REVEALED: I used my 2 months’ rent, savings to publish my first magazine — Obi West

Obi-West Utchaychukwu is an influential African in Finland. His popularity cuts across different immigrant groups because of what he does.

He is the publisher of Diaspora Glitz Magazine, an Afrocentric hard copy cum online magazine. Aside from being a successful publisher, he is also the founder of Miss Afro Diaspora Finland, a beauty pageant for young ladies with African heritage. He is also the founder of the African Jollof Rice Challenge and the founder of Finland African Diaspora Awards (FADA) which had its first awards on July 1.

In this interview, he speaks about his publishing journey, the challenges and why he established the FADA awards.

Background

I am from Anambra State but was born and raised in Benin City, Edo State. I came from a very poor home. As a youth, I was interested in travelling abroad to better my family’s life. I studied International Relations and Diplomacy. My penchant for French language made me travel to Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire and from there I went to Tunisia to study French language and basic Arabic. I have been to many countries before coming to Finland in 2014.

How it started

When I came back from Tunisia, I was living in Lagos with my newly wedded wife. Things were so difficult for us, and couldn’t find a job. I started selling ladies’ slippers at Iyana Ipaja market and from there, I moved to Oshodi, under the bridge. The money I made from the little business was not enough to pay our rent and put food on the table. During this period, I started writing a book on Nigerian youth and migration based on my experiences. The title of the book is “Tears of African migrants.” The book unravels the dangers associated with illegal migration abroad most especially the treacherous journey through the Sahara desert. It took me several months to write the 200 pages book. I searched for publishers but could not get. I even took the manuscript to the richest man in my community in Lagos to help me but he turned me down. Later, I took the manuscript to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) office in Lagos. And after contact with Abuja office and it was affirmed that my manuscript is worth publishing because of its informative content. NAPTIP did not publish it due to paucity of funds and I left the manuscript for them. I also gave the manuscript to two publishers in Lagos but they failed too. When I moved to Finland, I first established a blog called Diaspora Reporters and in 2019, Diaspora Glitz Magazine was established as a platform where people of African backgrounds in Finland could tell their stories. I didn’t receive a grant or get money to print the first magazine. I used my two months’ rent and my personal savings to publish the first magazine which had Super Eagles legend Daniel Amokachi on the front cover. My rental company gave me one week to pay the rent or I will be evicted from the apartment. Within that period, the magazine was launched and through the money I realized I paid the two months’ rent and had money for the printing of the next magazine. Since 2019, I have published 14 editions of the magazine. I have been able to maintain consistency and quality with the quarterly magazine. Today, Diaspora Glitz Magazine is the only hard-copy magazine for the African diaspora in Finland. The vow that I made years back that I will become a popular publisher someday after I was humiliated by the richest man from my community has come to pass. Today, I can publish whatever I want to publish with my money.

Role in the Finnish African Diaspora

I am a stakeholder in the Finnish African diaspora. The secretary of the Anambra State Association in Finland, assistant publicity secretary of the Anambra State Association in Europe and the country representative of the Nigerians In Diaspora Organization (NIDO). In October 2020, I was among the organizers of the END SARS protest in Helsinki. Last month, I co-organized a protest against the Finnish government’s anti-immigrant policies. I am one of those who fought hard to ensure that immigrant voices are heard and their rights are respected. We are also planning to stage a second massive protest against the right-wing government that wants to shut its doors to migration. One of the success stories of Diaspora Glitz Magazine is the story of an African academic in Finland who was a victim of structural racism in Finnish academia. The university used his project to get funding for over 4 million euros, but fired him few weeks before the money would be released to the university. He reached out to me and wanted me to write his story after many Finnish journalists declined to publish his story. The story was published online and in our hard-copy magazine and at the end he was given a fair hearing and reinstated. Last year, I organized the first multicultural day for Jarvenpaa city council. My media organization also celebrates International Women and Men’s Day where we give awards to influential African women and men who make exploits in Finland.

Other projects

After establishing Diaspora Glitz Magazine in 2019, I created a beauty pageant for young ladies from African backgrounds. I founded Miss Afro Diaspora Finland which was previously Face of African Queen towards the end of 2019. In November 2020, we had our first finals. About 250 people attended the finals which included three African ambassadors and former Finnish beauty queens. I run the beauty pageant with Congolese-born Kelly Kalonji, the 2013 Miss Helsinki winner. We had our second beauty pageant final in December 2022. In April last year, I founded the African Jollof Rice Challenge. Seven African countries participated in the culinary event where we collaborated with Stadin, a Helsinki city vocational school. A Senegalese chef won the challenge. My long-term dream of establishing an award for the African diaspora came to fruition when we held the maiden edition of the Finland African Diaspora Awards (FADA) on Saturday, July 1. The event attracted people from all walks of life and it was successful. The Moroccan Embassy was one of the sponsors of the event. The Nigerian embassy in Sweden was also present to show support. We had 21 categories and 85 nominees. FADA awards acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable achievements of people of African heritage in Finland.