Nigerian university presses: a bleak picture

Abstract

AbstractIn the 1970s and 1980s there was a lively academic publishing scene in Nigeria, with several new university presses being launched. Today, however, as a cursory amount of research about the current state of university press publishing in Nigeria demonstrates, the picture is bleak. Research (conducted in April 2021) revealed that traditional university press publishing activities seem to have been almost completely abandoned, although presses still exist in the form of commercial operations offering design, typesetting, and printing and binding services to the university, as well as to other customers. Nigerian university presses operating today seem to be far removed from the ideals and primary responsibility of a university press, which should be to produce and disseminate knowledge of all kinds, and promote a literate culture upon which the foundation of the university as a national institution must ultimately rest. Partly due to financial constraints and the demand to be self-sustaining, many university presses have ceased to be publishing presses and have become printing presses. University administrators now view their presses as an opportunity for making money in times of dwindling resources, rather than as an outlet for the dissemination of scholarship. Publishing opportunities for African scholars by Western presses, and the availability of content within Africa, remain limited. The demise, and the now almost total lack of publishing output by Nigerian university presses, can be said to be a major contributory factor to this unhappy situation.