‘Let’s Get Our Youths Reading Again’
A seasoned writer and literary activist Tony kan has urged Nigerian youths to get back to reading as a route to success. He made this call while speaking at the flag off of the Basic Education and Literacy campaign organized by the Rotary Club of Ikoyi at the Westwood Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos.
Speaking on the theme ‘‘Rekindling the Reading Culture in our Children’’ aimed at evaluating the causes of the decay in our reading culture as well as how to revive it, the award winning writer called on the youths to get back to reading, to get necessary education and secure their future.
Anthony Kan Onwordi (known as Toni Kan) who is a Nigerian Writer and teacher, lamented the poor state of Libraries in the nation’s schools both at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels.
“The current state of most libraries in Nigeria does not encourage prospective readers to build their reading habit. Our youths who are hooked on phones and similar communication gadgets should also channel such energies to reading as this has become a societal challenge which the likes of the Rotary Club of Ikoyi have come to address with their campaign”, he said.
In his lecture entitled “The Knowledge Bank Cannot be Depleted”, Kan told a story of his growing up, citing how he started reading at a very early age and how his parents encouraged him and his siblings to read. According to him it helped him immensely in his academics as lectures looked easy because most times he had read ahead.
He also acknowledged the fact that not everyone is a born reader but charged everybody to read and encourage their children to read just like his parents did, adding that knowledge is major asset that increase in value even as you draw on it.
On his part, the President of the Rotary Club of Ikoyi, Rotarian Isichei Osamgbi, while speaking at the event, noted that charity can come in different ways; hence the Club commenced the reading campaign and donation of “One Million Books” to get the youths to read as a basic means to ensure that people get educated and reduce illiteracy and poverty eventually.
Osamgbi noted that some people engage in charity by offering themselves, while others engage in charity by donating their material resources to their associated works of charity and called on well-meaning individuals and corporate entities to come forward to contribute to the book project through books or financial donations to aid the reading campaign.
The Rotary President further added that “reading can make a man successful and rekindling the reading culture in our youths is the only way we can get them focused and informed”. This, according to him will ultimately lead them to their academic successes, help reduce vices and put them at par with youths of other advanced climes.
