LAGOS – The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Book Fair Trust (NBFT), Mr Abiodun Omotubi, said on Monday that no fewer than 120 exhibitors including foreigners had arrived for the 13th International Book Fair holding in Lagos.
“I want to say that we are happy with the turn out of the public at the first day of the fair.
“It has been quite satisfactory compared to what was obtained during the 12th edition in 2013.
“I am sure that by the time we conclude the opening ceremony tomorrow we shall be witnessing `human traffic’ at the fair.
“All the logistics that would ensure the success of the exhibition have been put in place and we are sure that Nigerians and other visitors across the globe would have worth for their money, ’’he said at the opening of the Fair at the University of Lagos.
Omotubi noted that in spite of reading culture campaigns by NBFT most Nigerians had yet to embrace the culture.
He said: “That is why on our part; we are doing all we can through this fair to add more to the zeal of Nigerians in the area of reading.
“We want them to have a re-think and go all-out to improve on themselves by reading something.”
The scribe said that this year’s fair was offering a lot to all categories of Nigerians.
Also speaking, Mrs Funke Omoare, Data Manager, Macmillan Nigeria Publishers Ltd, expressed satisfaction with the turnout of people at the fair.
According to her, the company is participating at this year’s fair basically to feel the pulse of its customers concerning their products and their activities over the years.
She said MacMillan had previously participated at the fair to exhibit its products, but was at the 2014 edition to get feedback from customers on the quality of its products.
Miss Atrayee Chandra, Assistant Manager, Repro India Ltd, a mega printing firm based in India, also said that their participation was aimed at attracting Nigerian publishers and to explore business opportunities.
“We have always participated in this fair because of its importance to our kind of business.
“We will also seize this opportunity to see how much the Nigerian publishing industry has evolved in the past years.
“We are looking forward to a successful fair, better than the year before, going by the turn out of stakeholders on this first day,” she said.
The fair which opens on May 6, has as its theme,“The Emergence of E-Book and the Survival of Physical Books in Africa.’’
It is expected to end on May 10. (NAN)
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