Obasanjo encourages parents to take active role in fostering love for reading

Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has encouraged parents to take an active role in fostering a love for reading in their children, cautioning against solely relying on social media for information, as it does not equate to being a true reader.

Obasanjo urged the Nigeria youth to take bold steps in shaping their futures instead of passively waiting for opportunities to be handed to them.

He pointed to the rampant mismanagement of both human and natural resources as the root causes of the country’s current issues.

Obasanjo made this known at the February Reading and Writing Dialogue organized by the Association of Nigerian Authors, Abuja Chapter, with the theme “The Writer’s Role in Nation-Building and Africa’s First Presidential Library” held at the Chinua Achebe International Conference Centre, Mamman Vatsa Writers’ Village, Mpape, Abuja.

He stressed the essential role writers play in documenting history, stating that understanding the past is crucial for shaping the present and future.

Obasanjo encouraged parents to take an active role in fostering a love for reading in their children, cautioning against solely relying on social media for information, as it does not equate to being a true reader.

He also urged ANA to develop targeted programs that promote reading, reinforcing the idea that while not every leader needs to be a writer, every leader should be an avid reader.

“The writer is the one who documents where you are so that you can plan and move to where you are going. The role of the writer in nation-building is, therefore, a role that has no substitute. The youths of Nigeria should not wait for tomorrow to lead; they should take their future today,” he said.

The Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Abuja Chapter, Arc. Chukwudi Eze, disclosed that the power of writing is evident in the motivational phrase “Give me liberty or give me death,” which birthed the American Revolution and built the nation into a global colossus.

He lauded former President Obasanjo’s exemplary leadership strides and pointed out that it was a privilege to have been the designer of the presidential library in Abeokuta.