The Abuja Chapter of the Network of Book Clubs and Reading Culture Promoters in Nigeria (NBRP) has affirmed its commitment to promoting literature and advancing reading culture throughout Nigeria.
NBRP officials made this declaration during a courtesy visit to the PREMIUM TIMES headquarters in Abuja on Thursday.
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The delegation was led by the NBRP Coordinator, Loye Olowookere, and included the Network’s Abuja chapter Secretary, Chido Onumah, along with the Treasurer, Funmilayo Braithwaite.
The team was received by the PREMIUM TIMES Editor-in-Chief, Musikilu Mojeed, the Managing Editor, Idris Akinbajo, and the Administrative Manager, Willie Obaseota.
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According to Mr Onumah, the primary goal of the network is to promote books, highlight the importance of reading, and promote readership culture among schools by “catching them young.”
He explained that the visit is part of their campaign advocacy of reaching out to media organisations and institutions for effective collaboration.
“We appreciate the opportunity to stop here to share our missions and to see how we can collaborate to advance this cause,” he said.
He described the NBRP as an open organisation that brings together authors, many of whom have willingly donated copies of their books to equip libraries and institutions in the country.
On his part, Mr Olowookere appreciated the management of PREMIUM TIMES for the opportunity, stating that the book club network was established in 2020 in Lagos and that the Abuja chapter was constituted in 2022, with several other branches across other parts of the country.
“Our objective is to make more Nigerians read. The reading culture, as we are all aware, is not all that encouraging. We are trying to correct the saying that if you want to hide anything from any Nigerian, put it in a book. It should not be like that,” he noted.
He explained that they have come up with two major activities—774 book club and the book city projects.
“We want to use these projects to establish book clubs and libraries across the 774 LGA in the country,” he said.
PREMIUM TIMES aexpressed openness to collaborate with the network because their goal aligns with the organisation’s vision of promoting books, reading culture, and strengthening necessary institutions through factual and accountability reporting to promote a healthy book-reading culture across the country.
While responding, Mr Mojeed said when PREMIUM TIMES started, it not only published newspapers but also published books because of the importance it attaches to them.
He said, although book publishing has not been a profitable venture, PREMIUM TIMES believes in the place of books in the quest to achieve sustainable development.
As an accountability platform, Mr Mojeed said publishing books or newspapers is a social enterprise for PREMIUM TIMES, and that several books, including the Sokoto Caliphate and the Letter Man, among others, were published by the organisation.
“We believe in the power of books, and we believe people still read books. We have also reported extensively about the state of the libraries in our country. It is appalling,” he said.
He argued that even when books in libraries are gathering dust, titles are not being added to them and that most library atmospheres in the country are not conducive and welcoming.
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“We can promote our culture better by helping the stocking of books,” he added.
Mr Mojeed said the organisation looks forward to collaborating with the network to achieve an effective book reading network in the country.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the NBRP delegation donated a few copies of books authored by some members of the network to the PREMIUM TIMES team. Mr Mojeed, in return, presented souvenirs and five copies of his recently published book (The Letterman) to the network.
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