By Nana Musa
The winner of “Book the Kids Again,” reading competition, Miss Valerie Emasealu, says reading books promotes bonding of families and friends, as well as sharing of ideas and creative thinking.
Emasealu said this at a post press briefing on ‘book the kids again” reading competition organised by Goodluck Hayi, in Abuja on Friday.
She said that the competition has help developed her reading culture and exposed her to new ideas, concepts and perspectives.
Emasealu, a Senior Secondary (SS2) student, described the initiative and the competition as a noble cause that encourages reading culture among the young youths.
The winners tasks stakeholders to collaborate with schools to integrate reading into curricula.
She also commended the organiser for coming to get update on the progress of the winners and the impact of the initiative to the winners and their schools.
The first runner up of the competition, Pearl Okereke, an SS two student, also said that reading has always been part of her daily life,
“This competition has made me realised how important reading competition is to parents, schools, and organisations. It needs to be inculcated into the lives of Nigerian children.
“My win have enhanced my reading culture by showing me the rewards of reading and its transformative impact. The recognition have also inspired others in my school and family to read more,” Okereke said.
She commended the initiative saying the projects is vital for the country where reading is often undervalued.
Okereke said that many people see reading as a means to pass exams rather than as a hobby or a way to improve mental health and interpersonal skills.
“This project can help revive a dying reading culture. While parents are doing their best to encourage reading, there’s always room for improvement.
“Initiatives like this should happen more frequently and receive better publicity to motivate students to read not just for exams, but for personal growth and enjoyment,” she said.
The Principal, Hillside School Abuja, Mrs Ihuoma Anadu said that the initiative would enhance reading culture and close the gap of laziness to read among the citizens
Anadu urged government to subsidise the cost of books, saying one of the primary challenges in reading was the availability of affordable books.
“To promote reading among children, books must be made available and accessible.
“If books are expensive, not everyone can afford them.
“I don’t know how the government operates since I don’t work for them, but finding a way to subsidise the cost of books, whether locally published or imported, will ensure these resources reach children who need them most. That will make a significant difference,” Anadu said.
Mr Eldad Onojetah, co-convener of the initiative said reading was important and should be a culture.
He said that this initiative intend to spreed across the 36 state.
“We are open to collaboration, this project should be taken seriously as it will help shapen our children.
“We are currently working on a website to help children,” Onojetah said.
Recalls that on October 4, students from several schools in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja were brought together in a healthy book review competition organised by the Coordinator of ‘Book The Kids Again’ initiative, Mr Goodluck Hayi.
Also, the winner of the competition was Emasealu from Aduvie International School and the first runner up, Okereke from the Hillside School Abuja.
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