infrastructure failings, fuel shortages and power blackouts that reflected badly on the government's effort to provide the basic amenities for its citizens. In a largely peaceful four-hour protest, they marched to the National Assembly in Abuja, carrying placards, wearing T-shirts which stated "Enough is Enough", and carrying a letter outlining their demands. Maikori became the face of Enough is Enough after a police officer warned him to back down or be shot; Maikori refused to back down and dared the officer to shoot. He later led the other protesters to march on peacefully to make their protests heard by the National Assembly.[5]

On 13 February 2012, Audu Maikori was appointed a member of the Presidential Committee on the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme ( SURE- P); the committee members were hand-picked by President Goodluck Jonathan to oversee and ensure the effective and timely implementation of critical infrastructure and social safety projects to be funded with the savings accruing to the federal government from subsidy removal. Maikori was the youngest member of the committee.

Copyrights activism

In May 2012 Maikori was elected to serve as a member of the board of COSON. On 20 May 2010, COSON was given the certificate of approval by the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) to be Nigeria’s sole government licensed collective management organization for musical works and sound recordings. Maikori was one of the brains behind the lobby for the NCC to officially appoint a CMO to collect royalties for songwriters and performers after 13 years of the NCC failing to settle the dispute between the MCSN and PMRS, both de-registered CMOs which had been embroiled in legal battles for supremacy for years. His appointment has been lauded as the right step in the right direction by music industry stakeholders.[6]

Nigerian Idol

In September 2010, Maikori was made a judge of the first series of Nigerian Idol alongside Nigerian singer Yinka Davies and American singer-dancer Jeffrey Daniel.[7] The show proved to be a ratings success, but a year later he left the series to concentrate on other commitments, and was replaced by singer-publisher Charly Boy.[8]

Awards and accolades

Maikori received a special judges commendation at the finale of the International Young Music Entrepreneur of the Year where he beat nine other countries to win the global award in June 2007.[9] At the inaugural edition of the United Kingdom Young Music Entrepreneur 2008, Maikori was nominated to serve as a judge alongside four other British music industry judges, making him the first black judge for a major British Music industry competition.

On 19 March 2011, he was recognized by City People Magazine for his outstanding contribution to the Nigerian music industry.

Awards

Further reading

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Making Chocolate Products
  4. ↑ Chocolate City Website
  5. ↑ We Must Walk The Walk
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ Nigerian Idol
  8. ↑ Charly Boy Nigerian Idol
  9. ↑ British Council
  10. ↑ www.africaawards.com

External links