Follow Us on Google
• How high cost of paper, diesel, piracy push Nigerian publishers to the brink
Long before now, Nigeria once had five major paper mills across the country. The paper mills were in Iwopin, in Ogun State, Oku Iboku in Akwa Ibom State, Jebba in Kwara State and also pulp plants in Niger and Nasarawa States.
Iwopin, findings revealed, was commissioned in 1975, to produce 70,000 tonnes of paper and paperboard yearly from wood pulp.
The Oku Iboku mill in Akwa Ibom also supplied newsprint to major newspaper companies in Nigeria, while that of Jebba in Kwara State was also established to turn sugarcane waste into paper. Both Niger and Nasarawa plants, it was gathered, were meant to support them with pulp.
All these paper mills were built to produce newsprint and packaging from local timber and bagasse.
But they have all collapsed largely because of mismanagement, epileptic power, lack of forex for spare parts and policy inconsistency. These national facilities, it was gathered, had been abandoned, stripped and sold as scrap.
However, Nigerian publishers now import 100 per cent of papers from China and India.
Saturday Sun gathered also that Nigeria spends about N1.1 trillion annually on importing paper.
According to reports, in 2025 alone, Nigeria’s paper import bill reached N1.107 trillion, up from N328.9 billion in 2021. This, findings represents a staggering increase of over 236 per cent in just four years.
Findings revealed also that the cumulative import bill for paper products between 2021 and 2025 exceeded N3.37 trillion. Industry experts also estimated the annual drain on foreign reserves at over $5 billion.
Nigeria that had once produced tens of thousands of tons of paper annually to reduce dependence on imports and even supporting exports to international markets, now has become most dependent on other foreign countries like China and India to import papers to the country at a very huge cost.
Book publishing business today in Nigeria is in serious crisis. This, according to findings, is mainly because of the high cost of publishing, piracy and lack of proper regulation among others.
The problem didn’t start today. It was as result of consistent failures of leadership that had since affected virtually every aspect of the nation’s life.
Publishers, printers and authors have been pushed to the brink with the high cost of getting most of the materials needed for printing and publishing of their books.
For instance, when the paper mills in Iwopin, Ogun State, were still functioning, it was gathered that the facility produced a large fraction of the papers used for publishing in the country then.
Though, the population and the demand for newsprint and papers then was not as much as what it is presently, many believed things were even better then than what is presently happening now in the publishing sector.
A concerned Nigerian, Gabriel Chukwudi, expressed worry at the situation. In his words, a serious nation would not depend largely on importing a large fraction of the materials needed for book publishing in a country that is as blessed as Nigeria.
According to him, the lacuna is too obvious because most of the printing materials are imported, thus, forex would always affect the cost of publishing.
Another major challenge in the sector, Saturday Sun gathered, is that of piracy. Publishers, including authors daily face the herculean tasks of addressing the monster.
Publishers are believed to be powerless because they have always not been in charge of their sector,and findings revealed also that foreigners are now in complete control of publishing in Nigeria.
Saturday Sun also gathered that many of the big names and companies in the publishing sector have gone under. And the few ones that are still functioning stake everything to stay afloat against all odds.
It was also gathered that government is not really interested in helping them, as they are, most often, left to their fate.
Stakeholders in the publishing milieu recently raised their voices as they expressed their concern over the country’s continued dependence on importing printing materials while the paper mills industries across the country are still dead.
“Nigeria should look inwards by putting its natural resources and industrial assets to productive use. There’s no way we can get it right in the publishing sector if all our paper mills are still not functioning,” Chukwudi stated.
Chairman/CEO Readwright Books Company, Ayodeji Oguntuase, said the publishing microeconomic environment is no different from the bigger economy of the Nigerian states. In his words, the publishing sector is totally import-dependent.
He explained also that majority of the materials needed for printing of books are imported, and they are also affected by the variables that are obvious in the economy.
Oguntuase pointed out that apart from the conception of the book and design, other basic materials, which he said included papers, ink and even plates are imported from China or India.
“Unfortunately, book publishing in Nigeria is now a war, particularly if you are into educational books. It is just a business you do for just about three or six months in a year. Most students buy books today – for primary, secondary and even in tertiary institutions – just to pass exams.
“We call them utilitarian readers. They just want to pass their exams. After the exams, nothing again. Nobody wants to buy any book for leisure. Nobody wants to buy any book. It shows in the depth of people in our society.
“Publishers, like other businessmen in Nigeria, go through hell going to the black market to source for foreign exchange from the banks and bring in these papers at a very high cost from either China or India,” he said.
Ibadan-based publisher and Chairman/CEO of Cornerstone Digital Resource Limited, Mr Femi Oriola, said there is urgent need for the Federal Government to salvage the publishing sector from going into extinction.
Oriola noted that apart from the human resources, every other material used for publishing is sourced from outside the country.
