The Year of the Nigerian Reader

This Economist article highlights the sad truth that even though 2007 has been "the year of the Nigerian writer", it has not been the same for the Nigerian Reader. It's harder to change behaviour in grown adults than it is in our children, so the focus should be on the next generation. So, how DO we get our children excited about reading amidst the poor infrastructure around education and health in Nigeria? Should we wait till we've solved all our other "big" problems? It's good to see there are those out there who are keen to get Nigerians reading (again?). And for those who feel like doing something about it this minute, here are just some ways: One Laptop Per Child and Merry Hearts.

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BLEAK PUBLISHING HOUSES - The Economist
Award-winning novelists have more readers abroad than at home


WHEN a bookstore in Makurdi, the central state of Benue, wants to buy Chimamanda Adichie's latest novel, "Half of a Yellow Sun", it sends a text message to Muhtar Bakare in Lagos, down south. Mr Bakare, a publisher who heads Kachifo, replies with a bank account number and a price. Once the money is transferred from Makurdi to Lagos, Mr Bakare loads the books onto a public bus, which then begins a day-long trip to the other side of Africa's most populous country.

Though Ms Adichie's second novel, winner of this year's Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction, may have sold over 240,000 copies in Britain, in Nigeria it has shifted barely 5,000. Her book, like others by Nigeria's novelists, is stuck, often literally, in a publishing industry in shambles.

Nigeria was once the centre of literary publishing in west Africa—not just for local companies but international houses as well. But when military rule and economic decline saw much of the middle class flee in the 1980s, the publishers left too. Today, there is no distribution network and scant demand for fiction.
In order to survive, publishers switched from literature to textbooks, certain to be bought by students and schools. Fiction is much harder to sell. By the time a novel is printed and transported across the country, the price may be as much as a tenth of an average worker's monthly salary. Ms Adichie's novel costs N850 ($7.30) from Kachifo and goes up to N1,500 in bookshops in Abuja, the capital. Far more readers choose self-help and religious books that are supposed to have a more immediate pay-off.

So pity the enthusiasts who persist in trying to sell novels. Mr Bakare likens his business to the telecom industry, which has had to build its own infrastructure from scratch. He is not building roads or relay towers but a network of bookstores, buses, taxis and bank transfers. Cassava Republic, a publisher founded last year, operates with a low profit margin for now, in the hope that it can cultivate a loyal base of readers that will one day meet costs. The founder, Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, says she wants her customers' "intellectual hunger to be as pressing as their stomachs".
Her hard work may just be paying off. Ms Adichie says she is starting to get e-mails from all over the country—from Kaduna in the north, Lagos in the south and Makurdi in-between. She is flattered by the foreign attention but says that Nigerians are still her most important audience. "Half of a Yellow Sun" is mainly about the Biafran War, a conflict that, from 1967-1970, split Nigeria apart; its scars still linger. Ms Adichie is telling Nigerians about a history that was never taught in school—and which she wants more of her countrymen to know about.

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Muhtar Bakare launched his publishing business Kachifo Limited, which trades under the name Farafina, in June 2002. (Check out their free online magazine @ www.farafinamagazine.com )Over the last couple of years, "Farafina has become one of the most energetic and forward looking book-publishing companies in Nigeria... attempting to balance cost, quality and marketing with the kind of self-confidence not common in that industry." (Nigeria Daily News)

+234

Looks promising. PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD...

+234 Magazine is a branding tool for the country, and is hereby calling for submission of articles, short stories, expose', interviews, reviews, photographs, memoirs, cartoons, poems, and features, for its maiden publication soon.

We are looking for submissions with a strong bias for Nigeria, showing a Frenzy outburst of patriotism and works that will speak for the country in turn.

MISSION:
To promote and redefine Nigeria as a positive brand.

VISION:
By 2011, Nigeria and her brand 'Heart of Africa' will be thriving uniquely as an acceptable and advanced nation.

OBJECTIVES:
-To promote Nigeria as a positive brand, hence, ensuring a positive image for the country.
-Re-brand our image in a very handy medium.
-Promote positive and alluring perceptions of Nigeria, its people and values.
-Promote our people, resources, business, and all facets of Nigeria to the world

GUIDELINES:
Topical works with special relevance to Nigeria.
Submissions must be objective and accurate.
Meet international writing standards; normal grammatical standards in written English: use of correct punctuations and spelling.
Must be original, relevant sources must be referenced.
Submissions should be made along with a brief biography.
Submissions should be minimum of 1500 words and maximum of over 2500 words.
Deadline for submission is 19th November 2007.
Please all submissions should me emailed to info234magazine@gmail.com
For further enquiries call +234-803-780-3142.

+234 Magazine…..redefining Nigeria!!!!

Design a Uniform, Shape a School

A friend of the AfroBeat, Shirley, who works with the African Leadership Academy (ALA) (a world-class boarding school opening outside Johannesburg next year), wanted us to pass this along.

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At ALA, our aim is to develop a new generation of African Leaders. One of the core elements of our philosophy is that young people can (and will!) change the world. As a result of this, we are selecting a design for our school uniform by organizing a pan-African competition open to students and schools from all over Africa. By doing this, we're living our belief that young people can be given great opportunities for impact and trusted to deliver on them.

The competition will be judged by a panel of internationally-renowned African fashion designers. As a Ghanaian who is a huge fan of several African designers, I'm excited by the opportunity to explore the potential of a new generation of designers, and I think this is something that might interest your readers.

There is more information on the competition on our website here: http://www.africanleadershipacademy.org/site/resources/press_center/news_articles/ALA_Launches_Uniform_Design_Competition.html

Below is the news item we've published as well.

ALA Launches Uniform Design Competition

Design a Uniform, Shape a School
On August 1st, ALA launched a pan-African competition to solicit designs for the Academy's inaugural school uniform. ALA believes in the power of young people to change the world, and that young leaders will transform Africa. By opening the uniform design competition to students, we are giving them the opportunity to impact the lives of thousands of these potential leaders from all across Africa. The competition is open to individual students or groups of students between the ages of 12 and 20 all across Africa. The best design will decided by an international panel which will include world-renowned African fashion designers, and the winner will be commemorated with a plaque at the Academy. The first round runs until the 15 th of November.

Celebrated Nigerian Women in Development

Following Nawahala's (interesting name choice there, eh?...if you're confused, see 6th comment on "Stop Trying to Save Africa" post)comments, we thought we'd share the link to what seems like a great book celebrating the efforts of some Nigerian heroines in the development arena (thanks for the link Olamide!). Celebrated Nigerian Women in Development is authored by Ayona Aguele-Trimnell, a brand marketing manager in Lagos, and it features women such as author, Buchi Emechetta, sculptor & cultural activist, Ndidi Dike, and model, Oluchi Onweagba, to name a few. An initial scan of the women featured on the website showcases the who's who of Lagos, but a closer look would reveal some truly great women doing their thing and making a difference in their respective fields.

According to Professor Sophie Oluwole (ED, Centre for African Culture & Development):

"The profiles of the 25 women celebrated in this well thought-out and ably presented volume can be multiplied several times over if the limelight is directed at women in the business of traditional herbal medicine, women who produce garri, pepper, vegetable oil, garden eggs and women who sell them; and women who are dress makers, hair dressers, nurses, primary and secondary school teachers, religious and community leaders.

This book provides an immediate answer to the question, 'Where are the women?' by giving a tentative answer 'Here are some of them.'

My message is that we need more books such as this to give us much needed documentation on Nigerian women who have arrived. The challenge to every female reader of this book is to celebrate the proud, resilient and forever hopeful Nigerian women. We need to celebrate ourselves."