Why I left the classroom for the bookstore – Dauda Abubakar

Bookshelf: What’s that one thing you love about Booksellers? Dauda Abubakar: It’s the arrangement of the bookstore. Books are arranged in sections. We have novels, inspirational books, children books that are divided into primary and secondary. Even if you are not familiar with the bookstore, walking in here, you can easily navigate your way with […]

Bookshelf: What’s that one thing you love about Booksellers?
Dauda Abubakar: It’s the arrangement of the bookstore. Books are arranged in sections. We have novels, inspirational books, children books that are divided into primary and secondary. Even if you are not familiar with the bookstore, walking in here, you can easily navigate your way with little or no assistance. Also, the variety we have, which is the ultimate.

Bookshelf: If you had more space, what will you add?
Abubakar: I will add more shelves. You will get lost in our head office in Ibadan. Everywhere is filled with books. If we are allocated more space we will bring in more because books are endless. People will always write.

Bookshelf: For how long have you worked with the bookstore?
Abubakar: I joined Booksellers Ltd as far back as 1996 when we were mainly wholesalers. Eventually, we discovered that despite the kind of books we have, not many bookstores were interested in having them. They are books that, ordinarily, will thrill readers. So in 1999, the management met and decided to open a bookstore in Ibadan. In 2001, the bookstore in Abuja was established.

Bookshelf: You could have worked elsewhere. Why a bookstore? 
Abubakar: I am a trained classroom teacher who loves books. I left that job for this. The first assignment I did for Booksellers was the publication of eight books in Hausa, of which I served as one of the minor editors. I read and anybody who reads will definitely have passion for books.

Bookshelf: You are a member of the Association of Nigerian Authors. Do you plan to author a book anytime soon?
Abubakar: I am presently writing textbooks on health for children.

Bookshelf: Back to the bookstore. What makes it unique?
Abubakar: It’s unique because we are liberal. Also because we have a wide variety and don’t depend only on those recommended for certain purposes. It’s a general bookshop with general books that include biographies, medical and engineering books, Law, you name it.

Bookshelf: What books rank as your bestsellers?
Abubakar: Books are seasonal. Generally school books are doing better in bookshops right now because parents are getting their children ready to resume. So schools have started placing orders for materials.
To be sincere there’s not one book I can say sells more at the moment, however, in the past we had series of publications that sold very well. One of them was ‘There Was a country’ by Chinua Achebe, Segun Adeniyi’s ‘Power, Politics and Death’ on late former President Umaru Yar’Adua. Also, Kaduna State Governor’s ‘The Accidental Civil Servant’, and many others. These are materials that people want to read. Of course, the content and the cover design is also important and the fact that people go for what they can readily afford.

Bookshelf: What determines your price rate?
Abubakar: We sell at the price given by the publisher or author and then get a discount.

Bookshelf: What’s the most challenging situation you have had to deal with in your line of work?
Abubakar: We need more customers. I will like to see the bookstore crowded like a super market.

Bookshelf: What’s your earliest memory of being in a bookstore as a child?
Abubakar: It was in Kano where I was brought up. We used to go to SIM bookshop. Now parents find it difficult to take their children to a bookstore. Besides the primary school books I remember buying ‘Chike and the River’, ‘An African Nights Entertainment’ and the ‘Passport of Malam Iliya.’ Those were the kind of books I could save money to buy at the time.

Bookshelf: What age groups patronise your bookstore the most?
Abubakar: Usually thirty years of age and above. Elderly people go for political, historical, and biographical books. Younger people come for medical, law and engineering books, but particularly for novels.

Bookshelf: What do you make of today’s bookstore business?
Abubakar: It’s very challenging. It’s supposed to be a place flooded with researchers and academics, but that’s not the case. Although electronic formats have affected the business, some books are still found only in print.

Bookshelf: What efforts do you make to draw customers’ attention?
Abubakar: Basically, it’s in the way we welcome and attend to you. Some come in without knowing what to buy, but through our interactions with them we get to make recommendations