He explained that unless the Federal Government intervenes by ensuring that most of the materials are produced in Nigeria, there is no way the publishing sector could survive in sustaining a business that is mostly import-driven.
This, he said, is possible if all the paper mills across the country are resuscitated to produce the papers.
According to him, when publishers import all the production materials, then they are definitely not in charge of the cost because it is the exchange rate that determines or dictates the business rhythm.
“Publishing business in the country today is completely sick and it is currently in the Intensive Care Unit because we have the paper mills here but they are dead.
“Our farms have become a no-go area because of rising spate of insecurity and we now import our timbers to get papers that will be used for publishing.
“Some of my colleagues in the publishing sector are now printing their books abroad because of the quality of the production. If you look at the cost implications, it is on the high side but they prefer to face all the challenges and get their books published outside the country. And what that means is that the cost of those books would also be on the high side. This is one of the challenges we are faced with as publishers.”
In his words, it is pathetic that Nigeria with a population of over 250 million people don’t have a functioning paper mill.
“It is unfortunate that a country like Nigeria still import all their publishing materials from foreign countries. We have timbers, we have the woods here in our forests but we have leadership problem.
“If our paper mills across the country are revived, it will not only help our publishing sector, it will also help the economy by creating employment for millions of people and the idea of depending more on forex to get the materials needed for publishing into the country will also be reduced drastically,” he said.
Apart from the rising cost of publishing, Nigerian publishers and authors also identified piracy as a major issue in the publishing sector. They wondered how pirates always have their ways in Nigeria and even in the court of law.
According to them, pirates always have the courage to publish pirated copies outside the country.
“They will go abroad and print your book with high quality and sell it here in Nigeria. And as the author, you begin to wonder if your book is really the original or the pirated copy. It is as bad as that. And that is the extent pirates have gone to pirate intellectual work.
“And when you take them to court, they are told to pay fines and that is all. Nigerian laws in some ways, don’t favour publishers and authors. They are just there for the sake of it,” they admitted.
However, at the heart of this crisis are the printers. In Lagos State for instance, they are mostly clustered in Somolu and Mushin.
For them, the high cost of publishing is not about paper alone. It is about diesel, power bills, and other imported materials that get more expensive by the week.
Managing Director of Outfits Publishers, Oladipupo Olawale, in his remarks appealed to the Federal Government to reduce the cost of fuel, both PMS, diesel and the bill on power.
He said the major challenges printers face anywhere in Nigeria are that of high cost of petrol, diesel and irregular power supply.
“Presently, diesel is now sold for N1,900 per litre. It jerked up from N1,200 to N1,900. It will affect everything we do. If there is constant power supply, it wouldn’t be like that,” he said.
In his words, every business in Nigeria centres mainly on power and fuel. And for printers, most of the materials they use for printing are imported and depend largely on forex.
Olawale explained the growing increase in the prices of printing materials. He noted that a 70gram paper rim of 25ml by 36 was sold between N22,000 and N24,000, but it is now sold for N29,000. One kilo of ink, he said, was sold between N2,500 and N3,000, but now it is sold for N7,000 per kilo. Either Cyan or Magenta.
“For instance, in Somolu, where my office is located, there has been no light for the past three days. I buy diesel of about N80,000 daily to run my printing machine from 9am in the morning till 9pm in the evening. And whenever there is light, I use about N100,000 to load for a period of one week and three days.
“Imagine the difference. In my view, if there is regular power supply and reduction in the cost of diesel, every other thing will fall in line and there will be relief for all,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Chairman/ CEO of Salab Global Care Printers, Chief Sakiru Salami, also said there is a need for the government to help reduce the cost of printing materials, including papers, ink and plates.
These, he said, are the major challenges printers in the country face now because the reasonable thing is for them to factor in all the costs incurred into what they produce.
“PMS is now N1,450 and it affects every aspect of our lives. It is like the Federal Government is taking from the poor to give to the rich.
“President Bola Tinubu said we should hold the governors and the local government chairmen accountable for the huge revenue they are getting from the Federal Government. Is it the poor people that they are pushing to the wall that will be holding them accountable?
“The Federal Government should help the Nigerian masses by ensuring that the prices of common commodities like petrol, diesel and bills paid for power supply are reduced so that the masses can breathe,” he said.
Saturday Sun also gathered that as many of the schools resumed, cost of textbooks soared. Parents are also complaining about the cost of textbooks. Findings also revealed that a textbook that was sold for N2,500 before the closure of the school is now sold for N4,500.
In the midst of all these, publishers, authors, printers and even parents are still appealing to the Federal Government with a long list of requests: They appeal to the Federal Government to revive all the dead paper mills, including that of Iwopin and Oku Iboku.
They also want the government to grant tax waivers on printing materials even as they want the government to also create special copyright courts to prosecute pirates and ban import of newsprint.
With all these done, many believed that local production will cut costs, create jobs and save forex.
