As Nigeria joined the rest of the world to celebrate this year’s World Book Day, students and pupils have been charged to imbibe good reading culture.
The Director, Anambra State Library Board Awka, Dr. Nkechi Udeze gave the charge in her remark during the celebration of 2021 World Book Day held at Onitsha Divisional Library with the theme: “Share a Story.”
Correspondent Emengini Osadebe who covered the event reports that the celebration was organised by the Anambra State Library Board, Onitsha Divisional Library, in collaboration with the Nigeria Library Association.
Dr. Udeze, who described the day as important to authors, writers, librarians, illustrators, among others, stated that without book there will be no reading, and encouraged the students to improve on their reading culture by reading two or three books a day to widen their knowledge.
A resource person at the event, Mr. Onyeka Ezeudokpoko, who exposed the children to what World Book Day is all about, said the day was set aside by the United Nation Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO, in 1995 to celebrate authors and encourage reading, enumerating series of benefits in book reading.
He challenged the people to be a bookworms, to enable them tell their stories and be celebrated like other authors.
On his part, the Coordinator of Nigeria Copyright Commission, Anambra State Chapter, Onitsha office, Mr. Gabriel Anikwem, who encouraged the children to develop flair for writing through reading other people’s works, expressed joy that the World Book Day coincided with, Nigeria Copyright Day Celebration, noting that the Commission, as a Federal Government Agency, was established to protect the rights of literal work writers, musical works, broadcast and performers in the country, thereby checkmating the activities of pirates.
In separate interviews, the Onitsha Divisional Librarian, Mrs. Sopuluchukwu Enemuo and the Library Officer in charge of Children section, Mrs. Chinyelu Mba said they deemed it necessary to organise the event for students and pupils in order to impact on them, and encourage them to read and share their own stories, as everybody, both young and old, has a story to share.
Some of the students at the event expressed gratitude to the organisers of the event, saying that they gained a lot from the lecture, and promised to put to practice what they have learnt.
The event featured presentation from different schools, gift presentation to the schools that participated in Spelling Bee anchored by Mrs. Amaka Alor of the Nigerian Library Association.
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