Allison-Madueke Tasks Children, Parents on Reading Culture

PHOTO: PETROLEUM RESOURCES MINISTER, MRS. DIEZANI ALLISON-MADUEKE.

ABUJA, April 25, (THEWILL) - Petroleum Resources Minister, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, has called on children to cultivate the habit of reading if they want to be great men and women.

Alison-Madueke gave this charge weekend at a book reading session organized by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, in conjunction with the Rainbow Book Club to mark this year’s United Nations’ World Book and Copyright Day at the UN House in Abuja .

The Minister who was the guest of honour at the occasion read from a book titled: The Legend: Nelson Mandela, and also took time to interact with children drawn from primary and secondary schools in the FCT.

She said reading was a very important aspect of civilization that modern man, especially children, cannot afford to neglect.

"In this digital age, there are a lot of challenges to the culture of reading. There are computer-like gadgets everywhere that children get engrossed with, but they cannot replace books. If you want to become great, you must learn to read, and read very wide," she advised the children.

She called on parents and teachers to introduce fun and drama into reading to make it interesting for children in order to get them to cultivate the habit of reading.

In her message at the occasion, the Director General of UNESCO Irina Bokova who was represented by Hassan Keynan said modern technology has begun to pose a very great challenge to the reading culture and so there was need for “policy decision-makers, publishers, educators and civil society to consider once again the most effective ways of promoting that irreplaceable tool of knowledge: the book.”

While enumerating the importance of books in promoting peace and providing development opportunities to people, she urged participants to spare a thought for the 759 million people across the world who can neither read nor write, two-thirds of whom are women.

Bokova called on the organization’s partners, communities and UNESCO networks to join forces to promote respect for copyright and ensure that books take their rightful place in the social, educational and cultural spheres.

In her welcome address, founder of the Rainbow Book Club, Mrs. Koko Kalango said her club was involved in the celebration of the UN World Book and Copyright Day because its objective of encouraging reading and a love for books on the African continent was in tandem with the idea behind the celebration of the World Book Day.

She thanked the Minister whom she described as a "mother and national leader" for honouring the invitation to serve as a role model for the children, adding that her presence would strengthen the club’s campaign to establish libraries in schools across Africa.