NBRP holds Book Walk in Lagos, seeks modern libraries in communities, others

The Network of Book Clubs and Reading Culture Promoters in Nigeria (NBRP) on Thursday, held its #NBRPLagosBookWalk, in Nigeria’s commercial hub, with a view to promoting reading culture in the state and Nigeria in general.

The Book Walk, which witnessed attendance from various advocacy groups, was aimed at raising the consciousness of the Nigerian public, as well as that of relevant stakeholders in both the public and private sectors, on the urgent need to revive the dying reading culture in the society.

The participants in their numbers, marched from MAN House, Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja to the the state secretariat, Alausa, where they were received by the Permanent Secretary, Office of the Special Adviser on Education, Lagos State, Mr Waheed Kasali.

Presenting the Lagos Book Charter,’ a compendium of suggestions on ways to boost the reading culture’, to the Special Adviser on Education – who stood in for the Honorable Commissioner of Education – for onward transmission to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Mr. Richard Mammah, president of NBRP emphasized the need for the government to engage the private sector and communities with a view to setting up state of the art libraries in various communities.

Waheed Kasali and Mr. Richard Mammah

Mr. Mammah who led the march, decried the dying reading culture in Lagos and the country in general, and tasked the state to take the lead in its revival, as the centre of excellence and front line state in the country.

“We have come to present you with ideas of how to promote and boost reading culture in Lagos; ideas of how to work in the digital space and generally grow the reading culture in the state,” Mr. Mammah said.

“This city does not have up to 50 libraries, and for us it’s not acceptable. It’s a state with over 20 million people, so clearly we need more libraries. Not just libraries, but well-equipped libraries with state of the art facilities to encourage people to go there and read.”

The NBRP President emphasized the need for stakeholder engagement in this regard, noting that, “There should be an interface between the public sector, the private sector and the communities. Each community should make sure that they are book friendly. They should have libraries where people in the community can go to read. These are some of the things we hope can be accomplished with the right engagements.”

Mr. Mammah addressing participants

Speaking after receiving the book charter, Kasali thanked Mr. Mammah and members of his team for the initiative, while assuring that the state government will look into the proposals contained and implement the necessary recommendations.

He noted that the Sanwo-Olu administration is determined to improve education, with the sector already receiving priority attention as part of the state’s THEMES agenda.

“We have been implementing the library innovation strategy,” he said. “From 2019 till date, we have renovated over 293 libraries in public secondary schools. The libraries are digitally equipped with computers and other facilities. We encourage students to go to the libraries and study.”

Mr. Kasali assured that the ministry would read the proposal and bring out the salient points “for onward submission to the governor.”

From the secretariat, the walk proceeded to the state house of assembly, and subsequently to the Lagos State Television.

The organisers of the walk had noted that the multifaceted motivations and objectives of the exercise include the following:

– To formally launch Lagos as the Nigerian Book Club City of 2023.

– To create enhanced awareness about books and reading in our society.

– To motivate more discussions in relation to promoting books and reading.

– To encourage more people to join book and reading clubs, and encourage existing clubs to become more active.

– To stimulate increased recognition and acceptance of Nigerian writers and their products, thereby making the Nigerian book market to become more vibrant.

– To serve as a reference-point and open the door for many other book events in the succeeding years.

– To influence the establishment of more vibrant and functional community and neighbourhood libraries as well as reading spaces.

– To put the spotlight on the importance of collaboration among partner organisations in building and strengthening the Nigerian book ecosystem.

“#NBRPLagosBookWalk will double as a good workout for the body, whose health even the ancient Greek philosophers acknowledged, was necessary for the health of the mind,” Mr. had noted in a statement.

“It will also provide a good opportunity for networking among kindred spirits from disparate backgrounds and intellectual inclinations.”

The NBRP also calls on all book lovers and the general public to be part of this momentous occasion in the fight to reverse the mental atrophying of our society.