By; VITALIS UGOH, Calabar.
Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon John Gaul Lebo, has advised Nigerian youths to imbibe the culture of reading to improve their status in life.
The amount of information accessed and processed was capable of taking anyone out of poverty; hence youths should read to prosper, he added.
Rt. Hon Lebo who tutored youths on readership during the just concluded quarterly dialogue of the Calabar Readers’ Club which held in his office, also admonished youths to make reading a passion and not an exercise only for the purpose of examination.
According to him “anything that makes you happy can give you money” hence the emphasis on reading for passion adding that reading could enrich one, mentally and physically”.
“Youths”, he added, “should read for passion, for enterprise development and to get employed”.
Lebo hinted that the scope of the Calabar Readers’ Club would be expanded to include outdoor activities like picnics to further encourage youth participation as plans were already in top gear for the establishment of the club in the 3 tiers of school.
Also speaking, the Member representing Boki II in the State House of Assembly, Hon Hilary Bisong, who lamented the poor reading culture among young people in our society, said that such trend was inimical to the future of the country.
Therefore “you could sign your death warrant unknowingly because you don’t read. Reading makes you a better person and gives you advantage over others”.
Bisong urged the Club to take its activities beyond the club house to primary and secondary schools while instituting competitions with rewards in the schools to lure pupils and students into reading in order to catch them young.
He praised the Speaker for such a novel initiative and described him as a pathfinder for his generation and Abi’s gift to the state.
Earlier in her submission, Miss VIP Nigeria, Charity Wilfred, who expressed excitement over the establishment of the Calabar Readers’ Club by the Speaker, said that “although her pet project centred on the environment and climate change but she would also adopt the club’s message of reading as part of her project”.
