Why Do We Have Good Nigerian Writers But Not So Much Nigerian Readers?

There is a saying going around that the average Nigerian doesn't read as much.
Why is it so when we have such good writers?
Are we just writing books for the Western world to read?

its becos of the low level of enlightenment in our society nd low economic power

I understand, but then this enlightenment could be made if our kids are encouraged to read. Children of nowadays only watch Ben 10 and the like. It's really sad.

I hear this, but I enjoy reading, I don't know how realistic this claim is.

I hear this, but I enjoy reading, I don't know how realistic this claim is.

i think people generally might not be reading as  much as they used to, but it seems to be especially pronounced with nigerians because they used to be good readers.




and @ poster

are you sure the nigerian writers are as good as you say.

are there any current nigerian writers whose work can be compared to modern foreign ones.

i'd like to know.

post excerpts of their work if possible.

nigerian writers need to get to grips with the 21st century. a lot of people are ditching hard covers and doing their reading online. i wonder how many of our writers make their books available on the internet even if it means people have to pay before reading.

I am not sure if the claim is indeed correct however Nigerians have various means of translating stories either through frozen texts, orature even via Nollywood. Story telling is very integral in our society and yet even the least amongst us can weave a good tale which might not always be manifested through prose.
However I do believe that a large part of audiences that Nigerian authors hope to attract is beyond our own perimeters, the fact that many of our writers narrate their tale in english (one of the global languages) is evident of such.
Telling our story is not just about us having a platform or for only our people to be listeners, a good author will affect other people beside their own.

Compared to our population, how many good writers do we have?
It would shock you that we are statistically in the lower rungs.

Also, to have 'goo'd readers, there must be an educational system which produces them. Unfortunately our educational system is dead. We have English teachers who barely speak English. Then we have a huge percentage of the country that is illiterate. How would an illiterate read a book?

Then, there is the little problem of the number of people who live below the poverty line. 70%. How many of these people would even bother to buy text books, not to talk of leisurely books for reading.

Premium is not placed on literature and humanities in Nigeria. All we want to after secondary is get into the university, get a job and make money.
Even our writers sometimes don't help matters, some write just to make money and make a living because there is nothing else to do.

said it all,z-murda.
@tpia
Chimmamanda Adichie. Ben Okri. Victor Thorpe (pacesetters) Chinua Achebe. Wole Soyinka (non-fiction and poetry only. His novels and plays suck.) D.O Fagunwa (borrows some from Greek mythos but really beautiful if you can read the language).

I write as Myne Whitman and my books are available as eBooks on Kindle, Nook, and every ebookstore you can think of. I'm also trying to motivate new and upcoming writers and readers on naijastories website.

snowdrops:

nigerian writers need to get to grips with the 21st century. a lot of people are ditching hard covers and doing their reading online. i wonder how many of our writers make their books available on the internet even if it means people have to pay before reading.

Weldone. Can you give some sort of preamble as to type of books you write.

snowdrops:

Weldone. Can you give some sort of preamble as to type of books you write.

Go to my website, http://www.mynewhitman.com/p/books.html

Thanks.

There few Nigerian writers, I guess. Nigerians don't have good novelists. People tend to be attracted to novels than other forms of literary work.

i will be hosting Myne Whitman, Nigerian Novelist on my blog in July and I hope you'll stop by. I'll also be giving away some of her books so please don't miss the opportunity to enter.

http://fabulosityreads..com/

It is true that most Nigerian people don't read because of all those I know there is only one I've met who shares my passion for books, my brother in law.
But then again, the same is the case in SA, particularly with black people.

nigerian writers are actually evolving, leavin behind the old, conservative, academic style of writin to bring out intellectually entertainin works that can rival the foreign novels. there are so many of then, young, dynamic writers:jude dibia, nnedi okorafor, helon habila, chika unigwe, myne white, sefi atta, tope apoola, d list is endless. unfortunately most of them are leavin d country cos d publishin industry nd nigerian readers are slow in evolvin.

