Speaking during the launch of the 2023 Readership Promotion Campaign organised by the National Library of Nigeria in Abuja, Adejo further revealed that half of the adults in Nigeria hardly read books, according to studies conducted.
The PUNCH reports that the 2023 Readership Promotion Campaign will take place in all 36 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory under the theme, “Read your way to the top”.
While addressing the audience, the education ministry boss said, “It is a popular saying that a country cannot rise above its level of education and I wish to add that our level of education depends a great deal on our reading culture. It is for this reason that we see this Annual Readership Promotion Campaign as a way of moving the nation forward economically, socially and politically.
“The general saying that “if you want to hide anything from a Nigerian, put it in a book” is becoming worse because we are reading less than we used to. This is more evident in our young ones and is becoming worrisome with the heavy reliance on digital reading sources.
“Statistics show that a good percentage of Nigerian children have trouble with reading comprehension. Such developments make the initiation of various Readership Promotion Campaigns by the National Library of Nigeria more compelling, and the NLN has made the promotion of reading one of its top priorities in the fulfilment of its mandate.”
Earlier, the National Librarian and Chief Executive Officer of the NLN, Prof. Chinwe Anunobi, noted in her welcome address that the readership campaign, which was held in 2022, impacted over 4,000 individuals, comprising secondary school students and other adults.
She also blamed the poor reading culture in the country on inadequate educational resources, advent of social media, among others.
“I need not overemphasise the position that we must encourage our children and youths to jettison social media and read because independent reading leads to an increased volume of reading. The more one reads, the more knowledge of words and language one acquires.”
