A former Commissioner of Police in FCT, CP Emmanuel Ojukwu (Rtd) has said the dwindling reading culture in the country is partly linked to deficit in infrastructure across board.
According to Ojukwu, also a former spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force, knowledge development can only thrive when basic infrastructure are available and accessible to the citizens, calling for more investment in effective transportation system, steady power, construction and equipping of libraries across the country.
He spoke on Friday in Abuja at the official launch of two books, “Knocking Out” and “Varieties of Life” written by a lawyer, Barr. Charles Iwuchukwu.
The former police image maker underlined that reading exposes one to new knowledge and ideas, preparing them to contribute more impactfully towards solving societal problems.
“Elsewhere in the world, a man waiting at the bus stop or already travelling by bus is reading a book, when people are waiting for their flight or in the flight, they read.
“Knowledge is in books and the more you read, the more you know. Ideas rule the world. So one way we can encourage people to read in Nigeria is by improving our infrastructure, including transportation by making it more conducive. You can’t read a book when there are seven of you in a car meant for three, you can’t read a book on a motorcycle. You also need stable electricity to read”, he stated.
He also urged that the nation should be more knowledge-driven where leadership recruitment are carried out on the basis of ideas people have and not their ethnic or religious alignment. “We must grow this country on ideas. If you do that, people will be forced to read”, Ojukwu noted.
In his remarks, the author Barr. Iwuchukwu said he was inspired to write the books in order to help individuals passing through various life challenges to achieve victory.
Barr. Iwuchukwu a member of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) FCT Chapter highlighted that inability to discover purpose is directly linked to why challenges of life have seem endless to a lot of people.
“If you discover purpose, irrespective of where you find yourself, you will succeed. Whether a tailor, carpenter or whatever profession you belong to, God has deposited something in you, so you must discover His purpose for you”, he stated.
The four chapter “Knocking Out” highlights the need to imbibe Faith, Ability, Steadfastness and effective utilisation of Time which the author named FAST. He urged individuals passing through difficult times to deploy these tools which be said will assist them to knock out negativity with positivity.
The “Varieties of Life” he further noted lays emphasis on the multiple choices available for people to choose, encouraging young Nigerians to make right choices for greater outcome in their future endeavours.
Also speaking, the Zonal Pastor RCCG – Rose of Sharon Abuja, Akintunde Babadiya commended the author for the arduous task of embarking on a long period of research that culminated into the literary pieces.
While urging Nigerians to imbibe the culture of developing their knowledge through reading, he encouraged every individual passing through one challenge or the other to act FAST, as the author highlighted in his “Knocking Out” and witness a total turnaround.
