UP Plc at 70: A discourse on the publishing sector and brain drain

LAST week, precisely on June 19, the University Press Plc celebrated its 70th anniversary, and it afforded stakeholders in the publishing sector the opportunity to brainstorm on issues of national importance.

The guest speaker on the occasion was Professor Niyi Osundare of the University of New Orleans, United States of America, and the title of his lecture, ‘African Diaspora, Brain Flight and Our Republic of Letters’, highlighted the challenges before Nigeria, going by the mass exodus of professionals from the country.

Earlier, the chairman of University Press, Dr Lalekan Are, in his opening remarks, had gone down memory lane on how the publishing firm started operations in the country as the Nigerian branch of the Oxford University Press in 1949.

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Dr Are explained that Oxford University Press started to indigenise its titles in 1963, when it published the first ever local educational title, Ijala Are Ode, by Chief Oladipo Yemiitan. Incidentally, Chief Yemiitan also graced the 70th anniversary of the company.

He said: “In 1978, the firm transformed into University Press Plc, and has continued to excel in the publishing sector of the nation’s economy.

“Publishing remains a vital engine that drives the development of any society, and the University Press Plc has also contributed in no small measure to national progress.

“However, the government should continue to support the publishing sector by demonstrating the political will to tackle piracy. It should also strengthen the Nigeria Copyrights Commission (NCC) in this regard.

“Government should also help improve the reading culture in the country, especially by establishing community libraries, as this will make it easier for people to have access to books.

“Government should also work towards ensuring that more books are produced in indigenous languages, and this will help boost our culture,” Dr Are said, while appreciating those who had contributed in one way or the other to the position the company now holds in the nation’s publishing space.

Professor Osundare’s lecture focused on how the country is losing its best brains in every sector to other countries.

In the publishing sector, for instance, Professor Osundare explained that many writers now believe that they would do better when they are published by foreign publishers.

He said some writers believe their dream of literary glory could not be achieved while still in Nigeria, and thus, many strive to relocate to more ‘favourable’ countries.

On the reason for the development, Professor Osundare said some writers cite lack of interest in local authors, as well as the not too-encouraging reading culture in the country, which throws literary works into obscurity.

“In fact, a published writer once told me that he would have been well-known had he been published abroad. He described getting published in Nigeria as literary suicide, since books are poorly-published and scarcely-promoted.”

As a result of these, Osundare said Nigerians now troop to foreign embassies in order to jet out of the country, but these countries have also ‘raised their gates’ to make it difficult to get in.

“The most popular countries are the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, among other Western countries, but when these countries ‘raised their gates,’ Nigerians are now moving to Russia, Bulgaria, Czech, Hungary, among others.

“This is also the reason African dreamers have resorted to travelling to Europe through the desert, and the Mediterranean sea, which have now become the graveyard of Young Africans. Unfortunately, African leaders are too comfortable to understand the challenges.”

However, beyond the dream that once someone reaches Europe or America, then the person is made, Professor Osundare painted a picture of struggle for recognition in foreign lands, especially for African writers.

He also lamented that in the past, researchers on Africa were coming to the continent for their research, but today, African researchers move to foreign universities to study about the continent, something which the don described as absurd.

Professor Osundare, therefore, said Africa must get its politics and economy right and provide opportunities for its citizens.

He asked, “How will we develop the continent when its best brains have fled abroad? How can a continent so richly-endowed be so humanely-poor? We must begin to ask our leaders why they feel so unconcerned by their citizens dying in the desert and Mediterranean Sea.

“Africa must take responsibility for the corrupt leadership that is responsible for the situation on the continent. Every African must, therefore, begin to develop interest in politics.

“We must hold our leaders’ feet to the fire on issues and ask them questions, and this is the only way we can prevent the brain drain,” Professor Osundare said.

While speaking, His Majesty, Professor Chukwuemeka Ike, commended the University Press for providing the platform to publish his works.

Professor Ike said being an established writer wasn’t smooth sailing for him, while charging young writers to be patient and continue to work hard.

In his closing remarks, the Managing Director of UP Plc, Mr Samuel Kolawole, said the company would continue to set the standard in the publishing sector in the country.

Mr Kolawole also thanked past and current members of staff for their contributions to the development of the company.