By Olatunde Ajayi
The Network of Book Clubs and Reading Culture Promoters in Nigeria (NBRP) and the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) have partnered to launch a Book City Initiative in Oyo State.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the initiative, launched in Ibadan, is aimed at reviving and deepening the reading culture across the state.
President of NBRP, Prof. Oyinkan Tasie, described the Book City project as a long-term strategy to make reading more accessible and attractive, especially among young people.
Tasie, a professor at Michigan State University, noted that the initiative would also support local authors and publishers while strengthening copyright awareness and enforcement in the state.
According to him, NBRP identifies a city or selects a city every year as the book city.
“So, Ibadan, Oyo State, is the book city for the NBRP for 2026,” he said.
Tasie added that the event aimed to set or reset the agenda that would revitalise reading culture among citizens.
“As a prelude to activities for the official launch of the book city, we brought together all the stakeholders: students, legislators, authors, publishers, academia, and other residents, to come and brainstorm on transforming the reading culture in Nigeria,” he said.
He added that the event featured a walk to markets in the metropolis to further sensitise parents to the need to support and encourage their children to read outside school hours.
“Sensitising parents in the market on the need to support reading culture for their children is a deliberate move to ensure that children get further support towards reading, even while not in school.
“We also believe reading should happen in markets.
“We are working actively with the NCC, National Library of Nigeria, and Oyo State Library Board.
“Reading increases knowledge; it also enhances the ability to think and broadens the mind,” he said.
Meanwhile, NCC Director-General, Dr John Asein, said that the commission remained committed to the safety of citizens’ intellectual properties and ensuring maximum protection of creative works.
Asein, represented by NCC, Oyo State Coordinator, Mrs Oluropo Oke, noted that the 2022 amended copyrights law empowered the commission to impose stiffer penalties on anyone found guilty of intellectual property infringement.
“We want authors, publishers, artists, and other stakeholders in the creative industry to get rewards for their efforts, both morally and economically,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Sola Alimi, the Head of the Department of Art, Design and Printing Technology, The Polytechnic Ibadan, said books shouldn’t be seen as a burden but as a blessing.
Alimi, the event’s guest lecturer, traced the current deficit and decline in the reading culture to a negative shift from a social system of scholars to a society of scavengers.
He alleged that those who benefited from the quality education advantage of yesterday are the proponents and drivers of the present dilemma.
According to him, a society without books is a lifeless society because books are transmitters of life and transformers of lifestyles.
He also identified the high cost of good books, abuse of technology, and piracy as issues that must be urgently addressed.
He said people must be intentional and disciplined when adopting books for self-development.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Moses Solanke
