Daily Independent (Lagos)
Yemi Adebisi
17 November 2008
Lagos — Stakeholders in book industry including the government need to drop sentiments and greed in order to make books readily available and affordable to readers in Nigeria and stop their political propaganda on poor reading culture.
The leading lyric especially in Nigeria today is 'reading culture is poor.' Unfortunately, most of those corporate bodies and individuals who are partly responsible for this problem have also joined the crowd to chant the obnoxious chorus.
Why on earth would a country like Nigeria that is outstandingly equipped with intellectuals and intelligentsias, professors and academia of world-class standard would close its eyes on issues what can destroy its future hope and promote illiteracy. Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA), Nigerian Booksellers Association (NBA) and Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), to mention but few, should form a united umbrella body that will address this issue of poor reading culture from a more positive angle, and it is hoped that whoever takes this step will remain a hero in the community's book of record.
There are some bookshops in Lagos that are stocked with books from both foreign and indigenous authors. But it has been a serious concern that some other states are not having access to most of these books because some of their bookshops are either not as aggressive as Lagos' in sourcing for good books or the book network to their route is defective. Judging by reactions from most readers of book reviews in the dailies from some of these states, a more definite step need to be taken to make books available in all Nigerian state capitals to start with.
Another issue is that most of the big bookshops prefer to shelf foreign authors. Some Nigerian authors who spoke with Daily Independent recently lamented that they don't give out their books to Nigerian bookshops any longer because of what was described as 'literary apartheid and slavery.'
"These bookshops can frustrate somebody. Can you believe that most of them would never give you an attention as a Nigeria author, because you are not Wole Soyinka or a foreign author? They attend to only known names and foreigners," said an upcoming author from Lagos. The situation is so bad that most Nigerian authors now pack their books in their bags and sell by themselves.
Some of the authors further explained that few booksellers that take their books are not faithful. "There was a case of a bookshop in Lagos Island (name withheld) that I was begging last year to take some of my books. Up till now, he has never paid me a kobo, yet none of these books were on his shelf any longer," said an Ibadan based author and poet.
It has become a common norm for some booksellers in Nigeria to enslave Nigerian authors by feeding on their sweat.
It would be recalled that the Nigerian Booksellers Association, NBA, the only umbrella body that houses Nigerian booksellers has been in existence since 1958, which according to them, have membership strength of over 5, 000 professional booksellers. Among other things, this association represents and caters for the needs of all registered professional booksellers in Nigeria and has branches in all the states of the Federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. How far has this association affects the reading appetite of Nigerians since 1958?
Another regional group, Pan African Booksellers Association (PABA)
among other things has a vision of a self-sustaining bookselling trade that works with its book industry by partnering to promote, encourage and sustain a culture of reading throughout Africa.
They work with their members, the national bookselling organisations of 25 African countries, for the recognition of booksellers within the book industry.
PABA however agreed that though booksellers play a vital role in book transmission "but often misunderstood role in the transmission of authors' thoughts to the reading public. They are the vital final link in the book chain, providing access to a wide choice of books for the readers who are their customers."
Though the management of the NBA has one time or the other accepted their 'non-existence' for some times, their claim to have become "vibrant and rejuvenated with democratically elected and reputable executive council" need to be justified based on the above observation.
How would you encourage a Nigerian young writer to develop and fathom a veritable writing standard when there is every indication that there is no market for his product in Nigeria because he is a Nigerian?
Some of these booksellers have also blamed poor standard of publishing as the reasons behind their non- complacent to take books from unknown authors.
"You need to see the finishing of these books you are talking about. These authors do not patronise established publishers. They go to Somolu and contract out book publishing to inexperienced printers. What is the need to take a book that will not sell? I mean, it has no meaning," said a chieftain of the NBA who preferred to be anonymous.
An undergraduate student, Tinuke Obadimu, told Daily Independent at a book launch that she would prefer to patronise 'pedestrian bridges' at Oshodi, Obalende or Ikeja for her novels and other books.
"Those books are cheap in those places. I don't know how they got the book anyway. But since I know I am not stealing, why must somebody tell me not to buy books from bridges because of national unity in order to wage war against piracy. Why is it that those authors, publishers and government agents in charge of this matter make things difficult and the book prices are costly in shops? Are there no regulatory bodies in charge of these policies? These people have failed most of us that are youths. Quote me."
