NAN-H-32
Books
By Martha Agas
Jos, July 24, 2017(NAN) Worried by the decline in the reading culture in the country, the National Library of Nigeria (NLN) on Monday advised Nigerians to inculcate the habit of giving books as gifts.
Prof. Lenrie Aina, the Chief Librarian of NLN, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos that giving books as gifts would help to revive the reading culture, which is gradually fading in the country.
“ We should cultivate the habit of giving books to our loved ones; friends, children and colleagues to read as a way of resuscitating the reading culture.
“When people give books as a sign of love and affection, the receivers will like to read them, and this will further enhance the reading culture.
“Reading culture, when inculcated in people, will make them more knowledgeable and they can easily be governed at the family, school and government levels,’’ he said.
The don said that the decline in reading culture could be linked to such distractions as: parents focusing their attentions on material things, nonchalant attitude of students and teachers, as well as the advent of the internet.
According to him, there used to be a reading period in the 1970s, when students were given books to read, interpret and answer questions on them at the end of the session.
“ In the seventies, people used to brag about the number of books they read and their abilities to interpret or summarise them; that was the bragging rights’ criteria then.
“But now, the social media has made matters worse; though there are good books that can still be read on the internet, people are more interested in gossips.’’
Aina said that the government was working toward enforcing the national policy on education where every school must have a library where students can borrow books, read and interpret.
“ It is worrisome that the library is always the first casualty when there is an expansion in any school; it is usually destroyed to expand classes due to increasing number of students’ enrollment.
`This is because school managers are more interested in profit-making and this should be discouraged,’’ Aina said.
NAN reports that the National Library is conducting its annual readership campaign in 23 state branches.
The theme is : “Working Together to Build a Virile Reading Nation: Challenges and Strategies’’.
The objective is to encourage reading among Nigerians, promote an increase in reading materials and identify obstacles which inhibit reading.(NAN)
MAA/VIV/PAD
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Editing by Vivian Ihechu/Peter Dada