The National Library of Nigeria (NLN) has lamented the poor reading habits amongst the Nigerian people.
This is as it launched a nationwide campaign to improve reading skills across the country.
Speaking Tuesday in Abuja during the flag-off of the 2023 annual Readership Promotion Campaign (RPC), themed, ‘Reading Your Way to the Top’, the National Librarian and Chief Executive Officer of the NLN, Prof. Chinwe Anunobi, said the habit of reading was speedily approaching a freezing point in Nigeria.
She, therefore, insisted that Nigeria must put reading at the top of her priority list in the quest towards the attainment of the all-inclusive sustainable development.
Anunobi said: “I need not over emphasize the position that we must encourage our children and youth to jettison social media and read because independent reading leads to an increased volume of reading.
“The more one reads, the better one reads. The more one reads, the more knowledge of words and language one acquires. The more one reads, the more fluent one becomes. The more one reads, the easier it becomes to sustain the mental effort necessary to comprehend complex situations. The more one reads, the more one learns about the people and happenings of our world.
“The National Library of Nigeria will never rest on her oars until she achieves a reading nation, for a reading nation is a leading and developed nation. We are open to collaboration with stakeholders in the world of reading as well as concerned citizens of this Country to achieve a reading Nigeria.”
The Chairperson of the 2023 RPC, Ms Amaka Ojielo, said the objective of the campaign among other things was to encourage everyone both young and old to read at least ten minutes every day.
“Another objective is to encourage publishers to print in indigenous languages. Books are important hence they offer a way of expanding cultural and imaginative horizons and also introduce children to a wide range of vocabulary as well as grammatical structures,” she said.
