National Library takes reading culture sensitisation campaign to schools
Rukayat Akanbi, Bauchi
National Library of Nigeria has said it has embarked on sensitising school children in primary and secondary on reading culture towards enhancing their knowledge and creativity.
The Acting National Librarian Dr. Oluchi Kalu said this on Tuesday during the 2021 readership promotion campaign held at the National Library, Bauchi State branch.
Dr. Oluchi Kalu who was represented by head of branch Adamawa State Wilfred Maidoki also said that the National Library has strategised the campaign to ensure it success through donations of booth to correctional centres, radio talk show, read aloud competition for school children as well as the round table discussions.
“I urged us all to keenly participate in all the activities and programmes lined up for this even, taking into cognisance the poor reading culture in Nigeria as a dangerous challenge to national development which must be addressed. He said.”
She noted that similar campaign has already took place in Edo, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Gombe States and FCT. Dr. Oluchi disclosed that this year’s campaigns was taken to some identified groups in the society such as expectant and nursing mothers in maternity houses, worker and travellers in motor parks, inmates in the correctional facilities and rural communities
Speaking at the event the father of the occasion Professor Mansur Malumfashi of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University ATBU Bauchi advised stakeholders to put hands on deck to revive reading culture among children both at homes and schools.
In his speech the Chairman of the occasion Dr. Johnson Agbani a lecturer at the department of library science ATBU advised government and other stakeholders on the need to provide incentives for local writers in the country with a view to promoting them for the overall development of education.
“There’s need to incentives for local authors through donation of cash, awards presentation, merits promotion etc he said.”
In a remark, the head of National Library in Bauchi State, Mallam Hussain Hambagba appealed to the Federal and State governments to look into the plights of libraries in the country, noting that they were long overdue for renovations.
A guest speaker at the event, Dr. Kabiru Abdullahi from the Department of English at the Federal Polytechnic Bauchi encouraged the children to read to live longer. “One of the benefit of reading is its elongates the readers lives unlike those who are not reading at all, secondly, it makes the readers healthier all the time,” he said.
Some selected schools within Bauchi metropolis competed in reading competition during the event. This was attended by professors of libraries within and outside Bauchi, educationist, well meaning Nigerian, students and other quests at the event.
