By Osas Okuns
A library is the hub of innovation, creativity and a maternity where doctors, lawyers, and the men and women who will hold the reins for another generation are born. To sustain this hub, and promote innovation, there is a great need to build the capacity of the leaders of tomorrow.
Unfortunately, many of these leaders of tomorrow have not seen, do not know what a library is. Many of them do not have libraries in their schools, whether public or private, and spend their formative years in front of the television set.
The reading habit among many Nigerian children is nearly dead. For instance, the chief examiner’s report for West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC), said that most candidates failed English & Mathematics in the recently released results for 2019 because of a lack of ‘reading culture.’
According to the him, answer sheets in English were often filled with abbreviations like km for ‘come’, govt for ‘government,’ and Feb for February.’
Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board examiner, @Ennyraquel, said that “in a hall of about 250 JAMB candidates, only 10 can successfully use a computer system. The rest cannot just understand how the computer works, the (sic) are terrified at the sight of a mouse.”
Continuing @Ennyraquel said that “most cannot construct a simple sentence in English, you will start hearing ‘I aff submit’, I haff write it’, ezzz not press.’ Some will turn it to pidgin ‘I no fit do am…’ Most of them struggle to communicate with you in English, they can’t make the words.
And these candidates will enter universities and come out as graduates?’ @Ennyraquel asked.
The Civil Empowerment and Rule of Law Support Initiative, CERLSI, shares the belief that a developed people are the most difficult to enslave.
CERLSI also believes that it can start now to bridge the gaps in human capital development by catching them young. With the Library Excursion Program, a subsidiary of its Library Revolution for Youth Empowerment in Nigeria, the organization hopes to achieve the following:
(a) Promotion of the use of libraries among children in primary schools in the rural and urban centers.
(b) Building the capacities of more than 10, 000 primary school children in Benin City through library awareness programs.
(c) Carrying out radio and TV information and enlightenment campaign activities.
In a bid to realize item (a) above, CERLSI carried out the first phase of its LEP program on April 23, 2019. There were seven children – Elisa Ikhalo (11), Tejiri Obatare (9), Onosetale Salami (9), Ramatu Ali (10), Abdulmalik Ali (7), Abdulrazak Ali (5) and David Obatare (4) that benefited such a life time experience.
Of the lot, only Salami of Our Ladies of the Apostles on the Airport Road in Benin had ever seen or used a library. The others, Tejiri, Ramatu, Abdulmalik and Razak of the Ogbebuya Primary school in Benin City, who want to become a doctor, a pilot, a police officer and teacher respectively, have never seen a library or used one. Ikhalo of the God’s Anointed Group of Schools at Ikpoba Hill in Benin City wants to be a lawyer. This was her first visit to a real library.
On arrival to the Edo State Library at Sapele Road, Mr. Omoruyi, Edo Library staff in charge of schools excursion program, received the seven children. He described to them, the library as a big house of books with teachers hidden inside the books inside the facility.
“If you want to succeed in life and be useful to society, you must come to the library,” Mr. Omoruyi told the children.
Mrs. Favour Okerulu, staff of the Children section of the Edo Library guided the children through the activity rooms and helped them to select good books with interesting stories and pictures.
CERLSI Deputy Executive Director, Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku who led the children to the Library on the LEP observed that the children were keen, but were disappointed that they could not take the books home and read.
“Our goal is to take 1,000 children to the library this year, and even though the number is small now, we have reduced the number of children without knowledge of the library by that same number we have brought here,” Mr. Etemiku said.
He appealed to government, public and private institutions and Nigerians in the Diaspora to assist with donations in cash or kind to reduce the number of Nigerian children without library experience and exposure.