Yes that's true,and I've become particularly guilty of this
There's this very good inspirational book I've been reading for nearly Two years now ,but which I'm still on,while I've breezed through bulkier texts on management,power,espionage etc in weeks.

I hope to finish that book before 2012 though

z-murda:

Compared to our population, how many good writers do we have?
It would shock you that we are statistically in the lower rungs.

Also, to have 'goo'd readers, there must be an educational system which produces them. Unfortunately our educational system is dead. We have English teachers who barely speak English. Then we have a huge percentage of the country that is illiterate. How would an illiterate read a book?

Then, there is the little problem of the number of people who live below the poverty line. 70%. How many of these people would even bother to buy text books, not to talk of leisurely books for reading.

Premium is not placed on literature and humanities in Nigeria. All we want to after secondary is get into the university, get a job and make money.
Even our writers sometimes don't help matters, some write just to make money and make a living because there is nothing else to do.

You are right about the educational system being bad. But, I think we can think of it this way; why should they read? What will it profit them to read?

If we can take out time in our own little space and help one person to appreciate the value of reading, we can reach critical mass eventually. It begins with me.

I will list some of the benefits from reading -

- It shapes your thinking, improving the quality of your thought
- It allows you know how things are made our how things are in some parts of the world
- It enriches your knowledge base and can empower you especially these days that our school system isn't very encouraging.

If you can read and enjoy reading, encourage one more person to read. Many of us came from this same system but are trying to rise up against all odds.

We have other important things to do than reading - party, party and more parties.
Our attention time span is very small, we want to get things done in a jiffy.

I have since noticed that Nigerians have made a past time of deploring the pervasive apathy to books and matters of the intellect. Rather than join the fray in nendless jeremiad, I chose to join a group of young people who have created time out of their rather busy schedule to promote the reading culture. There is an online book club called Pulpfaction Book Club http://pulpfaction.org.ng/ that I am associated with. The club has a monthly literary meeting called Book N Guage and its profile is growing by the day. It is kicking off a non fiction group as a follow to the modest success that the fiction book reading events have enjoined.

To flag off its inaugural meeting, the club will host Mr Olufemi Ogunsanwo, author ‘Awo: Unfinished Greatness’ (find synopsis for the the book below) for a discussion of his book.

The non fiction group is a closed group that will admit 30 people who will commit to reading selected works of non-fiction (Biography, Politics, Management, Leadership , History, Memoirs and Autobiography etc) and be available for monthly discussions with other group members.
The inaugural discussion will hold on Saturday 20th August, 2011 between 3-5pm. The venue of the event is Debonair Bookstore, 294 Herbert Macaulay way, Sabo, Yaba. Copies of the book ‘Awo: Unfinished Greatness’ can be procured in fine bookstores around you. Alternatively, the Club can also deliver copies to interested persons.

You can reach ‘Damola on 07032487012 and Muyiwa on 08053455929 for enquiries.

http://pulpfaction.org.ng

most nigerians dnt read- a friend of mine forgot money in a bank on the counter- guess wat she went back the following day and picked up the cash- how come ? she left d money in d pages of a book!!!!! no one thot of picking the book to read

@ ALL: Try reading 21st Century Joseph by David Lawale, and experience another dimension in writing by this blessed author! If u've heard of it, reside in Abuja and desire a copy, get in touch with me - 08127571572, so I can get one for you. Price is just N2,500.

I wouldn't say Nigerians don't read, for i have not done a substantial and conclusive research on that. I only know this from what the media says. But from experience i've seen people reading interest in two things and its unfortunate that it is also a matter of sexes; sport newspapers for the guys and softsell romance novels for the ladies. From what i know more girls read novels be it sci-fi, thriller, romance than guys. So the problem is, people are not reading relevant literature. Many don't gain from reading novels especially romance (I am not saying it is not good to read novels). It does not enhance personal development. Its also unfortunate that entertainment is mainly the soul purpose of reading rather than being informed and improvement of one's knowledge base.

all because of bad educational system. None will even bothers to read nowadays because of introductions of seasonal films.