THE urgent need to address challenges of poor reading culture in Nigeria was the focus of the Annual Roundtable Conference (ARTCO), organised last week by the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO). It was yet another platform for experts to brainstorm on the way forward on the issue that even engaged attention of the presidency through the launch of the Bring Back the Book, BBtB project by President Jonathan early this year.With the theme,Promoting Reading Culture in Nigeria: The Role of Institutions, this year's edition, which was seventhin the series, was a departure from previous ones. Not only did it attract a large turnout of stakeholders in education, government agencies, interest groups as well as creative industries, every group was given ample opportunity to make input on the causes of poor reading culture, who to blame as wellas raise suggestions on how to confront the challenges.Participants included educators, scholars, executive officers of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), National Library of Nigeria (NLN), Society of Nigeria Theatre Artists (SONTA), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) as well as the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Person and other Related Matters (NAPTIP).Director of Research and Statistics, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), Prof. Olu Obafemi, who chaired the occasion, was uncompromising in blaming the government for the woes that have befallen the nation's education and literary industries.His argument was that in an age that the humanities, creative and cultural industries are yet to register in the consciousness of leaders as the greatest source of economic diversification, the culture of reading will grow into criminal extinction.He further warned that literacy will continue to elude any society that lacks reading culture; noting that civilisation cannot grow on a barren land.Highlighting the persistence mass failure in West African School Certificate Examinations (WASC) and other national examinations by students, Obafemi warned the younger generations that no one passes examinations without reading.'You cannot pass examination if you don't read, and in spite of the nemesis of the internet and the frightening indolence it spreads, we should not undermine the great value of e-learning and the web phenomenon.'Noting that all great nations gloat over their promotion of reading culture, Obafemi regretted that Nigeria as a nation lacks appreciable project of evolving a widespread reading culture; 'and it is an unfortunate impediment to our development as it limits our capacity to compete favourably in the global economy.The professor of drama noted further: 'TheBring Back the Bookcampaign of Mr. President must go beyond a whistle stop. Reading makes manner and manner makes a man.'Representing the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) was the Chairman, Abuja Chapter, Dr. Seyi Adigun, who described reading culture as a prevailing conduct of life, where the average citizen of a society has reasons, individual or collective, to indulge in the act of reading.According to him, to state that reading culture is on the decline in Nigeria is out of place since there had been no benchmark or parameter for measuring such culture since independence.'Since Nigeria's return to democratic rule in 1999, there has been a steady rise in discussions about reading culture in Nigeria. Most of these discussions, within and outside the government, have alluded to reading culture in the country as being on the decline. The question ANA, Abuja has posed all along has been 'from which high standard or benchmark has reading culture in Nigeria fallen''Adigun, however, refused to blame the situation on the paucity of reading materials either in the past or at present. He stated that 30 years back, there were only few schools and the number of people, who could read and write, wasn't certainly on the high side. He further stated that there were no internet facilities or other modern technologies that could give easy access to information. Yet, students of the period judiciously utilised the available reading materials and achieved academic excellence.Three decades after, Adigun said there has been no much difference in reading culture. Although, reading materials abound, he decried that only few people imbibed the habit of reading.He stated, 'Our tradition or native educational system and social lives thrived chiefly on oral tradition. From the advent of Islam, which produced early scholars such as Othman Dan-Fodio and the arrival of Christianity through Western imperialists, which produced the likes of Bishop Ajayi Crowder up to the time of Nigeria's independence and this moment, a balanced and healthy reading habit has remained an exclusive behaviour of only a small cache of Nigeria's formally educated citizens'.Another factor that has militated against Nigerians' interest in reading, Adigun noted, was the collective neglect of the nation's language resource. He said, 'The point ANA, Abuja is attempting to bring out is the strong nexus between the poor reading culture in the country, the neglect of indigenous languages and our inability as a nation to achieve sustainable development across diverse sectors'.As part of corrective measures, the association therefore recommended among other things, that Nigeria should engage the use of local languages for the conduct of business and governance so that books written in indigenous languages could become more useful tools for national memory.For the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), proper funding of education by government from primary to tertiary levels as well as the total overhauling of value system, are critical to making knowledge the utmost priority among citizens.Prof. Samuel A. Kafewo of the Department of Theatre and Performing Arts, University of Jos and Secretary General, Society of Nigeria Theatre Artistes (SONTA), blamed government for not according art and culture significant places in national planning strategy.He noted that, 'self-reliance, self-sufficiency and national identity as the core areas of our national development objectives hinge on the recognition of culture as the springboard of policies, has hardly dawned on our policy makers'.Kafewo also called for a conscious attempt to put culturally- relevant plays that are topical about national aspiration in the secondary school syllabus.EARLIER in his welcome address, the Executive Secretary, NICO, Dr Barclays Ayakoroma, highlighted the collapse of social interaction between parents and children.He frowned at a situation where parents spend only little time with their children thereby creating artificial distance between the two parties. This development, he stated, has robbed parents the opportunity to inculcate required foundational orientation in the younger ones.Noting that reading culture may not resolve all the nation's problems, Ayakoroma stressed there is a huge gap between knowledge and know-how.According to him, imbibing reading habit would make youths develop a better sense of direction in life and foster good leadership decisions for the overall benefit of the nation.The Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke, while declaring the event open, reiterated that no nation could develop without massive investment in education. He condemned the habit of endless search for information on the Internet rather than seeking information from books.To drive home the institute's message, NICO Cultural Troupe took guests on a drama voyage that highlighted the crucial need for an enhanced reading habit. The sketch revealed the ordeal of students who seek short-cuts to pass examinations. The drama piece was directed by Ayakoroma; and it prominently featured youthsCorpers members serving with the institute.
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