Imbibing a sound reading culture will build better future for our children - Don

June 2, 2016

By Ijendu Iheaka

Nigerian children need to develop a sound reading culture in order to build a better future and life for themselves, Dr Ugochi Ikonne has said.

Ikonne, a lecturer at the National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN), Aba, disclosed this on Thursday during an interview with newsmen in Aba.

The lecturer who was speaking on the forthcoming Enyimba Reading Festival scheduled for the third week of June said that imbibing the habit of reading was very important to human development.

She said that the present day Nigerian children preferred to use their time on phones and browsing social network sites rather than reading their books to prepare for a better future.

Ikonne who quoting an American author, Benjamin Franklin, said that "reading makes a full man..." noted that reading creates and recreates good behaviour, meaningful challenge and activity in readers.

She said that while it is good for children and youth to socialize, it is not commendable for them to learn habits that would mar their lives in the future like spending so much useful time on social networks.

"Abia residents will appreciate that there is a need for a re-orientation in the city; a re-orientation that is striving to move the children from a talking culture to a reading culture.

"It is very necessary because there has been a prevalence of talking culture in recent years over reading culture among our youths.

"This is blamed on so many factors. Some blame it on television viewing, some on social media concentration on such sites like To Go, Youtube, WhatsApp and the rest.

"Our children are not reading. They see reading as an exercise that should take place only during examinations. They do not see it as a tool for learning better things that would make them better people in future", she said.

Ikonne said that students are now "really engrossed in chatting and all what not" hence the result is failing reading and writing culture among youths which has necessitated the Enyimba Reading Festival.

"One of my student's has completed her research work in this area. It is titled "The influence of social networks in the development of writing and reading skills among secondary school students and it was a wonderful exposure on this negative trend," she said.

She enjoined parents to help their children read by encouraging them to create time for reading daily.

The Enyimba Reading Festival was introduced in 2015 by the Rural Readers Book Club of Aba with Mr Obioma Okezie as the director to revive the culture of reading in Aba, Abia State.