The National Library of Nigeria (NLN) has called on stakeholders in the book ecosystem to continue encouraging the culture of reading to promote sustainable national development.
Prof. Chinwe Anunobi, the Chief Executive Officer of NLN, made the call at the formal presentation of the 2025 Abuja Book City Logo in Abuja on Tuesday.
The 2025 Abuja Book City Logo is themed, ‘Reading, a Unifying Factor’.
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The event was organised by the Network of Book Clubs and Reading Culture Promoters in Nigeria (NBRP) in collaboration with the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), Association of Nigerian Authors, Nigerian Book Fair Trust, and others.
Anunobi said there was a need to strengthen awareness for literacy, noting that a literate nation is a developed nation.
“The selection of Abuja as a book city is an attestation to the commitment of stakeholders to the importance of reading.
“The event will elevate the importance of reading and position Abuja as a hub to amplify reading promotion mandate,” she said.
On his part, the Coordinator of the Abuja Chapter of NBRP, Chief Loye Olowookere, called on stakeholders in the book ecosystem to join hands with the network to achieve the core mandate of making more Nigerians read.
Olowookere said that following the establishment of the chapter, the network participated in the bid for the 2025 Book City.
He said the bid was successful, and they were pronounced as the Book City for 2025.
He explained that the unveiling of the logo was the formal take-off of the activities lined up for the 2025 Book City Project.
“This entails bringing sustained national focus to our work in the reading promotions space throughout the year under reference and hosting the Annual General Meeting and Conference of the NBRP in 2025,” he said.
He said the event would facilitate the establishment of book clubs in the six area councils of the FCT under the 774 book clubs project of the NBRP.
He, therefore, said the event, which would take place on Wednesday, 23 April 2025, would draw stakeholders from the education sector on ways to entrench reading culture among the Nigerian populace.
“Recognising that a project of this nature requires broad-based partnership and collaboration with institutions, organisations, and people of like minds in the book ecosystem, we have since secured the bid taken steps.
“The bid taken steps is to reach out to and involve as many collaborating agencies, organisations, and individuals as we could reach up to this point,” he said.
Also, the President of the Nigerian Library Association, Pastor Dominic Omokaro, commended the laudable achievement of NBRP for bidding and winning the book city for 2025.
Omokaro said the initiative would galvanise interest by locals as well as leadership in Nigeria in promoting reading culture. (NAN)
