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Even before Distinguished Senator Frank Ibezim made his grand entry into the Red Chamber of the National Assembly after a hard fought battle to represent Imo North in the Ninth Senate, uppermost in his mind was how to restore the glory of the nation’s dwindling educational sector. To him, getting schoolchildren to begin reading again is a veritable key to achieving this.
Noticeably, many schoolchildren, even adults, had lost it when it comes to reading, whether as a habit or for fun. For quite a great number of them, reading, if at all, has become insipid. You hardly see any child engaged in reading, as it was in those good old, beautiful years.
Today, students are content browsing the Internet, seeking myriads of dissonant social media, unrewarding entertainment and gossip. To worsen matters, some corporate bodies have resorted to sponsoring programmes that divert the focus of children from their books. Strangely, some parents are complicit, as they recline alongside their children to waste time that could be productively used for reading to watch such puerile episodes, and even encourage them to enroll into the distasteful endeavour; that is if they are not enticed to be participants themselves.
Well, it seems all that will soon be in the past if Senator Ibezim succeeds in his quest to make our children fall in love with their books via his pet Classroom Library Project.
Like already stated, the senator started this before arriving at the senate. It is not surprising, therefore, that he has become more resolute to ensure that the needful is done until the classroom library is adopted by every school across the nooks and crannies of the country.
The Classroom Library Project is simply designed to revive the reading culture among Nigerian schoolchildren, renovate existing classrooms and train the teachers on how to interface with their pupils for maximum effect.
Ibezim rolled off the project at the most appropriate time, when virtually everything seems wrong with Nigeria’s educational system, as evidenced in the namby-pamby quality of its products, who are mostly nothing to write home about.
Ibezim rightly believes that the problem is foundational. Even the Holy Book tells us that there is nothing the righteous can do if the foundation is faulty. That is why the distinguished senator has identified education at the basic level, as the major thrust of his campaign to correct the ills in the system.
Our children don’t visit the libraries anymore. They would rather waste their time on social media platforms than go to the libraries to enlighten their minds. In any case, those who may wish to do so have no libraries to go to. Like almost every valuable thing in this country, the library system is decrepit and in a coma. It is seldom you see any school these days, even the universities, that has a library facility that is worth the name as it used to be.
Incidentally, apart from being the vice chairman of industries committee of the senate, Ibezim is also a member of the Senate Committee on Basic Education and strongly believes that instead of the grandiose school libraries with empty shelves, classroom libraries are the panacea.
So, the distinguished Senator, struck an understanding partnership with the two prodigiously endowed Okocha sisters, Renee and Zara, and their ‘I Am the Future of Nigeria Youth Initiative’, IFON’, a youth-centred non-governmental organisation, which is devoted to reorienting and repositioning the youth of Nigeria for greater achievements.
The two young ladies, aged 17 and 22 years, respectively, have written and illustrated over 45 books aimed at pupils in primary schools across Nigeria. These books are part of the Classroom Library Project, which has been approved by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council and distributed by the Universal Basic Education Commission. The project has also received the support of the Federal Ministry of Education.
Incidentally, the youngsters are the daughters of Nigeria’s former footballer, Emma Okocha. Their uncle, the legendary Austin JayJay Okocha, and cousin, Alex Iwobi, are also household names because of their footballing prowess. They have fully endorsed the project and done video skits to that effect.
However, the project is not about the Okocha family. Ibezim has taken his push for support for the cause of basic education through the promotion of the classroom library shelves to the leadership of the Senate. These visits were made to the Senate President, Senator Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan; the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Abdullahi Yahaya.
This came on the heels of an earlier visit to the Chief Whip of the Senate, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu. They all endorsed the project and pledged maximum support, promising to take the message to appropriate quarters.
For instance, the senate president lauded the Okocha sisters and acknowledged receiving the classroom library shelf, with the books written by the duo.
“I commend the young authors for their scholarly strides, as the project and their gesture is an initiative that is coming at the appropriate time.
“I offer my full support for the project especially in ensuring that I extend awareness of it to my brother and sister Senators as well as members of the House of Representatives,” he said.
Dr. Yahaya Abdullahi reiterated the Ninth National Assembly’s commitment to supporting the executive arm of government in improving the standard of education in Nigeria.
Whilst commending the scholarly accomplishments of the Okocha sisters, Abdullahi also promised to support the project by raising more awareness and bringing this good initiative to his colleagues both in the Senate and House of Representatives.
Senator Uzor Kalu also thumped up the project and threw his weight behind it, promising to give it all necessary support till it becomes a nationwide reality.
Indeed, this project deserves the support and encouragement of every right thinking Nigerian and corporate bodies for obvious reasons. Ibezim set the ball rolling at the launch of the project by donating books and shelves worth millions of naira to set up the classroom libraries in five schools in each of the two federal constituencies of Imo North, making a total of 10 libraries in all. He also made similar donations in Abuja.
Also, the young Okocha sisters distributed 30 units each of the classroom library shel to all 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.
According to Ibezim, the government cannot do everything. It is imperative, therefore, that captains of industries, corporate organisations, philanthropic and kind-hearted Nigerians key into this laudable project by ensuring that almost every school in this country has their own classroom libraries.
In fact, Ibezim had explained during the launch of the project when he addressed officials of Imo State Universal Basic Education Board, IMSUBEB, that the idea is to get the cooperation of well-placed Nigerians to set up libraries that would be named after them in schools of their choice. He had added that structures had been put in place to enable him assess the progress of the programme on a tri-monthly basis.
As we all know, knowledge is unfailing and so, people should gravitate to be where knowledge is. The best repository of knowledge, especially for schoolchildren, is the library. This is more so in this age where the cost of books has hit the roof, far beyond reach of the parents.
Unlike school libraries, the classroom library is compact, cheaper and easier to access. It is a learning bank for pupils within the confines of their classroom and there are even no difficulties in the choice of books because all are appropriately tailored to suit the needs of the different class levels of the pupils in a reading environment. Interestingly, the Classroom Library Project has brought books much closer to the pupils.
Our lawmakers can also support their colleague and buy into this and make it part of their constituency projects. Indeed, corporate bodies would also do better in promoting worthy ventures such as the classroom Library Project instead of encouraging mentally stultifying and morally depraved adventures that have no bearing to the great future envisioned for our children except for vanishing fame and money.
That is why there is almost unanimity of opinion that the Classroom Library Project should be embraced by all and sundry in order to contribute to the cause of advancing scholarship among Nigerian schoolchildren.
