Written by Matthew Ujah-Peter
Reading is a continuous self-education. And
as the saying goes, readers are leaders. But are Nigerians reading? The
media and the general public had many occasions lamented the poor reading culture among
Nigerians as well as the disappearance of public libraries. Authors and publishers
often cried aloud about the problem of piracy in the country, and the apathy of
Nigerians towards reading. Many opined that the case had almost gone
beyond remedy and others concluded that this accounts largely for the
poor quality of education in our public schools evidenced by the poor results
coming out from WAEC in recent years. On his part, the Poet Odia Ofeimun
described the education system as ‘’...an
education system which give poor education to poor people in order to keep them
poor and unmobilisable’'
When
you attend any of the book expo or book fair organized by some institutions and organizations in the country you will be amazed and disappointed at the 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), PARAFINA and recently, the Rainbow Book Club,
Port Harcourt, organize book cantered
events like Book fairs, Art and Book Festivals,
Book Expo, etc. 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. A good example that comes to
mind is the Miami book festival which draws out a very large crowd from
all walks
of life every year. The Miami Book Festival has had among its attendants
such notable
dignitaries as the present president of the United States among others.
Back
home 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
patronized 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.
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| President Jonathan and Prof. Soyinka |
Prominent Nigerians, the media,
educationists, parents and other well-meaning Nigerians had at several occasions
decried the weak reading culture in Nigeria, the disappearance of books in
public libraries, the dearth of books in public libraries as well as the demise of school libraries and government’s
unwillingness to tackle these crises with a sense of urgency. Most experts
opined that it is doing irreparable damage to our socio-economic life unless
certain drastic steps are taken to remedy the situation and fast. It was
against the backdrop of this problem that the President, Dr. Jonathan Ebele Goodluck flagged off his own
personal crusade against the poor reading culture in Nigeria when he launched
the ‘’Bring Back the Book ’’
Initiatives on 20th December, 2010 at the prestigious Eko Hotel,
Lagos. The occasion attracted the presence of such notable prominent literary
giants as the Nobel Prize laureate professor Wole Soyinka, the eminent Poet
Odia Ofeimun, the president of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Jerry Agada and
several top Government functionaries.
For an event which was designed to
promote books and reading culture it seems more like a day to have literary
giants converged in a single location with 400 children from about 20 schools
from across the city of Lagos. Such great African writers as John Pepper Clark,
Helon Habila, Seffi Atta, among others, where also present at the launch of the
President’s ‘’Bring Back the Book’’
initiatives which also featured the president taking turn with the Nobel
Laureate, Wole Soyinka to read from the popular works: Chike and the River by Chinua Achebe, and ‘Ake’ by Professor Wole Soyinka respectively, while the guest and
the children listened with rapt attention. This occasion also afford the
President the launch of his own book, ‘’
Conversation with my Friends on Facebook’’.
The launch of this initiatives by the
President which was widely hailed and applauded by both the media and prominent
Nigerians was meant not only to bring the declining reading culture in our
national life to the front burner of public discourse but is also an open challenge
to corporate bodies and individuals as well as writers, authors, publishers,
schools and all stake holders to put in their resources to making reading culture
a part of our national character for nation building. It has gone down to
history that President Goodluck Jonathan was the first president to identify
with a campaign to revive and develop a reading culture in Nigeria but it is
what comes of it after the launch of this worthy campaign and the initial
euphoria that counts ultimately. There
had being numbers of other pet projects and government initiatives that were
launched with pumps and pageantry in the past but none survived the test of
time. I shiver to imagine that this too could go into oblivion like others
before it.
It is now more than two
years now since the launch of the President’s ‘
’Bring Back the Books’’ initiatives and the initial euphoria is
gradually waning. Obviously a lot of national issues that require more urgent
attention tops the list of what the government is doing and should do and...Yes,
the government cannot do everything. A
whole lot of national issues such as terrorism, unemployment, insecurity,
power, etc ranks higher among issue of national concerns. These are issues that
require urgent solution hence, are more pronounced in the minds and consciousness
of the citizenry and the nation’s decision makers. No one will have time to
read if the nation is in crises or if his life is in danger. Many people will tell you they do not have
time to read, which is true. The imbalance in the economy, the uncertainties in
the polity the daily grinds that the average Nigerian goes through to make
ends-meet and lots of other things peculiar to developing nations like ours all
conspired to make the average man on the street lose taste for for such thing as books or reading.
