Low turnout for Abuja National Book Fair

Three days into the five day fair, which was supposed to bring together publishers, book sellers and book lovers, only a handful of people trickled into the Cyprian Ekwensi Cultural Centre, where book stands were set up. Few people were seen ambling around the stands where the attendants sat looking bored. Signs of poor organisation […]

Three days into the five day fair, which was supposed to bring together publishers, book sellers and book lovers, only a handful of people trickled into the Cyprian Ekwensi Cultural Centre, where book stands were set up. Few people were seen ambling around the stands where the attendants sat looking bored.

Signs of poor organisation of the event were evident from the opening ceremony. Two and half hours after the event was scheduled to kick off the hall was far from being filled.

The event eventually took off without the Minister of Education who was the special guest of honour nor any representative. However, Mrs. Victoria Okojie, the registrar of Librarian Registration Council of Nigeria, delivered an interesting keynote address on the theme “Bring Back the Book Challenges, Prospects and the Way Forward.” She presented Nigeria’s poor attitudes to book in stark relief by stating that there are only 1, 314 book titles published in a single year in Nigeria as compared to the over 5, 000 in South Africa and over 200, 000 in the United States alone, pointing out that research has established a direct correlation between book titles and development.

Her words were haunting. The book fair was characterised by low turnout and most book sellers who showcased their books were left bitterly disappointed. One of them was Fatoyi Borisegun of Evans Publishers. He had managed to sell “a few books” since the fair started and he blamed this on “Poor turnout” which he said might not be unconnected to the poor publicity. For him, the fair was “boring” compared to others he had been to.

The United States’ Embassy was also at the fair offering the use of its library and access to research materials at the various American Corners all over the country.

Suzanne Miller is the Embassy’s Information Resource Officer. “Great opportunity to meet a lot of people and introduce them to our services,” she said.

At the embassy’s stand, there were books and computers churning out educational programmes specifically for the young. They had also planned to hold a reading for children but it could not hold.

“We were hoping for some primary school students to come so we could do some work with them specifically on reading and early literacy, doing story times but it’s unfortunate we’ve not had any of the young students come through,” she said.

The organisers were not forthcoming with answers. Three hours after an event was supposed to kick off on Thursday, the organisers weren’t ready, leaving the students and book lovers wandering in and out of the hall.

Some of the organisers who happened to be around bluntly refused to comment on what was happening insisting that journalists wait for the LOC Chairman, Mal. Nasarawa Sanusi Abdullahi to come. He didn’t show.

But for the few who attended, the lasting memory of the 2011 National Book Fair (North) would be that of shoddy planning and a wasted opportunity for an event that could have done so much more for the country’s infirmed reading culture.