Story highlights
Men gather around newspaper vendors to read headlines, debate issues of the day
Called free readers associations because no-one actually buys the papers they read
Debates loud and furious as Nigerians go to the polls to choose a new president
It’s a unique world where friendships are forged, deals struck and more than the occasional argument breaks out.
Welcome to Nigeria’s free readers associations – where mostly young men gather around newspaper vendors to read the headlines and debate the issues of the day.
They are called “free” because nobody actually buys the newspapers they are reading.
Discussions among the free readers are loud and furious and have only intensified as Nigeria goes to the polls to decide who will be the next president.
Newspaper vendor John Mgbachi, a former shoemaker from Eastern Nigeria, who has a stand in Tinubu Square on Lagos Island said that far from being bad for business, he welcomes the free readers.
“They are passionate about the news and and their presence is an advert for me,” he said.
Mgbachi told CNN that he often sees a big rise in numbers around football tournaments, mostly the Premier League, and also during the election campaign period.
To avoid losing out on sales too much, Mgbachi has developed an interesting business model: “I decided not to make (reading) completely free. For some of the dailies, its 20 naira,(10 cents) 30 naira (15 cents) for the sports papers and 50 naira (30 cents) for the magazines.
“It’s not really a static price, it depends on the bargaining power of the person,” he added.
The free readers come from all walks of life and CNN spoke to analysts, an accountant and unemployed youth at the stand we visited.
They talked about the excitement of discussing the current affairs with others while reading the daily newspaper. One told us he had made two very good friends and even landed a job offer.
Mgbachi added there has a been a sharp decline in readers because most people now read their news on the internet.
He added that the dire economic situation in the country meant that many Nigerians cannot afford to buy newspapers.
Most of Nigeria’s $70 billion oil wealth is concentrated in the hands of a politically connected elite while many of its citizens struggle to make ends meet.
Tolu Jinadu contributed to this report