Inside the world of roadside booksellers

The business of hawking books along main roads is a thriving one in many Nigerian cities. It is a common sight to see young men and women moving in between cars in traffic jams selling their books. They prefer the road side business because of the patronage they are getting from the educated class who […]

The business of hawking books along main roads is a thriving one in many Nigerian cities. It is a common sight to see young men and women moving in between cars in traffic jams selling their books. They prefer the road side business because of the patronage they are getting from the educated class who might not have time to go to the bookshops. The books sometimes cost higher than at the bookshops, because of the nature of road side business which is always higher in prices.
A book vendor in Kano on BUK Road, Abdullahi Adamu said he started hawking books along major roundabouts and junction five years ago. He said they were buying the books from book dealers at the Sabon Gari Market in Kano. Source of the books, according to him, was Lagos, “The main dealers are the Igbo people who   bring them from Lagos to Kano,” he disclosed.
Adams said they usually go to the dealers with their money to buy their desired books, adding that with as little as N5,000 one could start the book business. Books that are mainly sold include those on History, Medicine and English.
He further revealed that sometimes they would only collect the books from the major retailers without paying for it so that they could add something on it. Explaining the gains and loss of the business, the book hawker said he could sell about 20 or more books in a week, adding that the proceeds was fair. “The sale is not bad, because there is patronage from those plying the state roads. In a week we can sell up to or more than 20 books,” he said.
Investigations by Weekly Trust revealed that the books sold are new ones, mostly for the highly educated class. The hawkers themselves are literate because some of them would go to school in the morning and after school they go about hawking their merchandise.
Adams, who stated that with the business he could fend for a wife and two children, said their major challenge was how people ran away with the books at the traffic point. “Our major problem is that some of our customers do ran away with the books. After collecting the book at a traffic point and before giving us the money, they would just move when the traffic light pave way for them and that is all for us,” he stated. He, however, added that some of them do come back to pay for the books but they are very few.
Another challenge, according to him, is dearth of some particular books. He said sometimes they would not get the books that are widely patronized, so   they had to wait until it is supplied.
Another book vendor, AbdurRahman Baba, said end of the month is their brisk moment, because that is when salary earners get their money, adding that they make high sale on Saturdays and Sundays.
Abdulrahman Lawal, a 35-year-old book hawker who hails from Igabi Local Government Area in Kaduna State, said he has been a hawker of the past eight years where he has been plying Kaduna streets in search of greener pastures.
According to him,   hawking is a very risky business due to the hazards attached to it including being hit by a car or a motor cyclist or even having your goods snatched by a motorist or motorcyclist.
“I have been in the business of hawking books for the past eight years and I get my supply of books from Kaduna, Lagos, Kano states and Abuja. Where I go to buy my books, there is a subsidy that is given to us like whole sale price so that we too can make a little gain when we resell the books to our numerous customers.”
Asked if there is a difference in price between books being sold by hawkers and books sold in book shops, he said “ours is cheaper than the books being sold in book shops because the owner of the book shop has to pay money for renting the shop and other costs which are put into the price of the books, while us on the other hand do not need a shop there by making our own books cheaper and more affordable.”
On how profitable the business is, he said “with God all things are possible. On a good day, business is very good, I sell up to 10 books, but on other days, market is very slow because we can go for three days without selling a single book. I make a profit of between N10 and 8, 000 in a month that’s aside from the capital and we also sell different varieties of books and novels new or old.”
He said  “the highest selling books are novels. If ten people call you, eight of them ask for novels before they ask for history books or any other kind of book. I believe the people prefer to buy books sold by road side hawkers because they are cheaper, a book that we sell for N2,000 is sold at between N5-6,000 in book shops and you cannot ask for a reduction in price.”
He stated that with N12,000, one can start a business of selling books by the road side adding that “with this business, I have bought a piece of land and it is from the revenue derived from this same business that I send my three children to school and take care of my family’s needs.”
In Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Mr. James Akpan, a book hawker that reside at the popular Rumola fly over, says “Selling and hawking of books by the road side is very convenient and cost effective. It reduces the stress of paying for shop to display books and it also makes it very convenient for those who do not have time to go book shop to buy books.”
Akpan who had been in the business of hawking books in Port Harcourt for the past ten years told weekly trust that he prefer hawking and displaying his books by the road for people to buy because of the cost of renting shop. He also stated that displaying books at a conspicuous road side attracts more patronage than those that display in bookshop. “I don’t have any regret displaying my books for sale on the road. Before now I rented shop at Ikwerre Road but every year my landlord keeps on increasing the cost of rent. You know that Nigerians reading culture is very poor and couples with the advent of internet where people can goggle to any site and read any book of their choice. So when you rent a shop and a shylock landlord keep on increasing his rent it will be very difficult for you to meet up. So, that is the reason why some of us who cannot coop with exorbitant rent prefer displaying our books by the road where we don’t pay any rent’’.
But if displaying of books for sale on the road is cheap and easy to sustain the business its disadvantage is equally overwhelming. According to Akpan, “displaying of goods on the road side for sale has its own disadvantage. The major challenges we are having are local government council officials who would always come to harass and exhort money from us. At times they ambush us and cart away our wares.”
Another road side book seller at the mile one flyover said selling books on the road is more convenient and attracts patronage. “I prefer selling books by the road. I don’t have enough money and cannot afford to rent shop. We make brisk business on roadside sales. So many people patronize us. Most of our customers are students, bankers, politicians and lecturers. The most important thing is to secure a space at a conspicuous place and display your books and customers must surely come. We also reduce the prices of books to certain percentage and this makes it possible for us to get more patronage. Books displayed in the shops are at times very costly because certain cost is build into the prices. Take for instance a bookshop seller has to pay rent, electricity bill and local government tenement rates. When this expense is added together they are build into the prize of the books and the end user bears the burnt. But the reverse is the case for those that display their books by the road side. The only problems we encounter are the harsh wether condition such as raining season. Rains are very unpleasant to our business. Business goes down during the raining season. Local government officials also harass us. at times they confiscate our books under the guise that we are causing obstruction. When this happens, we pay certain amount of money and get our books back’’.
George Patrick, a book seller on Ikwerre Road, said some of those that display their books by the road side also have shops. He said the urge and desperation to make quick money are the motive that drives some book sellers to display their books by the road side. “Some of this people that hawk and display their books by road side have shops. But they also take the advantage of the fact that some people are very busy and may not have time to go to bookshop to buy books. Those that sell by the road side at times sell at cheap prize just to sell off and get more stock. Some also sell to ignorant public at a high cost. Book sells are also seasonal. Our peak periods for increase in book sell are during examination period especially during WACE where students flock bookshops to buy books to prepare for their exams,” he stated.