Stakeholders Push For Revival Of Declining Nigeria’s Reading Culture

Stakeholders in Nigeria’s education and publishing sectors have urged government, schools, parents, publishers and individuals to take practical steps towards

reviving the country’s declining reading culture.

They cautioned that the nation’s development, innovation and knowledge base depend largely on what its citizens read and retain.

The stakeholders spoke at the Fortham National Education and Book Exhibition held in Abuja on Thursday to bring together key players in the educational ecosystem and connect schools, books and opportunities in one marketplace.

The event featured education stakeholders, publishers and other players in the book industry who discussed the need to promote reading and improve learning outcomes in Nigerian schools.

In her remarks, the Event Director of the Fortham National Education and Book Exhibition, Msurshima Comfort Chenge, said the exhibition was modelled after international book fairs such as the Beijing International Book Fair in China, the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany and the London Book Fair.

According to her, the idea was to bring together everyone in the educational ecosystem, including government, publishers, booksellers, schools and readers, to connect, interact and learn.

Chenge stated the theme of promoting reading culture in Nigeria was aimed at ensuring that Nigerians understood the importance of reading.

She stated that Nigeria could become a reading nation if individuals took responsibility for promoting reading rather than leaving it solely to government, schools or parents.

Chenge said once Nigerians started reading, there would be development, innovation and progress, adding that important information and knowledge could remain inaccessible to people simply because they failed to read.

“When you read, you advance yourself, you develop yourself. You cannot be the same again. So there will be an information that is very important in a book sitting on a shelf next to you, but if you don’t read it, you don’t have that knowledge,” she said.

Chenge urged Nigerians to make reading a personal responsibility, stressing that parents also had an important role to play in developing the reading habits of their children.

She also spoke on the need for schools and parents to be careful about the books they purchase for children, particularly in relation to the vetting and assessment of educational materials.

Chenge explained that the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), which develops the curriculum and assesses books intended for use in schools, has processes through which books are examined and certified.

Chenge said publishers were expected to ensure that books intended for schools went through the appropriate processes, while schools should avoid purchasing books randomly from the market.

“The poor reading culture is almost dead among our younger ones. With the digital devices around and these younger children more attuned to these digital devices, you can almost say that they have almost a zero relationship with paper,” he said.

She said parents could, for instance, encourage their children to read one book a month and reward them after achieving the target, adding that consistent practice could help children develop a lasting interest in books.

Also, speaking, Executive Secretary of NERDC, Prof. Salisu Shehu, said the council had developed a National Reading Framework containing about 10 strategies aimed at reviving reading culture, particularly among younger Nigerians.

Shehu explained that the framework was accompanied by an implementation guide to ensure that the initiative translated into practical action.

He expressed concern that children were becoming increasingly attached to digital devices, with many having little relationship with printed books.

“The poor reading culture is almost dead among our younger ones. With the digital devices around and these younger children more attuned to these digital devices, you can almost say that they have almost a zero relationship with paper,” Shehu said.

According to him, reading is fundamental to knowledge acquisition and national development, stressing that the effective implementation of the framework could help change the fortunes of the country.

Shehu also disclosed that NERDC had introduced a ranking system for books intended for use in classrooms, with only books that score at least 70 per cent in the council’s basic assessment qualifying for ranking.

“We need to actually work together to revive the culture of reading,” he said, adding that NERDC had developed not only the National Reading Framework but also an implementation guide to ensure that the framework did not remain merely a policy document.

Shehu said effective implementation of the framework could change the fortunes of the country in relation to reading.

“Knowledge begins with reading,” he said, stressing that reading was critical to individual and national development.

The NERDC boss congratulated the organisers of the exhibition for focusing on reviving reading culture and improving the quality of learning in Nigerian schools.

He also explained that NERDC had the mandate to assess books and recommend them for use in schools.

Shehu said a new policy had introduced the ranking of books intended for use in classrooms, with the aim of ensuring that only quality books and learning materials were admitted into schools.

He said books would not qualify for ranking unless they scored at least 70 per cent in the basic assessment conducted by NERDC.

“This is just about making sure that we don’t allow trash to go into the classrooms,” he said.

For his part, Director General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, Dr John Asein, described piracy as a “hydra-headed evil” that required the collective efforts of Nigerians to combat.

Represented by the Director of Operations in the commission, Ajala Oluwafemi, the director general said tackling piracy was not the responsibility of the Nigerian Copyright Commission alone, noting that Nigeria had a comprehensive copyright law passed in 2022 and signed into law in 2023.

Asein said publishers were already making efforts to protect their works but urged them to report cases of piracy wherever they were discovered.

He also appealed to ordinary Nigerians to support the fight against piracy by refusing to purchase pirated books.

Asein said economic hardship had made some parents choose cheaper pirated copies of books, but warned that buying pirated books ultimately undermined creativity.

He explained that where an original book sold for N10,000 and a pirated copy was offered for N3,000, consumers might be tempted by the cheaper price.

“But for every single pirated book you buy, you are stifling creativity,” he said.

The Vice President of the Nigerian Publishers Association, Isiaka Ajibola, said the book industry was evolving and growing, with increasing awareness among people of the need to read and understand the interconnectedness of society.

Ajibola said reading remained important across different areas, including science, philosophy and religion, and argued that the increasing exposure brought by social media had also made people more aware of the need to understand different aspects of society.

He said research had shown that people retained more of what they learned through reading books, adding that some countries that had invested heavily in digital reading were returning to the use of physical books in schools.

According to him, there was growing recognition that children did not necessarily retain or assimilate knowledge as effectively through tablets and other digital devices as they did through books.

Ajibola said the perception that younger people, including members of Generation Z, did not read was changing, as many young people were increasingly returning to books.

He, however, acknowledged the distractions created by social media and digital devices, saying young people were often exposed to so much information that their attention became fragmented.

He urged parents and community leaders to help young people understand the importance of reading, saying reading books remained important for gaining, retaining and transferring knowledge.

Ajibola said government also had a responsibility to implement policies that would support education and reading, while parents and other members of society also had their respective roles to play.

Also, the Director of Administration, Marvelous Press Limited, Kunle Fashanu, said the revival of reading culture must begin from the home.

Fashanu said parents should deliberately regulate children’s access to television, social media and other distractions while creating time for reading and school assignments.

He noted that although government had responsibilities to formulate policies, improve libraries and provide books, it could not force people to use them.

“Government cannot be in every home. So if every home takes the issue of reading culture seriously, by the multiplier effect, it will impact on the generality,” Fashanu said.