The Challenges of Indigenous Publishing in Nigeria
CHAPTER ONE
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
This study has the following objectives:
- To find out the contributions of indigenous publishers to the development of the Nigerian economy
- To find out the challenges facing the publishing industry in Nigeria
- To find out the prospects available for the publishing industry in Nigeria
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter reviewed literature existing on the subject of study. Materials reviewed were relevant texts on book publishing, publishing journals, periodicals, the Nigerian Book Fair Trust publications, media and communication journals as well as the internet.
NIGERIAN PUBLISHING JOURNEY
Publishing in Nigeria started its journey from the trade links with the Europeans. According to Echebiri (2005, p. 199) …book publishing, as we know it, started as an extension of British colonial trade, which favoured wholesale importation of British books and values. Oxford University Press (O. U. P) now University Press Plc, was the first to establish contact with Nigeria in 1928 and set up office in Ibadan in 1949. Encouraged by the demand for its books, O.
P became, in 1959, the first multinational book publisher in Nigeria to establish a warehouse and, in 1963, to publish locally. Longman Group Ltd, now Learn Africa Plc, started business in Nigeria with the employment of a sales representative in 1957. Heinemann Educational Books established a sales office in Ibadan in 1961; Evans Publishers had its first resident West African representative based also in Ibadan in 1955. The first representative of Macmillan Publishers Limited in Nigeria was employed in 1963, while Thomas Nelson, African Universities Press and several others came into the Nigerian market not long after independence (Echebiri, 2005, p. 200).
In his own account, Obidiegwu (2006, p. 111) asserts: prior to independence, the first significant group of publishers to operate in Nigeria were the Christian presses who played a key role in the production and distribution of books. Understandably, the earliest publications were religious, philosophical and instructional in nature, and their circulation confined to a few centres of education i.e. mission colleges where missionary personnel and teachers were being trained. For a long time, mission presses were the only printing and publishing establishment in existence in Nigeria with the CMS Press in Lagos being perhaps the most active. The process of gradual indigenization of major publishing firms which were established in Nigeria from the UK quickened with independence in 1960 and by 1977, the Nigerian Enterprises Promotion Decree made it mandatory for foreign publishing enterprises to become Nigerian companies through the equity participation of Nigerians. Closely following this era of shareholding and greater managerial responsibilities for an increasing number of Nigerians, was the Universal Free Primary Education (UPE) of 1976 which created enormous opportunities and challenges for the Nigerian Publishing Industry. Primary school enrolment for example, more than doubled overnight and this had a serious spill-over effect on secondary and tertiary education as well. The unprecedented demand for books caught publishers napping, though imports and the emergence of indigenous publishing houses helped cushion the effect of the drastic explosion in demand. By 1982, a new national policy on education known as the 6-3-3-4 System was introduced and this called for new books to meet the requirements of the new curriculum, creating further challenges and opportunities for new publishing, both indigenous and foreign.
The above account is in tandem with that posited by Okafor (2006, p. 93), it is reasonable to argue that publishing is one of the oldest professional activities in Nigeria. It was in 1859 that Rev. Henry Townsend published Iwe Irohin, the first newspaper devoted to the evangelizing activities of the Christian Mission in Abeokuta. Expanding on this historical account, Okonkwor (1978) has this to say: Townsend saw his role not only in the specialized evangelical terms of conversion but in helping the people of Abeokuta and its environs to develop their resources by bringing knowledge to the ignorant and healthcare to the sick…The Iwe Irohin that its comments on the political and social issues became an influence no chief government functionary could ignore (Okonkwor, 1978, p. 164).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH Methodology
Research Design
The study applied the survey method with the questionnaire as instrument for data collection. A multi-stage sampling technique was used in the selection. Multi-stage sampling requires the researcher to choose his samples in stages until he gets the required sample (Asika, 1991, p. 48).
Research Population and sample
The researcher chose to conduct the sampling in three stages. The first stage is the entire workforce of Literamed publications Nigeria limited which is made up of 361 members of staff (Human Resource Department’s Records). This was closely followed by specifying the departments in the company. There are six departments: sales/marketing, accounts, administration/human resource, production, purchasing and publishing. In the second stage, the departments were coded one to six.
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND DATA ANALYSIS
It should be noted that the aim of the analysis is to make for a meaningful interpretation. The analytical techniques used include the frequency distribution table which involved percentages for the test of responses (Descriptive statistical analysis).
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Book publishing is the cynosure of the mass media, which is the channel through which knowledge, information, values, norms and beliefs are being communicated (Ikpahindi 2007, p. 119). This study having explored the prospects and challenges of book publishing therefore presents the following findings:
That the publishing industry is bedeviled by several challenges ranging from the paucity of infrastructure such as electricity, high cost of paper (which is a major raw material in book publishing), lack of credit facilities, and the persisting problem of book piracy.
The prospects for the company include the ever expanding population, which in turn creates huge market for the company as more people enroll in schools; the policy of compulsory basic education and government bulk purchases which ensure steady market for their publications.
The study also found that indigenous publishers are contributing in several ways to the development of the economy. The various ways they contribute to the growth of the economy include the creation of employment, the generation of revenue and the creation of literate citizenry.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In view of the findings of the study, the following recommendations were made:
- Publishers should invest in the manufacture of paper (which is the major raw material forpublishing) and in printing instead of the present dominant outsourcing.
- The problem of piracy and copyright violation should be addressed at local and inter-government level, while stringent measures should be put in place to arrest the dangerous trend both at national and state
- The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) should live up to expectation by going afterbook pirates and ensuring timely
- A synergistic approach should be used in fighting copyright violations involving all stakeholders such as authors, publishers, booksellers, printers, and law enforcement
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES
From the findings of this study, it is therefore suggested that further studies should be made in the following areas:
- The activities of Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) and book piracy
- The non offering of book publishing courses in most Nigerian universities.
- The impact of electronic publishing to main stream publishing in
REFERENCES
- Adegbola. A. (2009, May). The Impact of Book Production on National Development. Paper presented at the eight Nigerian Book Fair Trust International Conference, Lagos.
- Asein, S. O. (2005). The State of the Book and Literature in the Nigerian Society Today. In F.A Adesanoye & A. Ojeniyi (Eds.), Issues in Book Publishing in Nigeria. Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books Nigeria Plc.
- Asika, N. (1991). Research Methodology in the Behavioural Sciences. Lagos: Longman Publishers Plc.
- Ayodele, S. O. (2006, May). The Book as the Ultimate Weapon of Mass Development. A Keynote Address presented at the fifth Nigeria International Book Fair, Lagos.
- Christopher, N. M. (2010). Applying Marketing concept to Book Publishing in Nigeria. The Journal of International Social Research. Volume 3/11, pp. 206-212. Retrieved from http://www.sosyalarastirmalar.com/cilt3/sayi11pdf/christopher.pdf
- Chukwu, M. (2011), Strategies, Processes And Challenges Of Book Publishing In Nigeria.
- (master’s thesis, UNILAG, unpublished).
- Dessauer, J. P. (1981). Book Publishing: What it Is, What it Does. (2nd Ed.). New York: R. R. Bowker Company.
- Digital Book World Survey (2011). Retrieved from http://conference.digitalbookworld.com/ehome/24240/55637
- Echebiri, A. (2005). Book Production in Nigeria in the New Millennium: What Prospects? In
- F.A Adesanoye & A. Ojeniyi (Eds.), Issues in Book Publishing in Nigeria. Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books Nigeria Plc.
- Fenby, J. (1983). Piracy and the Public. London: Frederick Muller Limited.
