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Education

National Library to promote reading culture

Femi Makinde, Osogbo

The National Librarian, National Library of Nigeria, Prof. Lenrie Aina, has said that the library is set to promote the reading culture among schoolchildren in the country and to distribute books to pregnant women in some hospitals.

Speaking  in Osogbo on Thursday at a readership promotion campaign organised by the Osun State branch of the National Library, Aina also said that expectant mothers would be given books to be read to their unborn babies in order to increase their intelligence of their babies and stimulate them to become readers.

He lamented the dearth of a reading culture among Nigerians especially  the youths, saying this was one of the factors affecting the quality of education and which was also hampering the development of the nation.

Aina also said the library had taken some steps towards reviving the reading culture among Nigerians and also to make reading fun to them in the interest of the overall development of the nation.

He said, “To start a life-long reading culture, there is a need to develop interest in reading right from childhood. In the present dispensation, which is part of the scope of this year’s campaign, books will be distributed to pregnant women in some selected hospitals during ante-natal days to read to their unborn babies.

“The National Library of Nigeria is strengthened to pursue this line of action by taking a cue from a renowned writer and child psychologist, Sabah Karini, in one of her works titled How does reading during pregnancy increase a baby’s intelligence? This book talks about the benefits of mothers reading to their unborn children. It makes us to know that reading to an unborn child provides auditory stimulation for the baby’s growing brain and can acclimate children to the sound of their parent’s voices.

“It also improves baby’s cognitive intelligence with a variety of stimuli and increases the baby’s intelligence.”

The Head, National Library of Nigeria, Osun State branch, Mr. Bashiru Salawu, called on political office holders and other people in positions of authority to initiate and implement programmes that would promote the reading culture.

He said, “To ensure the success of promoting reading culture, the establishment is collaborating with the National Youth Service Corps. Corps members in the state are expected to promote the reading culture in their various places of primary assignment by forming reading clubs with book support from the establishment.”

He said that pupils were invited from various secondary schools in the state to be part of the campaign so that they could imbibe the values of reading and also to encourage their mates to also read beyond their subjects.

A former Director-General of the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation, Adeyeye Oyedokun, urged the library to partner with key stakeholders, such as  the media and  Nigeria Union of Teachers to get more mileage in their campaign.

Oyedokun also called for the computerisation of the Osun State branch of the National Library of Nigeria in order to woo more readers and researchers to the place while soliciting more fund to the education sector by the Federal and state governments.

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