₦airaland Forum

In The Joy Of Christmas ��� - May Our Dreams Come Through - Read my inspiring story

Everyone desires to see their dreams come true. I have always wanted to become a publisher because of my penchant for writing. My interest in writing had a huge boost when my article was published by The Punch Newspaper in 2011. The title of the top-notch article was "The many ills of the nation." In the article, I criticized former president Goodluck Jonathan's plan to put ex-presidents of Nigeria on a lifetime pension at a time when Nigeria was in a profound economic crisis.

That same year, during my wilderness experience in Lagos, still fighting hard to disentangle myself from the claws of poverty, I wrote a book on the African Odyssey. The 200 pages book was a compilation of the experiences I have garnered vis-à-vis life outside the shores of the country. I took the manuscript to a publisher for him to read and see if he could publish it for me on pro bono. A week later, he returned the manuscript to me and told me he can't publish it for free and he advised me not to give my manuscript to anybody just like that, that they could steal the content.

I went to the office of The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) at Ikeja and they collected the manuscript from me and told me that they will send it to their head office in Abuja. Three days later, the office in Abuja contacted me to acknowledge the receipt of the manuscript and that they will get back to me within two weeks.

After two weeks, I got a reply from them that someone has read the manuscript and the person approved it. I was told that the agency is willing to publish the book because it's informative, educative, and articulate as it would go a long way in warning young Nigerians about the dangers of traveling through the desert and other illegal means just to get to oversea. The agency asked me how much do I need for the publishing and I told them N2 million naira for thousands of copies (I can't remember the exact figure) and they agreed. They told me that they will invite me to Abuja to sign some papers to enable them to release the fund. That week I was in an ecstatic mood, little did I know that my bubble was about to burst.

The following week, I received an email that shattered my life. They said they can no longer sponsor the publishing of the book because of paucity of funds, "but it was a fallacy." Someone from the office told me that the reason why they jettisoned the initial agreement to help me was because of my tribe. If I were a Northerner, they would have supported me.

I took the manuscript this time to a very wealthy man from my village who is in the race to become the next King of my community. When I got to his office at Ikeja, Lagos State, I met his absence and I waited for almost two hours before he came. As soon as he was about to enter his office, I stood up, greeted him, and introduced myself to him. I gave him the manuscript with tears almost dropping from my eyes, i told him to assist me in publishing the book. He flipped through the manuscript and handed it back to me. His statement was "I'm very busy, you can come another day" instantly, I developed cold feet, I didn't know what to do. I never expected a harsh response from him. In summary, because of poverty, I abandoned my manuscript in the hands of people who might have published the book without my knowledge and made money from it.

Today, I give God Glory because my dream of becoming a publisher has been fulfilled. Everyone knows me in Finland because of my Diaspora Glitz Magazine which has maintained consistency and quality. The quarterly magazine is the official producer of The Face of African Queen Finland, a beauty pageant for ladies with African backgrounds. The magazine has launched me into limelight.

I can publish whatever I want to publish because Grace has made it possible. You can still achieve your dreams if you don't lose focus because of the challenges of life. Merry Christmas to all

Perfectsouth:
That music, I go still sing am and I go blow..
Don't care how long it takes me to achieve it..

MajorLeaguePlay:
Was the rich man a publish or a literary agent? So why expect him to invest in your business? Also, nobody buys print media again; why is he printing books instead of digitizing them?

oluseyiforjesus:
If u don't have story you won't last in glory

capitalzero:
The man even asked him to return but he didn't. He probably wanted instant approval from the rich man was probably on different line of business.

aminusodiq:
he could have been more polite, how could you just flip through and made a judgement! He outrightly showed that he's not willing to help, that's actually a typical nigerian man who finds helping a hard-working man an Herculeans task. If it was a woman, would he have said thesame?

capitalzero:
One side of the story


As soon as he was about to enter his office, I stood up, greeted him, and introduced myself to him. I gave him the manuscript with tears almost dropping from my eyes, i told him to assist me in publishing the book. He flipped through the manuscript and handed it back to me. His statement was "I'm very busy, you can come another day"

He could have returned when the rich man was less busy. Bible says keep on asking, keep knocking. Matt 7:7.

GayPontiff:
Yes o as all of us wan turn motivational speaker on top the matter,

He to acquire to require and perspire before he aspired to expire.

TarOrfeeek:
Come oga, no be evry motivation you go dey ginger for.

Go and find handiwork to do, no go carry noise disturb our innocent ears.

Airforce1 since 2003 never blow, you want to come and jump the line - No!