Reiko Redmonde who is a bookstore manager spoke to fellow booksellers about how she endured a month-long persecution by a coalition of conservative activists who describe themselves as “right-wing” media, to the NCIBA.
She described how many members of the group have visited her store with the intention of intimidating the workers by rattling the rails and even go ahead to post the videos online. They even go ahead to post the personal information of the workers online in what they call “dox” intimidation technique.
After the session, Redmonde shared a broadsheet that shows supports from local authors.
The Nigerian publishing houses are living in fear of this kind of situations, as they are always trying to be correct by the standards of the society and will promptly reject works that challenge societal norms because of ‘fear of tarnishing their image’. They prefer to fund publishing of stories that keep the cycle of ‘what is generally acceptable’ going. Publishing house rely on the tested horses than the dark ones because they believe this one’s know the track and have learned the ropes, they will stay in line. They will keep publishing same stories of ‘grass to grace’ and other eyes rolling over flogged themes.
It should be time to lift modern works from the online pages and into paperbacks with the stamps of ‘well-known publishing houses’ on them. The unyielding society may try to tear these works done but it will not be stopped, change is coming.
Fear holds us back.
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