Obasanjo decries poor reading culture in Nigeria, calls for action

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06/03/25 • 80 Views • 0 Share • Published in EduTV News

FORMER president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has expressed concern over what he described as poor reading culture amongst Nigerian youths, calling on stakeholders to ensure revival of the culture in the..

Obasanjo, who was the guest author at the monthly Reading and Writers’ Dialogue of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Abuja Chapter, spoke on the theme ‘The Role of Writers in Nation Building.’ The event was held at the Chinua Achebe International Conference Centre, Mamman Vatsa Writers’ Village, located at the foothills of Mpape, Abuja.

The former president, a soldier, writer, and statesman, emphasised at the event that nation-building is the task of all, adding, “Writers have a role to play, politicians have a role to play, teachers have a role to play, farmers have a role to play, and readers also have a role to play because if you have writers without readers then it is not complete.”

He insisted that it was, however, unfortunate in Nigeria that young people no longer give themselves to rigorous reading partly because of the internet and social media.

Obasanjo, who took a historic look into when writing began, asserted that human civilisation took a turn higher with the discovery of writing because there has to be records, information, and references for the government or society to thrive.

He underscored the role of writers, stressing that writers enable people to know “where you are coming from, where you are, and then adequately plan for where you are going.”

He explained that politicians, religious leaders, teachers and many others are involved in this process, but it is the writers that document their activities.

“The role of the writers in nation-building is therefore a role that has no substitute. There are a lot of things we have to pay attention to, particularly in this age of Internet and social media, and this is how to make our children become readers.

“There is a lot of information on the social media, but it does not amount to reading. Yes, you get information, but reading it is what makes a perfect human being,” Obasanjo stated.

He tasked ANA to take it as one of its responsibilities as much as possible to promote reading culture in the country, just as the association encourages writers.

“Reading makes a perfect human being, and I cherish this saying: ‘A leader must be a reader; a leader may not necessarily be a writer, but a leader must necessarily be a reader to be up to speed with trends and happenings,” he noted.

Speaking further on the poor reading culture in Nigeria, which he noted is on the rise, Obasanjo warned that this could attenuate the nation’s rich literary heritage if urgent steps were not taken to reverse therend.

Obasanjo himself, who has written several books, noted that Nigeria has produced some of the world’s finest and most respected writers, a situation that he observed compels the evolution of new writers to sustain the trajectory.

The former president noted that despite the advantages provided by technological advancement, many youths do not apply themselves to rigorous reading and intellection.

He said: “Many of them no longer do serious reading. Reading makes an effective and productive human being.”

He pointed out that Nigeria is blessed with good writers who have used their craft in nation-building, and one of such distinguished authors is Chinua Achebe, noting that Achebe showcased Nigeria’s culture to the world and elevated the nation’s culture in his writings.

Obasanjo, therefore, charged the youth to take bold steps in shaping their own futures rather than wait for opportunities to drop on their laps, noting that the recurring mismanagement of the nation’s human and material resources was at the roots of the nation’s travails.

He canvassed the application of political will in the nation’s policy formulation and execution, noting that limited bureaucratese in military dispensations was instrumental to better effectiveness under martial rulership.

In his welcome remark, ANA Abuja Chairman Chukwudi Eze commended Obasanjo for his contribution to knowledge through his numerous writings, urging other leaders to emulate him as a way to inspire a young generation of leaders in the country.

He said, “Our guest author stands out as perhaps the best president to have ever served Nigeria and bequeathed to her the most productive cabinet of accomplished professionals as ministers.

“Under his watch, the debt-ridden nation became debt-free. He also transformed the socio-economic landscape through bold policy initiatives, including the introduction of cell phones, amongst many other progressive initiatives,” Eze added.

On key initiative of his administration, Eze, who happened to be the designer of the Obasanjo Presidential Library, which sits on the hilltop of Abeokuta, said ANA Abuja has initiated cash-priced contests like the Poem of the Week and Short Story of the Biweek, as well as the Young Writers’ Club, where writers are mentored and empowered to publish their creative works.

“The result is that we produced and published our first anthology titled Flights of Imagination and got the thirteen-year-old Adelaja twins to publish their first books, copies of which they will present to our guest author today.

“We have plans to do more if financially enabled, like sponsoring our young writers to international exchanges and residency programmes. We are determined to follow in the footsteps of Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, and Chimamanda Adichie to produce the next generation of Africa’s literary champions,” he stated.