How bookstores ‘die hard’ in Bauchi

‘City of Books’, a bookstore located in the heart of Bauchi, is popular among people who love to read. Founded in March 2013 by a writer, Dr James Ali Adeyi, it boasts of a wide variety. The bookshop, which opens from Monday to Saturday, and from 8am to 6pm, has over 5,000 books on its […]

‘City of Books’, a bookstore located in the heart of Bauchi, is popular among people who love to read. Founded in March 2013 by a writer, Dr James Ali Adeyi, it boasts of a wide variety.

The bookshop, which opens from Monday to Saturday, and from 8am to 6pm, has over 5,000 books on its shelves which cuts across almost all disciplines. Divided into various sections, as is the tradition, it’s easy for visitors to locate books they need. That for children’s books, for example, is easy to spot because of the colourful shelves and types of books displayed. Also, children are able to pick their choice without much difficulty because the shelves are short.

“We have educational books, comics, bestselling books, novels, Children stories, religious books, inspirational books, magazines and other materials,” the manager, Edwin Abah said.

He also said that the store sells books on Medicine, Nursing, Engineering, Management, Accounting and other Social Science courses being offered in high institutions.

“This makes us unique and different from other bookstores in Bauchi. We have an elite clientele that order for rare and expensive books that are not easily found in bookstores, even in big cities. We also don’t stock many of such, but buy them based on orders since we have many suppliers within and outside the country. So, immediately we get a request from individuals, corporate organisations or schools, we place an order and the books are delivered,” he added.

‘City of Books’ purchases its stock from Lagos, Kano, Enugu and other parts of Nigeria. The last time they ordered a large consignment of books from the United States was in 2014.

At inception, the bookstore recorded very high sales because of its collection of books and other materials, Bookshelf learned.

“At that time, we got a lot of orders from individuals and institutions. Most of the popular schools in Bauchi and elsewhere also brought lists of books and we supplied to them. Although we are still getting such orders, they are far less than what we had been getting when things were better,” he added. 

Abah however maintained that despite the current economic hardship, people and educational institutions in Bauchi still buy books.

“We still have patronage, especially when salaries are paid. In the past, we restocked almost every week, but now we spend a month or more before we order for new books,” he said, adding that the staff strength was cut from eight to three for this reason.

“The others had to be relieved as things changed. The owner has a very big plan for this place, but the dire economic situation changed everything. But we hope things will get better soon,” he said.

According to him, the owner had an earlier plan to establish an e-Library and provide other digital services, which unfortunately had to be shelved.

Mr Abah informed that, in the past, the bookstore had a readers’ club which was holding every Saturday but was stopped because new books and materials were no longer coming in.

“We also had a children’s reading section, particularly for when they came for excursions, which was almost every day in the past. We always had one or two schools visit almost daily.

“Now that things are different, we have rearranged the place and there is no longer the children’s reading section. We only have a separate and unique section designed for them to purchase books,” he said.

‘City of Books’ also recognises the World Book Day every year, where the bookstore hosts writers, schools, academics and the general public. During last year’s celebrations, Professor David Jowit from University of Jos and other scholars were invited. Literary icons, writers, schools and authors were also present.

There are other bookshops that have been operating for decades, such as Collins Modern Bookshop, Stationeries Ltd and Jacco Bookshop. These are known for selling textbooks for primary and secondary schools, and also writing and instructional materials to individuals and schools. In addition, there are storybooks and novels. Popular novels like those written by James Hadley Chase and other publications are still being sold there.

Sunday Collins whose father, Mr Collins founded the bookshop about four decades ago said that his father started with stationeries and other materials. He pointed out that real revolution in book business started in the late ‘70s and the early ‘80s as the number of publishers increased. This made the market more competitive. 

“Now textbooks hardly sell, especially those for nursery, primary and secondary schools,” he said. “You will always be inundated with new reading lists from schools, that is why we have many books on our shelves that are no longer in use. In the past, one can use a textbook in secondary school and the same book will be used by his siblings for decades.” 

For John Anazor, the owner of Jacco Bookshop, the last 20 years had not been easy. He recalled the good old days when bookshops were centres of attraction.

“People hardly read these days. Even in schools, students now use gadgets to access what they need. So, a book has now become a burden to the new generation,” he said, adding that bookshops have had their time and to survive, they must change or fade away.

“Many people have become bankrupt in this business. I have now embraces the change and sell what people need,” he said.