Poor reading culture reflecting on quality of national discourse, says Uba Sani

Uba Sani, governor of Kaduna, says the dying culture of reading among Nigerians is manifesting in the quality of national discourse.

Sani spoke in Abuja on Saturday at the unveiling of  CreaTent, a creative hub, and ‘Books of Aphorisms’, authored by Bello Mohammed.

Sani, represented by Bello Ayuba, his principal secretary, blamed the limited informed analysis from Nigerians on a dying reading culture.

“Writers, young and old, should double up on their efforts to ginger the nation into reviving our reading culture, whose side effect is sadly manifest in the absence of deep thinking and educated analysis that we often see in our national discourse and from the products of our higher institutions of learning,” the governor said.

“We in leadership positions at all levels must see this as a challenge. We must not hesitate to encourage efforts such as this in whatever way we can.

“That way, we would rejuvenate interest in learning in and out of the school system for the good of the society.”

Speaking to reporters, the author of ‘Books of Aphorisms’ doubled down on Sani’s remarks, emphasising the value of thinking.

“I’ve learned that a lot of people do not even realise that the brain is an organ that has a function. And I think that’s not just a huge mistake; that’s also a disservice to oneself and humanity,” Mohammed said.

The author, a mentee of Wole Soyinka, the Nobel laureate, said the inspiration for the book is to encourage individuals to find philosophical motivations within themselves and channel them into action.

The ‘Books of Aphorisms’ has been adopted by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) for use in public schools.