In a bid to promote reading culture among students, the Rotary Club of Maitama , Abuja has donated 300 Literature textbooks to the Government Secondary School (GSS) Garki district of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The president of the club, Rotarian Yusuf Alli, while presenting the books, said they were given to the school after a needs assessment to ease the financial burden of parents.
Alli, who is also the managing editor, Northern Operations of The Nation Newspaper, called on the beneficiaries to improve their reading habit and use the social media positively.
“We have conducted a needs assessments and we discovered that the students are weak in English Language and Literature. So, we decided to intervene. Secondly, the objective is about promoting a reading culture, because Nigerians no longer read. It is an awakening mission that we have taken to promote and enhance the reading culture,” he said.
On if the social media is killing the reading culture in Nigeria, he said it does not because most books are presently online.
“What we have done is to sensitise, let them read so that they can subscribe to any book of their choice online. If we talk of Amazon and so many publishing houses, they have their works online, all we need to do is just mobilise, and tell them to take the best from social media and read.
“Look for the right Literature on social media and read to improve your focus, to improve your communication skills, and also to be mentally alert. Reading is life, no other thing. If you do not read, you are dead as a human being.
“So, instead of getting distracted with evils on social media, we want them to use social media positively. So I do not see how social media will affect the reading culture, it will rather enhance it. It makes writing and reading easier these days,” he said.
The governor of Rotary International Club District 9125, Dr. Goddy Nnadi, who was represented by assistant district governor, Chuka Okoye, advised the benefiting students to take reading very seriously, adding that with reading they could actualise their dreams.
In his address, the principal of the school, Alhaji Abubakar Saidu, who thanked the Rotary Club for the donation, assured that the books would be utilised to improve knowledge.
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