Elli Initiative, Bookateria Charge School Pupils To Embrace Reading Culture

Elpis Initiative in collaboration with Bookateria have charged school pupils to embrace the culture of reading books.

The groups who gave this charge in it programme ‘Adventures in imagination: A reading quest for kids’ also donated books to GRA Model Primary school, Ikeja Lagos to improve the reading culture of the pupils.

The executive vice chairman of Onigbongbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) and founder of Elpis Initiative, Hon. Barr. Olufunke Rekiya Hassan stated that students hardly read their books lamenting on the misuse of technology.

“A lot of these children have access to technology at their finger tip, their parents don’t have the time to nurture them and you can’t blame the parents because they are trying to make earns meet. These kids need some extra guidance. Aside from what they are reading in the traditional classroom, in the traditional curriculum, they need to be nurtured and guided into the world of reading for pleasure,” she stated.

Hassan added that the world of reading for pleasure opens their imagination noting that without imagination, one cannot dream.

“Without dreaming, one cannot have any vision. And if we have a future with visionless people, our nation has nowhere to go. A nation that doesn’t have visionaries is not going to develop, it’s going to be stagnant. So that’s the major drive behind this programme,” the Honourable said.

As a way of encouraging the pupils, the groups pledged to engage the pupils in literary competitions, regular reading sessions and among others.

Hassan said: “Every child deserves the opportunity, the space and the platform to nurture this opportunity, to develop the opportunity and the talent they have inside them.”

The Founder of Bookateria, Omoniyi Animashaun said reading opens the mind. “Reading allows whoever reads to be able to think critically and creatively.

“And as a nation, we need more of the critical and creative thinking. We need our children, teenagers to be able to ask why. So we have issues like drug abuse, and really anybody that is critically thinking will begin to ask what are the advantages, what are the disadvantages. So generally, when we get people to read, we actually release them from that prison of having a lack of knowledge, having a lack of understanding,” he said.

A Pharmacist and a member of a book club in Lagos, Olaide Soetan added that when one reads it opens the mind.

“There are many places that one may not be able to travel to physically, but when they read books, they can travel, have an idea of what is happening in other parts of the world. And it also broadens the mind to different perspectives, so as to be able to see things from other people’s point of view. So someone will not have a one-sided view on life and other issues. Reading is something that should be highly encouraged everywhere,” she said.

Soetan further urged the government to establish functional libraries that have good books and not a libraries that have moribund books that nobody will read because they are outdated.

A practicing Obstetrician, Gynecologist and book lover, Olabisi Olarenwaju added that information gives power and when someone learn to read, he learns to know at least a little bit of everything.

To promote reading culture, Olarenwaju said paper book reading should be encouraged as there are a lot of distractions when using a smartphone to read.

“With paper book reading, it will encourage people to develop that habit of reading at a very tender age,” she stated.

Other activities done in the school are spelling competition and general knowledge competition. The winners were given cash gifts of N20,000, N30,000 and N50,000 in both competitions.