Thirty-four-year-old creator of Last Days at Forcados High School, Dr. Ayobami Hanif Mohammed, has charged the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the Cassava Republic Press of scheming to damage his copyrights.
The book, composed by Mohammed in 2006 as an understudy of University of Lagos (UNILAG) was in 2014 acknowledged by JAMB as the official handbook for applicants in the Use of English on the proposal of Fafunwa Educational Foundation.
The Publisher, Ms Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, was affirmed to have commonly consented to an arrangement with JAMB in the interest of the writer for the book to be utilized in the vicinity of 2014 and 2017. By this arrangement, if 1.5m understudies purchase JAMB's frame, 1.5m books would be sold. The gatherings included supposedly concurred, marked and acknowledged the terms and states of the agreement.
In any case, inconvenience began when the distributer subsequent to consenting to arrangement with JAMB in 2014, swung round to ask for from Mohammed a lower sovereignty which the creator rejected on the preface that the new proposition was an infringement of the underlying contract.
Mohammed asserted that he met with the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede at a casual meeting on January 26 2017 where he was induced to acknowledge the distributer's offer.
Be that as it may, his refusal to acknowledge the offer cost him his place in JAMB unique arrangement as the examination body in an advertorial of Tuesday, March 14, 2017 on the offer of 2017 Unified tertiary Matriculation examination (UTME)/Direct Entry frame named another book from a similar distributer for the Use of English.
As indicated by a segment of the production, "Hopefuls are to note that regardless of the decision obviously of study or strategy for testing they will likewise be tried on a general content: "Autonomy" by Sarah Ladipo Manyika for UTME and Last Days at Forcados High School by A.H. Mohammed for Direct Entry hopefuls."
This improvement however maddened the creator, who therefore blamed JAMB for trick, conspiracy and infractions on the agreement it came to with the distributer.
He blamed the distributing firm and JAMB for not giving him access to the MoU with the examination body; pressurizing him into marking an agreement; no installment for his sovereignties for 2016; and the utilization of his book for Direct Entry by JAMB without his assent.
He stated: "I composed the composition as an understudy in 2006 and sent it to an incipient distributing house called Cassava Republic in 2008. It was later acknowledged for distribution and after some time distributed in 2013. In 2014, Fafunwa Educational Foundation ran over and read the book and sent it to JAMB for thought for conceivable use in the examination. Frame acknowledged the book subsequent to going through their board all alone legitimacy for use as General English.
"I was reached by a delegate of the Fafunwa establishment. I passed on the distributer's (Ms Bibi Bakare Yusuf) points of interest to them. From there on all correspondence was amongst JAMB and the distributer. I was absent at any of their discourses since I had a marked contract with the distributer and expected all techniques would be appropriately taken after.
"A course of action was later struck between the distributer and JAMB that to avert robbery, the book would be issued to all understudies who acquired the enlistment frame. All expenses were incorporated into enrollment bundle. The book was received for a long time (2014-2017). After this the distributer reached me and to my stun began endeavoring endeavors to propel me to go amiss from my agreement by consenting to a lower eminence rate, refering to rebate.
"When I can't. She then recommended splitting my eminence because of 'mass'. I rejected and afterward a wide range of weight, pleadings even shakedown were connected. They exploited the way that I was absent at any of the dialogs and declined to demonstrate to me the assention they had with JAMB, which they were authoritatively obliged to show me. After this I consented to a decrease of 4.5 for each penny eminence. This was however for the primary year. Every year would be renegotiated amongst creator and distributer."
"After the primary session, 2014-2015, I was sent an announcement toward the finish of the year demonstrating that the quantity of books sold was 1,295,963 while official figures for JAMB enrollment were 1,475,477. I asked for a clarification for this disparity and the answer I got was 'Support paid them for number of books got by understudies."
Mohammed said inability to give clear clarification to every one of these issues provoked him to ready his legal advisor.
He included: "Not long ago I was welcome to a casual meeting with the present JAMB enlistment center who attempted to induce me to concur with the distributer. At the point when the UTME enrollment was reported during the current year I saw my book was for Direct Entry hopefuls while another book by the distributer was for UTME. This was against what the distributer let me know from the earliest starting point and I didn't give authorization for my book to be utilized for 'Direct Entry' applicants.
"In light of all these I am continuing with legitimate procedures against the distributer for gross and rehashed infringement of agreement and against JAMB for permitting itself to be utilized as a co-respondent by the distributer in their bold endeavors to cheat me.
"I additionally trust it is basic for the media to be included so that the activities of the distributer of Cassava Republic would be uncovered and the present JAMB organization. This is for other youthful creators and for the training segment all in all which ought not be diminished to a session of unadulterated money related terms."
At the point when The Guardian reached the distributer, she communicated dissatisfaction at the degree to which the creator has dragged the issue, depicting Mohammed's choice as an endeavor to bring down the respectability of the firm.
"His activity is an endeavor to lessen our organization in the court of popular conclusion. It is a pity, as Hanif has earned a whole well into the eight figures in eminences from the book. It has been a disillusioning and annoying procedure managing Hanif's protestations when we have acted respectably to him all through, as we generally do with our creators," she said.
On pressurizing the creator into marking an agreement, she clarified, "We educated the creator that a hefty portion of our initial contracts did exclude a "mass" or "fare deals" proviso which is normally 50 for each penny of the standard sovereignty rate of individual deals, so we requesting that he sign an addendum that incorporated a mass deals condition, which would permit us to proceed with the JAMB bargain and any future mass or fare deals."
On inability to give him access to MOU with JAMB, the distributer stated, "From our point of view, the JAMB arrangement resembles whatever other mass circulation game plan between a distributer and a purchaser; it is in this way not important to impart legally binding subtle elements to creators. Not giving A.H. Mohammed the concurrence with JAMB is in this way not unusual, nor is it in opposition to standard distributing rehearse."
On installment for his sovereignties, Yusuf clarified that "the eminence proclamation for year two was conveyed to the creator on January 16, 2017. The eminence installment for this period is expected on March 31, 2017. In any case, since there is a lawful question pending, we have educated the creator that we would not make any installment until the debate has been settled. Amid one of our gatherings with the writer's attorney, we educated him that JAMB disclosed to us that they are probably not going to utilize the book for the third year as prior anticipated.
"We additionally disclosed to him that it is to our greatest advantage for JAMB to utilize his book for the third year, despite the fact that we know that they are will undoubtedly utilize it since our concurrence with JAMB is for a long time (2014 – 2016). Right now we have a couple of hundred thousand duplicates of the book in our distribution center which we can't offer in the open market since they have a "Not available to be purchased" engrave on them. A misfortune that must be borne by us and not the creator."
At last, JAMB chose to utilize one of our different books by another writer for 2017 – 2018 and we needed to begin the printing procedure once more. We found a week ago in the media that JAMB would at present be utilizing 'Forcados High' for its immediate section understudies. We are not providing JAMB with any new duplicates of the book past what we provided them for the initial two years. We comprehend that they may have abundance from the stock we have provided them over the most recent two years.
Whenever reached, JAMB representative, Dr. Fabian Benjamin stated, "We had a comprehension with Cassava Republic, not the creator. I don't know the creator. The duplicates we are utilizing for the immediate section hopefuls are the books we paid for a year ago, with the exception of the writer needs us to return it so he would discount our cash."
On the sudden change of the book to the new one after influence by the recorder fizzled, he stated, I'm not conscious of the meeting with the enlistment center, similar to I said before; we had a comprehension with the distributer not the writer."