These and many other socioeconomic issues contribute mainly to the declining
reading culture in Nigeria. This means it did not start today and will surely
take some time and a highly concentrated effort to remedy.
THE PROBLEM OF
PIRACY
While there’s
general outcry against the weak reading culture in Nigeria, piracy is another
malady that plague the industry but require another heavily concerted effort to
tackle. Authors and publishers had cried out on occasions that the problem of
piracy negatively affected the economic viability of their profession but one
could not help but ask ‘’just who are the pirates selling the pirated books to?
It is a bit of an irony that while on
one hand there is low reading culture in the country on the other hand the
problem of piracy holds sway. The Nigerian book market is full of books by
foreign authors both reprinted and original print copies as well as locally
published books with most by authors who engaged in self-publishing. This makes
it very difficult to distinguish between actual pirated copies and those
reprinted under permission from the original publisher and or authors. The
question again can be asked ‘’if Nigerians are not reading who are the
consumers of these (pirated) books.
SOLUTION
Organisations like the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA), organisers of the Lagos book and
Art Festival, (LABAF), Nigerian Book Trust, organisers of the Nigerian International
Book Fair (NIBF), CBAN, PARAFINA, Rainbow Book Club, Port Harcourt, and a host
of others are working round the clock to revamp the dwindling culture of reading
in our nation. CORA had even gone ahead to take advantage of the President’s
pet project by taking it up on itself and taking steps in fashioning out
implementation document that could guide the President and his team in the
quest to encourage reading culture as well as placing literacy and book at the center of our national development agenda (see the Guardian news paper, pg 53, Jan,
12, 2011).
A number of
literary organizations have over the past few years sprang up in major Nigerian
cities such as Abuja, Port Harcourt and Lagos. Established by well meaning and
notable Nigerians literary pillars these organizations organize reading
sections featuring works from popular Nigerian writers and authors. These organizations includes but not limited
to the Foxhole, a notable literary
reading place on Maryland Crescent, Ikeja, Lagos, Terra Culture, Lagos, the
Abuja Literary Society (ALS), Rainbow Book Club, Port Harcourt, among others.
These literary reading places had hosted authors like Uwem Akpan, Adaobi Tricia
Nwaubani, Chimamanda Adichie, Prof. Femi
Osofisan, Odia Ofeiman and a host of others.
Making these events more popular through
constant publicity and also making them
family affairs where children and young people can participate in larger
number would further help to inculcate a vibrant reading culture in our youths
and children. You can never tell when you ignite a love for literary works in
the mind of a child. Book stores and publishing houses as well as Book Clubs
can also organize mini fairs and book exhibitions in our schools on quarterly
or yearly bases to take books to those who cannot go to books. Publishers can
sponsor events like reading contests for schools or organize such clubs in
schools.
CHALLENGES FOR
WRITERS AND AUTHORS
Books take you beyond
time and space. Reading challenges and agitates your mind. It shifts your
paradigm and places before you a possible and preferable future and re-orients
your mentality. This is why in places like America certain state Department is
charged with the task of getting the best writers and film makers together and
challenge them to imagine a possible and better future. In line with this their literature and films also create heroes and story lines weaved around heroism
and a preferable and a possible future and ways of life. The purpose is to
constantly challenge and agitate the minds of book readers and those who watch
the films to aim towards higher and nobler way of thinking and living. They use
their literature and films to propagate, project and preserve their culture and
also sell what they call ‘’the American Dream.’’ Thus through films and Literature
America has successfully indoctrinate the world with her gospel.
Nigerian (and African ) writers and authors owes it as a duty to
their readers and audiences to create in their works not just a mirror reflection or image of the
stark and grim reality of African society and the societal ills that we have
become accustomed to but to be more futuristic in their works. Their stories
can paint for us a picture of a preferable future. Thus it is not out of place
to have an African version of screen heroes like superman. Heroes that younger readers and audiences can
admire and aspire to. it ought to be so because whereas we can only complain
and cry to the government to solve the problems on ground, our literatures can
help create the blue print or templates for the development that we all yearn
and cries for. Repeating and reinforcing the negative picture that are already
in existence in people’s mind won’t be productive.
