In THE NATIONAL MIRROR Arts, Arts and Lifestyle, Culture >http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/making-a-case-for-poor-reading-culture-in-nigeria/
Reading culture in Nigeria is at its lowest ebb, and experts are worried that this portends a dangerous omen for the countrie’s future. Read how the tidal wave could be fought to a standstill in this piece.
Reading books is like a journey because it takes one beyond time and space. Reading challenges and agitates one’s mind. It shifts one’s paradigm and places before one a possible and preferable future and re-orients people’s mentality.
Recent interviews with celebrities like Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, and Yemi Blaq give a clear picture of what the culture of reading they imbibed from their childhood has done to them.
Mrs Taiwo Ajai-Lycett explains that “Books were in high regard just like films such that we look forward to read new books every week”, and in consonance, Yemi Blaq says “I love to read a lot; reading was fun to me. As a result of that, I have a lot of materials to read at home. Today, much reading has made it easy for me to communicate with a lot of people around the world, especially on different subjects. It always amazes people how I am at home with different subjects. I usually tell them that I learnt it when I was growing up”
If reading is such a wonderful experience armed with adventurous and scintillating benefits, then why is Nigeria not imbibing the culture?
In Nigeria, a study carried out 2004, reveals that 40 percent of adult Nigerians never read a non-fiction book from cover to cover after they finish school. The average Nigerian reads less than one book per year, and only one percent of successful men and women in Nigeria read one non-fiction book per month. The same study showed that 30 million Nigerians have graduated from high school with poor reading skills.
A writer, Matthew Ujah-Peter, with The Reading Culture book Club reiterates the decadence of reading in Nigeria.
“When a book expo or book fair is organised by some institutions and organisations in the country, amazement and disappointments are at its peak as there is low turnout of people in such events.
Every year the Lagos Television (LTV), the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the Christian Bookseller Association ( CBAN), Committee for Relevant Art (CORA), The Nigerian Book Fair Trust (NIBFT), FARAFINA and recently, the Rainbow Book Club, Port Harcourt, organise book cantred events like book fairs, art and book festivals, book expo. But how many Nigerians make out time out of their ‘’busy schedule’’ to attend these and savor the arrays of books on display?
The lack of interest and apathy shown towards such events here in Nigeria is a clear testimony to the fact that most Nigerians do not place much value on books and reading. There has always been low turnout in most of these events compared to such events in other climes”.
“In Nigeria, public awareness is still very low and attendance is also painfully low as most of these events are attended only by a few. Book shops are rarely patronised by most Nigerians and libraries are seen as a place for those studying for examinations and researchers. Indeed the level of interest shown by the average Nigerian towards books and reading still leaves much to be desired”.
Another possible reason is because most Nigerians see book reading as cumbersome and prefer to be entertained with beauty pageants, films, and the use of ICT devices.
President Goodluck Jonathan lamented the negative impact of internet and the social media on the reading and writing culture in Nigeria, saying that Federal Government which has been doing everything to reverse the dwindling culture, may be compelled to re-launch “Bring Back the Book” programme.
According to the President, “It often worries me in terms of how to increase our writing culture in our country these days of internet and text messages that people don’t like to write long sentences again. I know people like these are used to reading very short things; they didn’t have the interest to read the novel that we used to read in our days. I don’t know what the association has been doing”
Executive Director, Institute of Media and Society, Mr. Akin Akingbulu said another factor that contributes to poor reading culture is the prices of books which are on the high side.
“In our days, you could pick a Chinua Achebe’s or Wole Soyinka’s book for just N150 if you wanted a novel to read. But now the prices have gone up. You get to a book store and you are asked to pay N700 or N800 for a book. So the affordability becomes an issue to many children who would have wanted to read,” he said.
He added that the Nigerian environment has also contributed to the reduction in reading culture among youths. He noted that the young generation sees the leaders pocketing so much money and breeds the feeling that there is always a short cut to making money.
Bad as the situation may seem, there is a way out. Mr Nkannebe Raymond, an educational observer says all the there must be a synergy among the family, the government and organized private sector as they have a great role to play in bringing back the book on people’s mind, in the development of young writers who are mostly avid readers in order to engender the performance of men and women who believe in the paradox that the pen is mightier than the sword.
Viewers can only end up practicing and advancing the kind of life style that greet them every now and again as they switch their T.V sets or tune in to various radio stations and who are these viewers? The notion that whether one reads or not cannot change the situation of things has been crested in the gullible minds of all and particular mention must be made of the youth population who we are told are the leaders of tomorrow.
TV and radio programmes every now and again, bother us with content that bother on the promotion of other skills with the influential private sector coming in to sponsor and advertise its products and in the process, make stars and celebrities of the participants at the end of the day thereby, leading the gullible minds of the youth into believing that its greener on the other side.
Parents should guide their wards into reading anything that comes their way irrespective of subject and give out prizes where tenable at the family level in order to encourage and serve as incentive to others. The school system cannot be left out in this. They should make reading and short story writing a part of their syllabus in order to propagate the trend and help in catching them young.
The government at all levels should sponsor literary works of young writers and consider aspiring writers for publication as the dream of every young writer is to ne published. Literary clubs and publishing houses like Farafina Books and a host of others should be partnered with in helping to harness the literary deposits untapped in our population and excellence awarded where it is attained. Literary/writing workshops/book reading seminars should form the agenda of the education ministries and adequate funds released to ensure its actualisation while keeping corruption at its lowest ebb.
The organised private sector must be encouraged to extend their charity and supposedly reward excellence in the areas of reading and writing as it forms part of their corporate social responsibility.
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| Exterior of the National Library of Nigeria, Yaba, Lagos |
