Thursday, October 24, 2024 will remain evergreen in the memory of the first female professor of Mass Communication at the University of Ilorin, Saudat Abdulbaqi Salah.
That was the day the Ilorin – born professor and member of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations ( NIPR) was honoured with a “Bookworm Challenge Contest” amongst secondary students in Ilorin, Kwara State.
The reading contest/ mentorship programme was put together by SWOT Team for Education Development in Nigeria and Africa in honour of Salah.
It was also aimed at mentoring secondary school students in reading contest to sharpen their reading ability and have the courage to read publicly in front of a crowd.
The programme also featured the presentation of Awards of Credence to some professionals for their invaluable contributions to the development of the society through their activities.
The awardees included the regional editor of LEADERSHIP Newspapers in the north central, Alh Abdullahi Olesin, Mrs. Janet Olarewaju of NIPR, Alhaja Maimuna Oloriegbe, CEO of MATTA Girls Foundation, Dr Tayo Abubakar-Edun, Dr. Fatimah Abubakre, Comrade Abdullateef Isowo, Hajia Zainab Zakari, Mr. Kamaldeen Arikewuyo and the the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Kwara State branch.
The presentation of Awards of Credence to the awardees was conducted by a school proprietor, Mal. AbdulSalam AbdulRazaq and the chairman of Kwara State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists( NUJ), Ahmed AbdulLateef.
After the reading engagements, the honoree, Prof Saudat Abdulbaqi Salah, counseled the participants on how to improve their reading skills, recalling her own experience when she was a young school pupil.
She encouraged them not to be deterred by criticisms that often trail attempts by the children to be bookworm and excel in their education pursuits.
Salah narrated what she went through in her pursuit of educational excellence right from her primary and secondary school days in the hands of those who wanted to tag her ‘ a lousy girl’.
She, however, expressed delight that the encouragement she got from her late mother and the man who later became her husband, Mr Abdulbaqi saw her through, adding that:” That’s why I ‘m what I ‘m today – a professor of Mass Communication”.
Prizes were also given to the students that excelled in the book reading contest.
The SWOT Team for Education Development in Nigeria and Africa, a community based organisation was founded with the aim of distributing learning materials to primary school pupils and secondary school students, organising career talk, extra moral classes, summit and symposium, among other objectives.
Founded in 2019, SWOT has contributed immensely to education development of the Nigeria over the years.
Prizes were also given to the students that excelled in the book reading contest.
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