Everybody wants the
government to do something to solve the ills on ground but those who can write
can paint the picture of the preferred and possible future in our films and
literature. There are enough psychological and emotional pains on ground to
depress the soul and retard the mind of its creative and imaginative functions.
It is unfair to give what is to be a means of entertainment to the people with
the flavor of diabolism and negativism. Since books and movies are means of
entertainment and education, flavoring them with negativity and evils will
only help to make these ills look normal and by the time the message is passed
it will be too late to correct it. ‘’Yeah,
but we cannot shy away from the realities...’’ you might argue. Granted! The
bad news is our children are reading and watching them. For most of them their
innocent minds on their own cannot ever begin to imagine some of these negative
societal vices that the films and literature portray. Most of them get their
idea about these ills first hand from films. And from tender age their virgin
minds has had access and insight into the world of evil through books and movies
before they actually witness it physically.
One may again argue that the west also depicts violence and vices through
their literature and films. Yes, but
must we follow them all the way? Of course we have enough sense to know when we
can to longer go all the way with them. Haven’t they shown us enough better
ways to do things? Who say we cannot be world leader in something positive? And who say
that we cannot project the nobler aspect of our cultural values, such as the
rest of the world would give anything to have? Who say it is an impossible
thing to export our great culture to the rest of the world through our literature and films. Believe me the world is waiting for that.
Our children
can and should be encouraged to aspire to something nobler and honorable than
what we presently have. We must challenge their imagination to think better and
creatively positive. Who are the present models kids look up to? Who are the
models young people aspire to in our nation today? While there may be none or
few of such role models and heroes in our society to emulate by our kids and
young people, might it be impossible to create one through our literature and
films, just like the Americans have created in theirs, such as Spider man, Superman, superwoman, batman,
etc? These characters had come to become synonymous with acts of heroism. Could it be that these are mere benchmarks for us? Could it be that we can do something better? Who are the
heroes in our literature and films that can challenge the imaginations of our
young people towards acts of bravery and heroism? Who is creating heroes in
films and books for our young people?
READING AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY
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| The Pacesetters Series |
I was still in secondary
school when the pacesetter series where being read by students but even as at that
time it was already in its declining days in readership. Students were not
reading it for exams. Today literature in school is only for examinations and
after the exams no body read again. When young people read it is romance novel
(popular among young ladies) and motivational and business books among the young
men. This is an indication that young people are hungry and are yearning for
the ideal life. Those looking for true love found it in foreign romance novels.
Those looking for success find it in motivational and business or self-help
books. Those looking for ideal relationship and good marriage found them in
self-help book that teaches about dating tips and successful marriage and
relationship.
This is accounts for the reason why most bestselling authors
today are preachers, motivational writers and business experts. Why? Within the
pages of their books they project a preferable and possible future for their
readers. About 7 out of every 10 book buyers today are buyers who buys business
books or self-improvement / motivational books this is so because these are the
only kind of books in this country that paints and project a better and
preferable future into the minds of their readers. There are those who say the
things that are thought in such books don’t work in Africa and so ignores such books.
Others give excuses after excuses why they don’t read. Lack of time tops such
excuses. Prominent ministers and
preachers have from time to time encouraged and challenged their flocks to take
books and reading very seriously for ‘’...people perished for lack of knowledge’’,
as declared by the Scriptures.
A new army of readers are emerging and mostly from
among some of these congregations as more people are beginning to discover the
benefit of reading as a result of consistence encouragement coming from the
pulpit. However, the majority of the citizen sees reading as a waste of time.
Most young people would rather read the sport pages or get hooked up to social
online network than read books. As efforts are being made by the government, organizations
and individuals to revive the ailing reading culture in Nigeria our
attention should be focused on the teaming population of young people.
The national census figure revealed that the average age of the Nigerian
population is 17 years. The story that tells is that the youths
constitute a larger number in the Nigerian population. it should also be
noted that making reading appealing and interesting to young people
will require that fun, adventure, rewards and not fear of failing an
examination, must be woven into every effort and attempt at wooing them
into imbibing the culture of reading.
