When book lovers converged on Festac Town for 4th Lagos Book Walk
By Editor
IT was a triumph of vision, love, dedication and sacrifice, Thursday, as members of the Network of Book Clubs and Reading Culture Promoters in Nigeria (NBRP), Lagos State Chapter and their partners from within the book ecosystem hosted the 4th Lagos Book Walk at the Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State. The event which featured over 200 participants began with a 1.5km walk between the Festac Town entrance and the Amuwo Odofin Local Government headquarters complex where book lovers and participating schools drawn from across the state and beyond engaged in various reading promotions exercises.
Partner organisations and institutions that collaborated with NBRP in hosting the event included the Nigerian Library Association, Committee for Relevant Art, Laterna Ventures, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area and the Lagos State Library Board.
Speaking during the event, NBRP National President, Prof. Oyinkan Chukuka Tasie, reminded participating students that, given the fact that as much as 20 million children in Nigeria were out of school, it was incumbent on them to take every advantage of the opportunity they had to be learners and strive to excel in life. He also pointed them to the link between reading and success, affirming that some of the richest and most influential people in the world were those who were well educated and who also had good reading habits.
On her part, the representative of the Chairman of Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area, who had herself participated in the walk alongside other book enthusiasts, urged participants to take full advantage of the opportunity provided by the event as in her view, it promised to be most meaningful and impactful.
Other addresses and goodwill messages at the session included those from Lagos State NBRP Coordinator, Mrs. Ronke K-Esseka, NLA Lagos State Chapter Chair, Hajia Aisha Baba and the representative of the Director, Lagos State Library Board.
Individual and school presentations centred on promoting the reading culture and the distribution of book souvenirs by authors and publishers to participants was also part of the fare.
A decision is yet to be taken on which local government area would host the 5th edition of Lagos Book Walk which has presently been scheduled for March, 2027.
