Literacy Rate On The Rise, Reading Rate On The Decline
( REVISITED )
By Paul Chika Emekwulu
You will agree with me that today in our society while the literacy rate is on the rise, the reading rate is on the decline. What have you read recently? What are you currently reading? What are you preparing to read?. What have your children read recently? What are they currently reading? What are they preparing to read? Repeat these questions for everyone in the family. Are you impressed? If you are not impressed it becomes an ugly state of affairs.
Look at those affected by this ugly state of affairs.
Book publishers are affected, libraries are affected, families are affected, the schools are affected, everybody is affected, and then the society is affected.
Therefore, let’s talk about it, because by talking about it we can get back African Writers series by Heineman Publishers ( Idu by Flora Nwapa, The Only Son by John Munonye, One Man One Matchet by T.M. Aluko, Efuru by Flora Nwapa etc.), let’s talk about it because by talking about it we can get back Pacesetters series ( The Smugglers by Kalu Okpi, Naira Power by Buchi Emecheta, You Never Know by Helen Obviagele etc.) by Macmillan Publishers.
We can’t keep quiet anymore! By keeping quiet we are not a part of the solution but a part of the problem. It was Albert Einstein, the German-American scientist who said that the world is dangerous to live in not because of those who do evil but because of those who do nothing about evil. Let’s act for it is time for action. That is one way we can all be of help in reducing evil which is one of the forces controlling the world we live in. We already have more evil in the world than good (Psalm 52 verse 3). We can only do what is possible and what is possible?
Let’s see what is possible by first imagining a beam balance with a pivot not at the center but in such a way that we have more room on the left (evil) (Psalm 52:3) and less room on the right (good). Now what is possible is shifting the pivot towards the left as an effort to narrow the gap between good and evil. We can narrow this gap by building libraries (first time) and more libraries, we can narrow this gap by donating books to libraries, we can narrow this gap by being advocates of library programs in our various community libraries, we can narrow this gap by donating our free time in teaching classes and so on. These are just examples.
I will end with this quote by Chief Obafemi Awolowo. “Any people that is starved with books, especially the right type of books will suffer intellectual malnutrition, stagnation and atrophy.”
