While many people are leaving the business of selling newspapers for greener pastures, Malam Sule Maijarida, who has been doing it on the same spot for over 40 years, said he could not leave the trade because it had been a blessing to his life despite the fact that it is gradually going extinct due to lack of patronage. He also identified what could be done to regain the lost glory of the business in Nigeria.
Daily Trust Saturday: You have been selling newspapers for over 40 years while many have left the trade for better ones, what has been your motivation?
I am someone who stands firm on his belief; and I see this business as a calling from Allah. I have received numerous blessings in this trade.
Most newspaper vendors cannot even write their names, but come rain, come shine, as long as newspapers are published, they will come out to sell. We know what we have gained from it.
Having been in the business for over 40 years, how would you compare patronage in those days to what obtains nowadays?
I started selling newspapers when a copy was 5kobo. It later rose to 10kobo. Today, a copy is sold at N200 and even N300 for some newspapers.
I can remember how I was harassed and even detained severally at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to stop me from selling a newspaper when an unwanted story was published, but I stood my ground, believing that since I did not author the story, the security personnel had no reason to stop me for selling my copies. This has never deterred me from coming out every day to sell newspapers.
What are some of the challenges facing the business?
The internet has been our major challenge. Since the coming of internet, newspaper sales dropped and are at the verge of becoming extinct because by the time you display your newspapers, prospective customers have already read it from their mobile phones.
When Daily Trust started in Kaduna, I used to buy 250 copies, and by the time I displayed it on my table, located at the entrance of Radio Nigeria, it did not last up to 15 minutes before it was sold out.
It saddens me when I recall how we used to be the first port of call for many people who wanted to know what was happening in the country.
Another challenge is that many vendors are leaving the business to look for greener pastures. I am still here because I am benefiting from people’s goodwill. I can stay at my stand from morning till evening without selling a single copy, but I do not go hungry. I even get extra to take to my family. I have never gone to beg someone for help.
Despite some challenges, what have you been able to achieve through this business?
When I started this business I did not have up to N10, but three months later, I was able to buy a car and drive to my hometown. Then I bought a motorcycle at N750, and N900. People kept telling me that it was expensive, but I was not bothered. But today, if you want to buy a motorcycle you should have between N250,000 and N300,000. Everything has become out of reach for the common man.
I thank the owners of these newspapers and their staff because they made me what I am today. Through this business I have been able to fend for my family and support others with loans. I have never collected a loan and I do not bother the people I have given loans because of the blessings I have received.
In the past, I worked with foreigners and Nigerians at the Radio House. Many of their children now work there. But I never wanted my children to work in the radio station, although I have had a good relationship with all the heads of the station and was given anything I asked for.
Everything has changed. And just like the newspaper business is declining, so is radio business because of the advent of internet. Before now, if a person had a wedding or naming ceremony, he or she would come and make announcement on radio, but now, all they need to do is send the same announcement through the internet via their mobile phones.
What would you describe as remarkable since you started newspaper business?
It has been the ability to fight for what is right, especially when they came to take the papers and I insisted that it was not their property.
When the owner of Daily Trust wanted to start the publication, I advised him to stand firm on his belief in truth and justice. I also promised him that nothing would stop me from selling his papers no matter what he published, as long as it was the truth and held government accountable. And if the people concerned wanted to confiscate the newspapers, they could only do so by blocking the vehicle conveying it, but as long as it had gotten to us, they had no right to seize our copies.
I am a Nigerian and I have no fear that I would be arrested as long as I stand on my belief in the truth. This is the kind of training we ought to be teaching our children. It is because we have failed to instill truth and fairness in our children that we find ourselves in a society where the children no longer listen to their parents.
Do you think the decline in our reading culture has also contributed to the challenges in the newspaper business?
Yes, that has also dampened the fate of newspapers in Nigeria. Children do not like reading anymore, and not all parents encourage their children to read. At my stand, most people that come to buy newspapers are above 40 years of age and anyone less than that is doing so because they have a change of name in the publication. But there are still old people that buy two to three copies a day for their archives because they know the importance of newspapers.
Is lack of patronage peculiar to any newspaper?
It is not peculiar to any paper; there are newspapers that people around here do not even ask for, so I stopped buying them.
How many newspapers do you sell in a week?
If I am lucky, I can sell 10 papers a week. When the business was thriving, by this time my table would have been empty; and even if they did not buy, people would come around to view the copies for a fee, unlike now.
Has any of your children taken after you in the newspaper business?
Some tried, but they had to move to another business. There was a time I travelled and left my son in charge of the stand. Before I left, I gave him N50,000 to keep the place running till I returned, but to my surprise, when I returned I could hardly get N10,000 out of the money because people did not accord him the same treatment they accorded me.
I will advise owners of these companies to see the need not to put all their eggs in one basket by publishing all stories on the internet. They should be able to hold few big stories and refer to the newspaper in order to increase patronage.