National library wants FG to empower public schools

Olaleye Aluko, Abuja

The National Library of Nigeria has urged the Federal Government to empower primary and secondary schools in the country by building libraries for them.

The National Librarian and Chief Executive Officer of the National Library, Prof. Lenrie Aina, said this at a briefing in Abuja, adding that many pupils had lost the reading culture.

The briefing was held to announce a readership campaign across 23 states, which will hold at the National Library branches.

Aina noted that 10 state governments had yet to give their lands to build the national library branches, adding that finance was another challenge to the library.

He said, “The situation in Nigeria is such that most people are still confined to oral tradition. Most of the children do not have books of their own. Most schools, both primary and secondary, do not have libraries, and most Nigerians read only when they have assignments from school or offices.

“The problem we have in this country is that we know what is good, but the problem is usually at the implementation stage.”

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