Donatus Nwaogu: The Itinerant Book Merchant
By Danusa Ocholi
Sunday, September 14, 2008
From selling evening newspapers with a capital of N50, Donatus Nwoaogu has graduated into a book merchant
He was a machine operator with a firm owned by a Chinese but lost his job suddenly in 1986. Donatus Nwaogu encountered a lot of difficulties as a result of that setback. He was confronted more with the challenges of catering for members of his immediate and extended family. Life became an agony for him. He could not put food on the table for his family. In the face of these difficulties, he made up his mind never to work under anybody or organisation again.
He then approached several people to help him raise funds to start his dream business of selling carton sheets which he said was quite lucrative, especially in the Eastern part of the country. Among those he contacted were his father, now deceased, whom he even persuaded to sell his plot of land to enable him raise the money for the business. But succour did not come from the old man. "I was hurt when my father did not agree to my request because as the first child of the family of 12, and with my dad having three wives, I sensed I had a great burden to cater for them."
Gabriel Onyejegbuchi, a Christian brother, was the next person he approached with his business proposal. The man agreed to help and gave him N50 to go and have his lunch before further discussion. Nwaogu did not return. The small amount given to him was enough for him to eke out a living. He started selling newspapers with the money.
His mother was confounded by his decision to take to the despised venture. But he was not deterred. The turning point in his business came with the news blitz that followed the arrest of Lawrence Anini and Monday Osunbor, two notorious robbers that held Benin hostage in the late 80s. "The evening papers I held that day all sold out within 30 minutes with the news of their arrest. Evening Times was the most popular newspaper then. It also sold out." From the money he made from the sale of the newspapers, he went into selling novels, before venturing into other books.
The business has progressed to outgrow his wildest imagination. It has blossomed into book-selling that has expanded enough to sustain him and his immediate family, as well as the extended one. Nwaogu, who is in his 40s and hails from Isiala-Ngwa North local government in Abia State today earns his living by marketing and supplying books to the various media houses, insurance firms and some other notable organisations in Lagos. It appears a fairy tale for one to start a business with such a paltry sum. But Nwaogu said that after experiencing numerous excruciating moments in life, with a loss of a paying job as the last straw, he decided to take his destiny in his hands.
He said he headed for Lagos late 1978 when one of his uncles in Aba, whom he served in trading for five years, refused to pay him the necessary entitlements that would have helped him to start his own business. But in Lagos, another uncle, Paul Ekiri, helped him to secure a job at the Nigeria Carton and Packaging Company, a firm owned by the Chinese. But things changed for the worse for him after spending seven years and six months in the organisation.""I left the place of work because of my involvement in union activities. The management refused to give me a salesmanship job which I was qualified to do and as a result, some corrupt union officials connived with the management to have me sacked."
He told Newswatch that the books in high demands are those that deal with leadership, biographies and business. Books like My Life by Bill Clinton, as well as those that deal with world history, are also highly sought after by Nigerians. Nwaogwu maintained that journalists and others in the media industry form the bulk of his clients. He has been able to sell books to virtually all the media houses in Lagos
He is, however, not pleased with the "poor reading culture" of Nigerians. He argued that since information is power, people should embrace books and digest them as well.
Nwaogu, also wants Nigerians to take interest in stocking encyclopaedias. He said many people fear that encyclopaedia may be too expensive, but with N15,000, one can get some of them.
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