BOOKS AND OUR NATION
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| world book day |
As bibliophiles around the world join UNESCO to celebrate love for the written word on April 23rd which is World Book Day, it is imperative that we take an intense appraisal of our nation with regards to our relationship with books.
As a nation, we have been blessed with the gift of Democracy. I tag it a gift because, simply put, democracy signifies freedom. A democratic nation is ideally a nation with unlimited access to information; and information is found in books. However, the realities of our nation today speak of limited access to information caused mainly by a Wrong Mentality created by the perception of books as used for only boring and difficult assignments and exams. This perception creates a purpose mismatch and kills the drive of individual reading outside the confines of formal education. Confucius said “You cannot open a book without learning something.” This is what books are about - Learning. As a society, we cannot undergo deep transformation without a radical paradigm shift. We absolutely have to change our focus from seeing books as just tools used in schools and start seeing them as tools for life-long learning. According to Jiddu Krishnamurti, a renowned writer and speaker, “There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.” The potentials in a single book can never be over-accentuated. Books are depositories of history, culture, heritage, windows of knowledge, tools for dialogue, weapons of change, sources of wealth; books are contain everything we need to know for a better future.
It is therefore without a doubt true that a developed nation is a result of a developed people, and an underdeveloped nation a consequence of an underdeveloped people. Literacy is the only viable tool with which we can fight ignorance. However, beyond literacy, what Nigeria needs is Literary Appreciation aka understanding the value of books. Economically, socially, industrially and culturally successful nations have been seen to have a healthy and energetic reading culture. An easy way to tell is by observing public transport commuters. In these countries, transport time is almost equivalent to learning time. Almost every commuter has a book or a magazine handy for their ride no matter how long or short the trip is. The world is driven by knowledge. These people have knowledge; this knowledge is what makes nations like the Unites States of America powerful. It was Mark Twain who said “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.” This is the dilemma of Nigerians today. We want to develop our nation without first developing ourselves. This level of intellectual irresponsibility has left us with a Messiah-mentality. We are constantly looking for the quickest and easiest way out of the mess which we have all created collectively. This keeps us in a state of perpetual vulnerability to silver-tongued politicians who generate mantras and expressions of hope and make hyperbolic promises putting us through cycles of exploitation and frustrations. “Hungry man, reach for the book: it is a weapon.” – Bertolt Brecht. The improvement of our educational system is definitely a welcome development, but even more pragmatic is the development of the perspective of individuals with regards to reading. We need a better reading culture, and until Nigerians take responsibility for our nation and reach for the book, making learning a priority, we would never be fully fortified to build the nation of our dreams.
My name is Diki Testimony Diri, Founder & CEO CHAIREIN ACADEMY, an educational training, consulting and advocacy firm. Our vision is to re-invent education in Nigeria by constantly introducing innovative strategies which are focused on creating access to quality education through quality academic training and consultation.
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