Improving the Reading Culture

                                           

Guest contribution by Oritsetimeyin

Dear readers, if you all have noticed, the Nigerian reading culture is as poor and fragile as the economy or even poorer. How many Nigerians have heard of any Nobel Prize for Literature winner except perhaps Professor Wole Soyinka!

Most Nigerians do not even know the top and leading writers in the country or abroad or have read interesting books, stories, poems, written drama or prose in their personal libraries. But almost every week, I see people buying foods, snacks, drinks, compact disks (CDs), etc with only a few looking at or attempting to buy books.

Indeed, many Nigerians see buying books as a waste of energy, time and money. While some feel they have read enough books at school and that books are to be read only for tests and exams others aver that they have outgrown the reading of books which they see as boring.

This turn of events also has an impact on the entire culture of book-making, authorship and production. Young and budding writers for example are already being discouraged from writing their books because they are aware that almost no one or at best only a negligible few will buy, read or promote their books. The ones that can find the resources to do so, emigrate to countries like USA, Sweden, Norway, Japan, China, Hungary, England, South Africa, Germany and a host of other countries where they believe they will be better appreciated and have a basic chance to compete alongside other bright and famous writers.

The challenges writers who are based in Nigeria face are quite alarming. As things stand today, it takes a miracle, extra determination, wisdom, struggles, suffering and strength to go on to succeed as great writers in a country where very few will read or buy their books.

 You can publish a book in year 2000 and still have a massive stock of the same books not yet sold by year 2012 with about the only option being to reduce the price of the book in order to clear your stock while making a loss in the process. This leaves many writers thinking whether it would not have been better to have left the manuscript unpublished rather than the huge drain of resources it has become! In the alternative, some consider handing over the unpublished stock to a school or public library, give it as a donation or to offer it as charity and earn blessings but not fame, popularity and money.

The situation is embarrassing and alarming. The various governments in the land do not do anything to help writers and the books industry. They do not encourage competitions for writers or support promising writers which other governments elsewhere do,  encouraging writers by creating or supporting competitions for them and giving them working grants which enable them to work on their craft with maximum concentration

Sometimes I wonder if the our called democratically elected government know how to improve the reading culture or are aware of any young and promising Nigerian writers in the Local Government Area or State. How many Governors or President read a minimum of two novels a year?  Some may claim the pressure of the office is too much yet they still have time to make luxurious trips abroad. It is trite knowledge that if the governors takes some time to read books about the country and how to develop certain areas of the economy they will learn much and govern better. So why do they continue to resist such a commonsensical benefit?

The Nigerian people blame the Government for the poor reading culture in the country and I agree with them. The government has refused to assist young talented writers and sponsor competitions to improve the reading culture in the country. The Government should provide free quality books to schools and create more scholarship opportunities for those who have potentials to become great leaders but no money to pay their school fees.

The Nigerian people in themselves are not left out of censure. Many Nigerians still cannot read or write properly and don’t have enough money to buy books. Will a poor man buy a book of 100 naira when it can provide two square meals in a day for him?

Many Nigerians consider reading a book or even buying a book as a waste of time, energy and money but I assure Nigerians that reading the right books will enable them understand our social, physical, economical, political and business environment, feelings, emotions, health and tov learn better ways to improve your business and life.

Knowledgeable Nigerians should enlighten others about the gift a book can give to the soul, mind, heart and body. Nigerians who are talented writers should not quit writing in desperation but continue to explore more and more ways of combating the challenges. Things will definitely  get better.

Now, let begin to talk about the way forward to improve our reading culture. What can we as a people do to improve our reading culture and what are the measures government must take? The answers lie in what we are going to discuss now.

1.       Government should encourage competitions among writers and promote their books when published.

2.       Get schools to encourage students to read textbooks along with their notes and further study books about the subjects or topics taught them in class.

3.       Improve the educational system to encourage students to cultivate a habit of studying to make references from textbook or books about the lesson after each class.

4.       The Government should construct at a least one well equipped and quality library in each local government area.

5.       The Government should promote and advertise promising writers and their books.

6.       People should buy books about their jobs and areas of their interest.

7.       The Government should open and equip special schools for adults who cannot write or read.

8.       People should read poems and novels during their leisure periods.

9.       People should enlighten others on the leading writers and books in the country.

10.    The Government should give promising writers national honours and other rewards to encourage other writers.