Newsstands: People’s Assembly

Emeka Ibemere spent two hours with the unofficial organization known as ‘Free Readers Association’ members at a newsstand at Ikotun LCDA, round-about in Alimosho Local Government Area, Lagos State and reports the proceedings of the People’s Assembly.

For Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, newsstand is a stall or booth where newspapers and magazines and often periodicals are sold, as on a street corner or in a building lobby.

It has its origin as far back as 1870–75.

In New York, newsstands are located inside hotels and office buildings and beneath street level in underground concourses or on subway platforms.

But in Nigeria, such an open booth or stand at which newspapers and periodicals are sold is a typical National Assembly of sort.

Ask any regular member of unofficial well-known organization known as, ‘Free-Readers Association’ in Nigeria, he or she will tell you that newsstands are a mini-National Assembly.

At every point at the newsstand, you will discover them. They are people who just stand in front of the vendors, scanning the headlines and not buying any of the newspapers and magazines.

Here, they start as earlier as 7am, immediately the owner of the Stand resumes duty.

As workers of various professions and callings troop out to go to work daily, the ‘House’, the newsstand, started to welcome ‘legislative members’ of ‘free readers association’, who crammed the Stand while peeping to get the cover-story of that particular day from all the newspapers displayed by the ‘Chief-whip’.

He doubled as the vendor, and owner of the business.

 He is the Chief-whip because in most cases, he moderates by either allowing the debates to go on or not.

The vendor when it’s becoming too much can close his displayed wares or asks the ‘legislatures’ to leave his stand and where they failed to leave, he denied them asses to peep-read the papers.

After picking the cover story of the dailies, the House now shifts to a corner, to start deliberation on the cover story of that day; which sums up their topic.

Here, there is no speaker or senate president. Everybody is a speaker as well as a member of the house.

Those who have the command of English language and know their current affairs very well, dominates the discussion or debate on any topical issues.

 Debate on the floor of the house; starts like an argument raised by one person which will be encountered by another. This person will be supported by another person and the argument began.

From here, the debate kicks off.

 Few minutes later, another person will support the protagonists of the motion raised earlier. And the debate lasts as long as they can argue on the matter.

Hot arguments and near-fighting debates crop up on tribes and religious issues just like in the National Assembly. In most cases, the River State Assembly episode often plays itself out at the newsstands.  

Cover story titles like- Fashola deports Igbos, APC fights Jonathan, and Boko Haram kills 35 in Borno State and etc attract hot debates at the newsstands.

Most people, especially jobless ones enjoy the argument for it’s an avenue to ‘kill’ time and make the day ends quick.

The newsstands cast a wide net. It funnels serious national issues into comics.

In a way, the comics, arguments, the fun, the abuses, the flow of information, the lies, the truths, the play and the name-callings on leaders at newsstand, makes it a place to visit.  News stories that are not for the interest of a particular tribe, party, or religion are opposed vehemently at a newsstand.

While some readers (legislatures) come every morning to discuss and chat on European league and their soccer idols, some others come on to discuss on politics. In all, politics usually takes most of the argument.

Those in support of APC are opposed by those who support PDP. Political personalities and leaders receive knocks at the newsstands. Though at times, the level of debate in this ‘house’ has seldom risen above petty mudslinging. Those making defamatory remarks about leaders, especially political opponents or other competitors received bashing of their fellow debaters.

The ‘house’ also have some bad boys who have also capitalized on the rowdiness occasioned by the number of people at the newsstands to do their thing-pick people‘s pockets.

A regular visitor of the House, Ebere Nwachukwu, a Lagos resident, said those who gather at newsstands every morning doesn’t miss current issues. According to him, he enjoys being in the ‘house’ to know certain things he doesn’t know. He said he cannot do without being in the ‘house’ on daily basis. “I enjoy it. It’s very educative and i learn a lot from it”.

Mrs Afoma Akachukwu, a clerical officer, quipped.

“But I can‘t imagine myself standing by the roadside arguing and discussing with people I don‘t know.” She said.

“I use to see them arguing football, Jonathan, Fashola, this and that; as if they benefit anything from it. At times, they fight themselves and arguing against themselves on something that doesn’t concern them while the people they are arguing about doesn’t know them and are the people who put the nation in a mess. Femi Lawrence also disclosed that he never misses the action at the newsstand. He like Mr Nwachukwu enjoys being in the midst of the free-readers association at newsstand every day. According to him, he has learned new things from such gathering. “It’s an intellectual place”, he sums up. “You will hear so many things you have not heard before. I trek from my place every morning to spend one hour listening to them. Most of the people you see there are lawyers, graduates, journalists, teachers and even pastors. Don’t think that people that go to argue at the newsstands are only the poor and uneducated people”.