The book fair which will be graced by major stakeholders in the book industry is scheduled to hold from Monday, May 11 through Saturday, May 16 at the Multi-purpose halls of the University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos state, Nigeria.
Rilwan Abdulsalami, the chairman of Nigeria Book Fair Trust, while briefing the press on the preparations for the 2015 book fair in Lagos, said, “ a reading nation is a winning nation and that is why it is important for all stakeholders in the book industry to come together and institute a culture that will not only encourage knowledge acquisition, but also promote reading culture among the citizenry in Nigeria.”
Nigerian Book Fair Trust is the umbrella body for all the major stakeholders in the book industry in Nigeria and the fair holds every second week of May of every year.
As part of the programmes for NIBF 2015, there will be an International Conference on Tuesday, May 12 at the Multi-purpose hall C of the University of Lagos.
The theme of the conference is: African Youth Empowerment through Book for sustainable National Development. The keynote paper of the conference which will be attended by many personalities in the various sectors in Nigeria will be delivered by Prof. G.G Darah of Delta State University. It will be chaired by Mr. Ayo Ojeniyi, chairman of HEBN Publishers, while Pro. Ismail Junaidu, Acting Executive Secretary of Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council(NERDC) will be the Special Guest of Honour.
Apart from the book exhibitions which runs everyday during the period, other programmes of the book fair include: publishers workshop, two days children programme, teacher’s training workshop, Annual School Owners and Principal officers Education summit, Author’s groove, Chukwuemeka Ike Books Jubilee, Printers seminar and others. The workshops and seminars will be conducted by major stakeholders in the book industry.
The chairman also disclosed that in its bid to make the 2015 edition memorable for visitors and exhibitors, the board has introduced new programmes like, the summit of School Owners and Principal officers of schools in Nigeria which will open a window of opportunity for exhibitors, provision of free internet facility for all the exhibitors during the period and the bringing of many authors and scholars of international repute.
NIBF attracts both local and foreign exhibitors and it is surest gateway to access Nigerian book market. NIBF had added indelible value to many businesses around the world and NIBF 2015 will be another platform to tap into myriad of benefits that embedded in the book fair.