Ikechi Phillips Kanu is a newspaper vendor in Isolo area of Lagos state. Having obtained degrees in Accountancy Education from Federal College of Education (Technical), Yaba and Business Administration from Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, he chose a career path as a newspaper vendor. He shares with Joy Ngwolo the circumstances that led to his choice of business among other issues. Excerpts!
What led you into the newspaper vendor business?
It wasn’t my intention to venture into the business but circumstances prompted me to go into it. While I was doing my Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) in 1991, there was a crisis between the school management and the students’ union which led to the closure of the school. Meanwhile, before getting into school, I had worked for a company and made some savings that I hoped would be enough to cater for myself for my three years of study but after the closure of the school which lasted for a year, I discovered that my savings could no longer sustain me. At a point, I ran out of cash and that was when I decided to go into the newspaper business while waiting for school to resume. Even when school resumed, I continued doing it. I used to miss my first two lectures every day because in the morning, I had to rush to supply my customers after which I would return to school. When I got to school, I would collect notes from my course mates to make up for the lectures that I missed. I continued that way until we finished our final exams. I got some job offers but when I compared their proposed salaries with what I was earning in my newspaper business, I realised that it was not worth it. Also, I got an opportunity to travel to Canada which turned out to be a scam. Because I was preparing to travel, I still ignored some job opportunities. A time came when I wanted to work but it was late because I was quite advanced in age and most companies were employing people in their early twenties so I decided to continue with my newspaper business. Back then, there was nothing like mobile phones, there was no internet and everybody read newspapers. I used the money I derived from the business to fund myself through school, to buy a land, marry my wife, and complete my father’s building.
As time went on, I lost my father and mother within a space of two months and that drained my purse. After the funerals I was financially down coupled with the advent of mobile phones and the business began to decline, we were not making as much money as we used to. At some point, I began to regret rejecting those job offers. Another reason why I could not easily get another job was the fact that I used to tell my prospective employers that I wanted to further my education and they did not like that because they believed that after training me, I would leave for school, they did not want any form of instability among their staff. It was later that I realised my mistake. If I had someone to mentor me back then, I wouldn’t have made those mistakes. If I had someone to advise me, I would rather have built a career until I got mature into it.
Describe your average day as a newspaper vendor
I wake up as early as 4:00 a. m, I go to the table where we pick papers at Bolade Oshodi. There, we have to wait for the newspaper companies to bring in their papers and we collect them as they come. Then I go about to market them because I don’t have a stand.
Why don’t you have a stand?
I feel that moving about is better because it helps to generate more sales than having a stand. When you have a stand, you may have 20 people gathered around you, only five may patronise you. Some people will even say that they want to take your newspaper home to read and when they return, they pay you about N20. Also, some people distract the real newspaper buyers because if someone is driving by and they see that the newspaper stand crowded, they may decide to drive on, at the end of the day, those with stands don’t sell much. But being mobile, you can go to your customers and sell. Even when you are walking on the road, they may call you to make a purchase. When it rains or during public holidays, people do not go out as such but if you are a mobile vendor you can easily reach your customers. On rainy days and election days, those who have stands don’t sell much but we that have customers go to them 
and sell. There are advantages and disadvantages of having a stand but personally, I prefer to be a mobile vendor. I supply individuals, companies and institutions. Everyone has their preferences, some prefer politics, fashion and others sports.
What do you think is the future of newspaper vendors in Nigeria?
I don’t think that the future is so bright because the advent of mobile phones and the internet has led to a decline in the demand for printed newspapers. Sometimes before news are published, some people would have read it on their phones. In my own opinion, the government should restrict the publishing of certain content online or increase the tarriff on internet usage so that it will cost people more to browse online thereby giving hard copy newspapers an advantage.
Does being a newspaper vendor have any impact on your children’s reading habits?
Sometimes I have left-over newspapers in the house. At times, after reading their books, they pick up those newspapers to read. It builds their knowledge of current affairs and things that they are not taught in school. It gives them complete training.
What are your best moments on this job?
There was a time that Concord newspaper was widely circulated during Abiola’s era, that was my best moment because I had more sales. Because of the advent of the internet, the best days have gone. Although I believe that with God all things are possible, something good might still come up.
Do you think that there will ever be a time when we will not have to rely on newspaper vendors at all?
There will never be such a time. There are some people that do not read on phones especially the people that are advanced in age. It is the younger generation that are always on their phones and it has affected their reading habits. Young people do not know how to sit down to read, they prefer to fiddle with their phones which is a distraction for them.
What is the greatest challenge you face as a newspaper vendor?
I have to trek long distances under the sun and in the rain. During the rainy season, I have to be very careful with my newspapers so that they do not get wet.
How do you sustain your business?
When I sell to a person for the first time, I keep frequenting the place until I make them my permanent customer. As a newspaper vendor, you need to be consistent, current, punctual, honest and ensure that you don’t disappoint your customers. Sometimes if a particular newspaper is not available and you know that it what your customers want, you can buy it from your fellow vendors to make sure that you satisfy your customer.
It is said that vendors can kill a newspaper, how true is that?
They cannot kill a newspaper as such but when they feel that they are not being treated well, what they do is to limit the publicity of the newspaper. They may not make it visible. They place the newspapers with catchy headlines at the front while they put the rest behind because that is what drives sales.
What does it take to be a newspaper vendor?
There is no barrier in becoming a newspaper vendor, you don’t even need a qualification or much money to do it. I started this business in 1994 with N300 which is an equivalent of N6000 now. Nowadays you don’t need much, you can get newspapers from agents and you pay them later because they run credit facilities.
However, you must be known to be honest and responsible. They must be able to trust that after sales; you will make returns because some people are very dubious.
