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By Patrick Oguejiofor
The Airbus plane touched the Marconi Guglielmo airport, Bologna, a city some four hundred kilometres from Rome, Italy, at exactly 2:45 p.m. The airport was simple but large. Quickly, we were driven to the arrival lounge where we picked our baggage. There were no passport controls to clear me. I picked my luggage and walked out of the terminal building where a man was waiting to pick me up. I felt like Christopher Columbus stepping his feet on the soil of the New World.
Forty minutes later, I checked into my room at the Bologna Holiday Inn at the outskirts of the city made famous by the over six-decade Children’s Book Fair which was what brought me to Italy for the first time. So early on Monday 8th April, 2024, the 61st edition of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair – the biggest of its type anywhere in the world kicked off with an opening ceremony that lasted for about two hours.
The venue was probably larger than Nigeria’s Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja. Yet every space was filled to the brim. There were students, children, children’s book illustrators, authors of children’s books, publishers, marketers, printers, literary agents, etc. One thing linked all of them together: a children’s book. The walls leading to the entrance of the fair venue were saturated with all manners of graphic illustrations, paintings, designs and art works for children.
The Bologna Children’s Book Fair is principally organised by the Italian Trade Agency and the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI). The 2024 edition of the fair features “Spotlight on Africa”, a special package aimed at displaying African publishers of children’s books for potential markets within and outside Africa. A total of twenty-four African publishers were billed to attend. At least fifteen of these exhibited at the fair. Five of these publishers came from Nigeria, and included: Masobe Books and Logistics (Lagos), Mazariyya Books Limited (Abuja), Narrative Landscape Press (Lagos), Ouida Books, and Peressia Press (Lagos). Beyond the publishers from Africa, the event had in attendance over 140 foreign publishing professionals, with the Italian Publishers Association (AIE) who were part of the organisers present.
Day One of the event witnessed a big party to welcome the guests. This was at the end of the day’s business. The big party lasted far into the night. Food and Italian wine were in abundance. An Award ceremony equally took place shortly before the party started. The Bologna Prize for the best Children’s book Publisher of the year is awarded yearly to the best children’s book publisher in each of the six areas of the world: Africa, North America, Europe, Asia, North America, and Central and South America. The nominations are done by the publishers themselves. The criteria for nominations include innovation, creativity and quality in editing. The award ceremony was, therefore, an important segment of the great book fiesta.
The shortlisted publishers from Africa included: Masobe Books and Logistics (Nigeria), Narrative Landscapes (Nigeria), Soma Nami (Kenya), and Yanbow Al Kitab (Morocco). The latter emerged the winner from Africa.
The Day One of the Fair equally featured a talkshop by a group called Women in Publishing. Some of the Nigerian Publishing executives who attended include Anwuli Ojogwu of Narrative Landscapes Press, Lola Soneyin of Ouida Books and Azafi Omoluabi of Peressia Press. The four-day fair also witnessed several conferences, talkshops, discussions at the Spotlight on Africa section of the fair. All of this focussed on improving the quality of books for children and young adults, as well as making books available for African children at affordable rates. Other aspects included licensing, translations, illustrations, marketing and rights acquisitions, etc. No aspect of children’s books was left out.
Printers from all over the world, particularly from Asia, exhibited their works and sought for prospective clients, particularly from Africa. Diverse children’s books in various languages were exhibited for rights acquisition. There were also art exhibitions.
The Bologna Children’s Book Fair also recognised excellence through awards: illustrations and designs of children’s books, licensing awards and books for young adults, books for middle grade, comics and graphic, and nonfiction books.
The event came to an end on Thursday, April 11, 2024. The entire four days of the festival of children’s books were like a sweet love affair. I felt sad watching the exhibitors pack their wares in readiness to return to their respective countries. Days after my return from the fair, the great book fiesta refused to leave my mind. The sweet memories lingered like unfinished love affairs. I wish it would go on forever. It was so sweet that the taste refused to part with my lips..
I felt both sad and angry seeing expensive Toyota SUVs flooding the streets of Abuja when the National Library of Nigeria is still housed in a rented building. I felt sad that the only public library in the Federal Capital Territory was not just too small but was an apology in terms of the books in them. And why can’t every District in Abuja have a library at least for our children since the adults are apparently too busy to engage in the serious business of reading? Why can’t every local government area headquarter in Nigeria have a library? How much does it cost to build a standard library? Why does the government consider Toyota Prado SUVs more important than libraries? The cost of one of these cars purchased by the government for its officials can build at least four standard libraries for children. Why are we so blessed with evil? This is deeply saddening. No wonder we are so poor and miserable in the midst of abundance of resources. Misplaced priorities are our bane.
In Bologna, I carefully observed their landscapes. They were bereft of these offensive and provocative, expensive SUVs. They had invested in book fairs which brought the entire world to that city and lots of business opportunities for the citizens, as well as employment. Good things are worthy of emulation. It’s time our government focuses on funding the infrastructures for the manufacture of knowledge. The gains are overwhelming. The 2024 edition of the Bologna Book Fair is a great eye opener for me. We are sick people, because we spend our hard earned resources on vanities, leaving out things needed most to give us a better standard of living. But all hope is not lost. It is not too late to fix the damages done by our previous leaders.
It has been said that, if you want to know how a nation will look in the future, take a look at the children. This is why our children should matter to us. We must give them good books to read. The big SUVs dotting Abuja landscapes should be replaced with libraries. A stitch in time they say saves nine.
Patrick Tagbo Oguejiofor is a poet and author of several contemporary children and young adult story books, including The Secret Place, Emeka and the Kidnappers, Haunted House, among others. He lives and works in Abuja, Nigeria.
