Recent literary researchers reveals that Nigerians hardly have time to read. In essence the reading culture is now at a low ebb it is disturbing however that the few Nigerians that read concentrate more on foreign books than indigenous productions. Most Nigerians authors of novels story books fictions series have decried on different occasions their woes, they were bitter at the way most owners of bookshop and publishers treat them it was gathered that most renowned bookshops in Nigeria hardly sell books written by indigenous authors, they preferred to stock foreign books when contacted by DAILY INDEPENDENT, the general manager of a popular bookstore on Lagos island declared that most of the bookshops preferred to stock foreign books because of higher demand for them. The question that most Nigerian authors is while their overseas counterparts are being rewarded with great international honors why are Nigerians authors not according them such recognition in their own country Recently Nigerians novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie won the 2007 orange pricze award, the literary world’s top award for fiction in English written by woman the award carries a prize tag of $30000 it was reported in publishers weekly, half of a yellow sun the book that earned her the award of was profoundly gripping according to the reviewers the book is a transcendent novel of many descriptive triumphs most notably its diction of the impact war brutalities on peasant and intellectuals alike it is a searing history in fictional form intensely evocative and immensely absorbing Chinua Achebe father of modern Africans literature also won the second ever man booker international prize of 60000 euro with his first novel things fall apart published in 1958 when professor wole Soyinka won the noble prize for literature in1991 booker prize with his work the famished road and the world celebrated Nigeria as the giant of Africa it was also gathered that most of the publishers hurriedly produce books and in the process married their good contents most of the books are not properly edited and eventually become substandard when compared with foreign products the extent to which book publishing standard has fallen in Nigeria is alarming often Nigerian publishers have been blamed for this it is instructive that none of the books mentioned had been published in Nigeria it was discovered that one of the Nigerian universities who had been a victim of handout sales scandal told DAILY INDEPENDENT the reality of campus challenges in relation to books I was forced to dictate notes slowly to students who hung on my every word in the absence of text book in a library that had to all intent and purpose, stop buying new books when the local currency was devalued. But what other alternative does one have? Adapted from DAILY INDEPENDENT Monday 20 august 2007
