Students of secondary and tertiary institutions who spoke to NewsNGR seemed to have confirmed the general notion that the reading culture is dying in the country.
Most of the students admitted poor reading habits while those who still read consume only materials that can help them pass their examinations.
Abdulaziz Lawal, an SS2 student of Christ Academy International, Gwagwalada, said he has no interest in reading, but only reads during exams.
He said: ” I’m not interested in reading novels, but I’ve read one before. That was a long time ago, it should be last year. The name of the book was African Orphan or so.
“I read textbooks mostly, like subject textbooks, I prefer them to notes. And I read for exams by studying textbooks. I do that by picking major topics that may likely come out in exams, then studying them over and over again.
“I read four times a week for exams, but during holidays I read two times a week. And during school times like three times a week.”
Ismai’l Ibrahim, an SS3 student of a government school in Abuja said he has no interest in books.
“I don’t have interest in reading books, but I’ve read a story book recently; The Life Changer. It’s a book for jamb. I read it last night. During my spare time I watch movies or chat with friends and family,” he said.
Joy Daniel, student of Geography, University of Abuja, also doesn’t find fun in reading, and the last time she read a book was in September, last year.
“I don’t read, instead I watch. Why I don’t feel inclined to read any book is because anything I read in books are the same with movies because they make books from movies, and sometimes they make movies from books so they are the same thing,” she said
She added that as a result she only read books taught to her in school, and during exams she shoves everything aside and concentrates on her books. However, she promised that if she manages to read any book at all, it should be a book related to the economy.
But there are still some vegetation in the desert. Omotosho Mopeleoluwa, an SS1 student of Government Day Secondary School, Gwagwalada, is one of those who loves to read because she wants to be a writer.
She reads mostly novels and the last time she read one was “last night.” She revealed that she has a timetable for reading daily.
Ibrahim Yunusa, an undergraduate of Federal University Dutse in Jigawa state, is in the same shoes with Mopeoluwa.
“Reading books is my daily routine. I read almost eight books in a month. Yes, it is. I set an agenda of reading almost fifty pages or close to that per day. During exams sometimes I have to halt or decrease the number of the pages to 10. And after we are done with the exams I’ll do my best to read as much as I can to fill the gap.
“During exams I only read twice, in the morning and evening. And on exam day, if the exam is in the morning, I wake up at like 4 0’clock and start reading till the exam time. And I pass without carryover because I set aside anything that distracts me,” he said.
Expert Speaks On The Decline In Reading Culture And Ways To Improve It
An educationist with a background in psychology, Prof. A. M Maisamari of the Faculty of Education, University of Abuja, complained to NewsNGR about the decline in reading culture.
He said: “We’ve lost the reading culture, and I don’t want to blame it on social media, because even before the advent of social media, the reading culture had gone low.
“I remember in 1980s, the 70s, if you’re reading political science, history, there used to be a reading list where people are given list of books to read just to widen their horizon of academic environment
“But then this culture seemed to have been wiped out. I remember if you’re a student of political science you’re given a novel to read because most of these novels are either negritude protesting colonialism or were protesting either from South Africa or East Africa where you have the Maji maji and other things.
“That was where novels like Ngui Wa Thiong’o and all of other East African writers from Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa, etc and you even find people reading in their spare time for pleasure. People read James Hadley Chase all sorts of novels, but today where do you even find those novels? People don’t even know that novels are in existence any longer.”
He however still attributed part of the blame to social media, saying people use their spare time these days staying “glued to handsets” and browsing for video contents on tik tok and other means of entertainment on social media.
Maisamari explained that people are now preoccupied about issues of survival, and reading is for those who are satisfied and comfortable.
“Stress of life and stress of living must be addressed. Let people be comfortable and they’ll want to read,” she declared.
The professor said solutions could be found by getting writers to write books that will portray societal concerns, to motivate people that want to read.
He outlined that only few writers write for the sake of the readers, adding that those willing to write for readers’ sake don’t have money to publish them because the cost of publishing in Nigeria is high.
He said, “The other aspect is the libraries. I wonder if they still exist. You go to the libraries, they are a shadow of their names. They are no longer libraries. So, these are things again the government should come in to reinvigorate, restock and make them more relevant to attract people to want to go and read.
“Sometimes you tend to blame the lecturers that they produce handouts, they produce all sorts of things. I’m not trying to exonerate those that do them for the sake of commercialisation, but it’s a last resort because those materials refer students to go and read. The lecturer that will want to publish does not have the money to sponsor the publication.
“The publishing company will tell you to foot the bill of your publication and how much can you do that? So, these are some of the issues. Government must deliberately come in to ensure that there are books available before we talk of motivating readers to want to read.”