JOE EFFIONG, UYO
Then founder of Uyo Book Club that anchored the Guinness World Record-breaking Readamania, Dr Udeme Nnanna, has advocated an urgent return to culture on reading in Nigeria in ord4r to improve the intellectual content of the society.
Dr Nnanna who was the chief programme director of the reading marathon which Mr John Obot successfully completed 145 hours of read-aloud contest, explained that a society that neglects reading is digging its intellectual grave as a lot of its socio-p0litical and economic endeavours would be shallowly treated,
“Let me say this to you; last year, the national assembly passed a very important bill; a bill that had to do with their own elections, but they did not read it. That shows that the culture of reading has declined. That decline permeates several layers of the society.
“I have told people; if you don’t read you cannot write well. The greatest writers in this world are avid readers. People no longer read; they lack attention span. They are in a hurry to take decisions without thinking deeply and reflecting on their decisions. And that’s a function of lack of reading.
“We’re now focusing so much on beer parlours; sit-outs where we just go and relax and make merry and forget about our sorrows. So I saw a need; a gap to try to bring about counter culture and get our people to embrace books again.
So I started a book club with a small number of young people in my house until we had a role model in the person of Ray Ekpu that wanted to visit us. That is how we approached Watbridge Hotel and Suites, whose advisor, Sen Ekong Sampson, is our patron, and he partners with us.
“So basically, the objective of Uyo Book Club is to reawaken the culture of reading among our people.”
Nnanna praised Watbridge Hotel that hosted the Readamania free of charge, as a hospitality outfit with a difference, and perhaps the only hotel in the country with a library where guests can go and read where there is such a need.
“You can see the level of support to the Uyo Book Club as displayed by the advisor of Watbrigde Hotel, Sen Ekong Sampson; maybe, because he is a well schooled person. He is a rare breed. He is a rare Akwa Ibom person, a rare Akwa Ibom politician; a rare public servant.
“His love for books and intellectualism is unparalleled. You cannot compare him to any politician in this state. He stands alone in his honour because of the kind of things he supports; maybe because he is an author who has written several books.”
He also praised GWR setter, Mr John Obot, who father, John Obon senior died when Nnanna was the chief press secretary to former Governor Victor Attah, for his sagacity to successfully create a new record in the Readamania.
“I’m very excited that our boy was able to accomplish that fit. It shows the power of vision. The shows the immense power of determination. and it’s a reflection of the can-do spirit of a typical Akwa Ibom person.
“Hilda Bassey did it and here we are. John Obot has done it. He stretched himself physically; he stretched himself mentally; he stretched all aspects of his human dimensions to be able to exceed the limits and accomplish the task which he set for himself.
“Members of Uyo Book Club are very proud of him and I know that what he has accomplish will motivate other members the Uyo Book Club, and other youths and serve as a spring in the steps of anybody who wants to achieve an objective, no matter how daunting that objective is.” Dr Nnanna asserted.