A chat with Oluchi Adams who has just started apprenticeship with his boss (name withheld) under one of the bridges along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, said the business is better than stealing. "I don't think my boss steal the books you are asking me. They have a depot where some of these books can be purchased cheaply. That is why the books are cheaper than bookshops and people are buying. I have never followed him to the spot before but I know things are cheap there. Oga, this business is better than 'pick-pocket.' Government should create more jobs."
There is no doubt that most of these books were pirated. For example, Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 7th Edition is within the range of N700 to N800 at 'Oshodi pedestrian bookshops.' The copies are neat and covered with cellophane sheet. In the standard bookshops, the price is within N2,000 and N2,500. How do you explain the width of this gap?
If the members of the stakeholders in book industries have the gut to blame the pirates, what are they doing to protect their business? Are they united?
The Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA) also has a big dot in their circle for the present stature of the book market in Nigeria. It was gathered that the NPA do not collect manuscripts from young writers in Nigeria with the exception of few of them that are just coming on board with genuine interest in the works of arts. Most of the established Nigerian publishers have become 'thin god.' It was gathered that most of them are not approachable. Recently, at Port Harcourt, while at a book party, some young Nigerians expressed their disappointments in Nigerian publishers when having a chat with Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka. The writers said, "Publishers have frustrated a number of young writers in Nigeria. Can you use your experience to advise the upcoming writers about the unfortunate challenges from publishers who reject manuscripts?"
Here is Soyinka's response, who was initially a victim too, "Publishers are there first of all to do business. They want to make a living out of you and me. When they examine a text, the first question they ask is: Is it of good quality? Is it a solid work? But for many of them, they say, is there a good market for it? You may be the most brilliant person in the world. A combination of circumstances may disqualify you from being published. Some of them will bluntly tell you that 'my editor approves your writing but my marketing department says there is no demand for it. That is why I say my answer has got to be negative. Then, I advise you seriously as upcoming writers to go through ANA. They have set up machinery. They give award and prizes to good work."
The NPA has a lot to do if their group must receive kudos from upcoming writers. Some of their activities as gathered from their websites include: Developing and maintaining cordial relationship with other stakeholders and actors in the book/education industry e.g Association of Nigeria Authors (ANA), Nigerian Booksellers Association (NBA), Christian Booksellers Association of Nigeria (CBAN), Association of Nigerian Printers (ANP), Nigerian Library Association (NLA), Reading Association of Nigeria (RAN), Nigerian Book Foundation (NBF), Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) and Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).
It provides a link to international associations concerned with the book and publishing, e.g. International Publishers Association (IPA), African Publishers Network (APNET), World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO), BELAGIO, Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), Africa Books Collective (ABC) and Caribbean Publishers Network (CAPENT).
It is also their duty to develop better relationship between publishers; government agencies and parastatals concerned with book development like Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), UBEC, NERDC and Education Trust Fund (ETF). How much of these activities are alive except Book Fairs where protocols have also discouraged the 'first timers.'
Cost of book publishing through established publishers in Nigeria has also been said to have led to vanity publishing. A publisher revealed that government should intervene to bring down the cost of publishing materials in Nigeria.
In order to break the jinx of Nigerian publishers, improve reading culture and make good books available and affordable, some groups and government establishment have stepped in.
Zamfara State governor, Aliyu Shinkafi, has declared recently that his government has established a publishing outfit to encourage young writers. This appears to be a welcome development. If other states can emulate this gesture, there is hope for Nigerian young writers. The recent move by Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) also to serve as a channel for distribution of books in their 3,000 stations of the Federation appears to be very commendable if there would not be discrimination. They have signed an agreement with Kaine Agary, award winner of the $50,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature, to distribute her book, Yellow Yellow throughout the Federation.
Soyinka, Achebe and their peers belong to a generation. All hands must be on deck to ensure that supports are made readily available as platforms for new generation of writers in Nigeria.
Stakeholders in book industry and affiliated government agents should address this matter pungently and stop blaming Nigerians for poor reading culture.
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Very insightful article! It only goes to confirm that the poor reading culture in Nigeria today is not the desease in itself but a symptom of our deseased book chain! The writer writes and jumps to the market - no editor, no agent, no publisher, no reviewer, no bookseller, no reader! If we must move forward, we need a chain to link these isolated people!