In order to inculcate the reading culture in the minds of school-age children in Yobe state, the Children, Youth and Women Empowerment Initiative (CHIYOWO) has offer books to students of ECWA Beckett Memorial College Kukar-Gadu in Yobe.
Reading culture particularly among the youth over the years has been on the decline and the situation is further worsening sequel to the high development in the Information and Communication Technology.
With the theme; ‘Bring Back Our Reading Culture’, the school benefitted from assorted books aim at restoring the lost reading culture among secondary school students across the country.
CHIYOWO visit to Yobe state according to the is to the Chief Executive Officer Ms. Tokunbo Ifaturoti is to help restore the lost reading culture among the school-age children.
“What we set out to achieve is to improve the reading culture among school-age children across the country all geared toward improving quality education that can improve our sustainable development.
“Carrying out such initiative make them become self-determined to broad their career and to also know their potentials as future leaders.”
She said reading will effectively tackle the brainwashing strategy of luring underage children to joining terrorism, arm robbery gang or other violent groups as they will know what is good or bad for themselves as a result of wide reading.
“We also believe that reading will help curb insurgency because if they are well read and educated, no one will tell them to do what they know is not right,” Mrs. Tokunbo said.
She revealed that CHIYOWO has been to eleven states to inculcate in the minds of the youth the reading culture by giving out books to schools and by selecting library prefect to take proper custody of the books.
The principal of the ECWA Beckett Memorial College Kukar-Gadu, Mr. Ibrahim Abako while appreciating the gesture commend the choice of his school as a beneficiary and tasked other donor agencies to emulate CHIYOWO in inculcating the reading culture in the minds of youth.
“This development to some extent is a welcome development and a great achievement for us all and I commend CHIYOWO’s initiative of restoring the reading culture and I thank them for selecting our college to be a specimen where this will be carried out.
“I call on well-meaning Nigerians, corporate groups and society groups and societies to follow in the footprints of CHIYOWO in order to provide sound education for all”
In her address, the Zonal Director of Education, Mrs. Hauwa Yakubu urges the students to make the best used of the books as no student will attend the highest height without reading.
“I want to implore the students to make the best use of the books by reading hard as no successful person will attend his heights without reading hard”
She advised the students to read widely and also tutored them on the use of library and the prefects, how best to take stock of available books therein.
The library prefect was chosen in a spelling competition with the best emerging the prefect while the runner-up become his deputy.
They were all presented with prizes for their performance in the competition.