By EBELE ORAKPO

Ms. Chinelo Iwenofu is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Abuja-based AfricAgenda Publications Limited, an outfit  which focuses on books, magazines, journals, and newspaper publications, with special emphasis on books in Africa. Their job runs the gamut, from proof reading, editing, promotions, advertising and Marketing, publishing consultation, printing, art works/graphics, to distribution. In a recent chat with Vanguard in Abuja, Ms. Iwenofu, a lawyer by training, lamented the poor reading culture amongst Nigerians, saying that AfricAgenda has come to bring about the much needed change. She punctured some of the reasons
advanced for the poor reading culture in Nigeria arguing that books should be made more accessible and affordable to the masses and suggested that public libraries be revived. Excerpts:

Born in Lagos, Nigeria in 1960, Ms. Chinelo Iwenofu, popularly called Chinny, left Nigeria for England in 1969
during the civil war. While there, she completed her primary, secondary and tertiary education.

“I studied law at London’s Southbank University and went on to the College of Law in England. I practiced
mostly in private solicitors’ firms though I had also worked for the federal solicitors. We did mostly crimes,

but later, I started doing immigration because I found crime very depressing. A lot of it was legal aid work because mostly, it was for poor people,” Chinny  Iwenofu said.

A person will naturally gravitate towards his dream, and so Chinny’s passion for books and reading informed her
relocation to Nigeria in 1997 in pursuit of her dreams.

“When I came back to Nigeria in 1997, I decided to work. I’ve always been engaged in writing and publishing. My
first experience was in 1983 when I was doing articles for the Voice Newspapers, and short stories for one or
two magazines. I was on the editorial board of Focus and Hi Life magazines in London, a marketing panel member
for UK-based Bazaar and She magazines. I also worked in teenage magazine in North London called Asha run by
Senator Kema Chikwe. Eventually, I went back to London. But now I’m back.”

In 2009, she established AfricAgenda, when she felt the need to participate in the Nigerian publishing
industry. The business, according to her, is moving faster than anticipated.

“We are getting a lot of work. It’s like running before you can walk. As I speak now, we have about 20
manuscripts coming in from all over the place. We are going faster than we can cope so we decided to get a
bigger office which we will be moving into very soon, and expand our staff. I am not complaining, this is what I asked for,” she stated.

Some of the books from the stables of AfricAgenda are: Onaedo, the Blacksmith’s Daughter, Tomorrow Will Be;
Nothing But The Truth; Women of Nigeria: A Celebration; A Man for Mother and Daughter and  Arise and Shine
Nuggets.

“I did not realise that the reading culture in Nigeria was so poor that we don’t even have enough publishers.
Most of us go to publish abroad and that helps to put the cost of books very high so I think we have to
encourage people not just to read but to have indigenous avenues for people to publish their books. I was
invited for discussions about opening an office in Lagos and I am seriously thinking about it but like I said,
we are going too fast and we don’t even have that kind of funding but by God’s grace, we will get there. My
stance on reading culture still holds. I wish it will improve. It will encourage our youths to be able to live
credible lives in the future because what we have on ground now is a result of poor educational background and
poor information. I also would like to get into a deal with the Ministry of Education, particularly with
reference to one or two of our books because we have a classic bestseller on our hands with Onaedo. The few
Nigerians that had read it had liked it.,” she said.

Speaking on the challenges they face, she said: “The major challenge is working with people who don’t
understand the industry because when you are faced with a situation where there is a lot of know-it-all, and
they tell you ok, you want a book, this is the way it should look, they won’t allow you to be the professional
that you are. But I don’t think it applies to this industry alone, it happens in all other sectors. Number two is getting top quality finishing when we are printing. We need to be able to get an improved system of
printing, the equipment, the paper.

For instance, if you want a particular type of book, you get local printers
running all over the place just looking for the right type of paper. And then the third biggest challenge is
getting people to read. How do we gain their interest? We were trying to do it through Facebook and all these
computerized systems. I opened a Facebook page and suddenly, people were reading and saying oh, they liked it.

So the electronic media is a good way of getting people’s attention and putting out good books will help. I
think at the moment, a lot of people prefer academic books because they need it to pass exams, also religious and self-help books because everyone is trying to find out how they could improve their lives. But why not old
fashioned creative writing? That is my passion. Even the autobiographies we do are to create role models for
people.”

She said although they print most of their books in Nigeria but a few are done abroad. “One or two high profile books are printed abroad because they can afford it. They have to pay extra. Printing is cheaper abroad but the
cost of freighting is high. If you compare the price, it is cheaper. We have challenge of over-pricing in this
country probably because of the challenges of electricity,” she stated.

Ms. Iwenofu believes that publishing is not about getting rich and making a profit, it’s about teaching and
learning. It’s about art. It’s about facts. It’s about fiction and dreams! Why is the education system dwindling in our country? Where are the libraries? Where are the bookstores?” she asked rhetorically.

She acknowledged the importance of  computers, internet and e-books but noted that they cannot replace “good
old-fashioned reading, with beautiful covers to adorn your personal library or book-shelf.”