Sensational Nigerian comedian and skit maker, Chukwuebuka Amuzie, known professionally as Brain Jotter, has responded to viral reports about the potential exploitation of Mike Ejeagha’s 1983 hit song, ‘Gwo Gwo Gwo Ngwo’.
The song recently gained renewed popularity through a trending dance challenge initiated by Brain Jotter, which garnered massive online attention.
His video received 29.1 million views and over 30,000 comments on Instagram, and 19.6 million views with over 23,000 comments on TikTok, making it one of the popular videos on the Nigerian internet space this year.
The viral success brought focus to the 93-year-old Ejeagha and his music, leading to an outpouring of goodwill towards him. In a gesture of generosity, Brain Jotter offered Ejeagha N2 million.
However, accusations arose that Brain Jotter had committed copyright infringement and exploited the song for personal gain.
Addressing these accusations in a viral video on Tuesday, the comedian clarified his intentions.
“For those who think we ripped him off or we’re making money from this whole thing, I understand your concerns and they are very valid. I appreciate the fact that you want him to get value for his hard work, which is very valid, and I want you to understand that you are doing something good,” Brain Jotter stated as he posted a video on Tuesday of his visit to the music legend.
He continued, “At the end of the day, no dime was made from this song by me, nothing like that.”
Explaining the system of content monetisation on various platforms, he said, “All those music where I did put out there – Instagram, Facebook, YouTube – everything, the whole revenue is going to Mike Ejeagha’s record label, his production company.
“You cannot even monetise another person’s song because these platforms have copyright violation tools. If I post that video on YouTube, YouTube strikes it for copyright and they give the revenue to the actual owner, which is Mike Ejeagha.
“If you post it on Facebook, Facebook will tell you outright that this song does not belong to you, it belongs to this person. They take the revenue and give it to the actual owner.”
The comedian added, “The song increased its streams on streaming platforms massively, and there’s no way I can put the song on streaming platforms. So everything, all revenues, are going straight to Mike Ejeagha.”
