In a move to ease the financial burden on publishers and parents, the Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA) has appealed to state governors, particularly those in the South-West region, to reduce the exorbitant costs imposed on book reviews.
The appeal was made by the Executive Secretary of the NPA, Mr. Emmanuel Abimbola, during a media parley with journalists at the Oyo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Ibadan on Wednesday.
According to Mr. Abimbola, the cost of a book review, which was previously around N5,000, has now skyrocketed to between N2 million and N3 million in the South-West states. This, he described as “most traumatizing” and a significant burden on publishers and parents, who have to pay around N80,000 to purchase books for a primary school pupil.
When Mr. Abimbola contacted a civil servant from the ministry about the outrageous costs, he was told that it was a way for the state government to generate revenue. However, the NPA Executive Secretary emphasized that education should be a social service that citizens should enjoy, and the high costs of book reviews are only peculiar to the South-West region.
In contrast, Mr. Abimbola noted that publishers do not experience such difficulties in the South-East zone, where the charge for a book review is only N50,000.
The media parley was also attended by the Director of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), Dr. John Assein, and the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Comrade Ademola Babalola. Dr. Assein acknowledged the challenges posed by the advent of social media, including the problems of piracy of materials and movies, and stated that the NCC has taken steps to protect the publishing space.
The NCC also sought the collaboration of the media in tackling the menace of copyright infringement, as the commission has the power to arrest and prosecute people involved in such activities, but requires the support of journalists to achieve its aims.
