March 7 Lagos Book Walk 2024 gets a boost as reading groups sign up

By Editor

AS the 2024 annual edition of Lagos Book Walk established by the Network of Book Clubs and Reading Culture Promoters in Nigeria (NBRP) is gathering momentum, many influencial books and reading groups have signed up to join the campaign designed to create more awareness for books and literacy. The Lagos Book Walk (#NBRPLagosBookWalk) is scheduled for Thursday, March 7, 2024 and will start at Falomo Roundabout through Awolowo Road, Ikoyi and end at Freedom Park, 2 Hospital Road, Lagos Island, where a series of book and entertainment activities will take place to bring what is being planned as a memorable day to a close.

Book organisations that have signalled intention to join the walk include the UN SDGs Book Clubs African Chapter, Lantern Books, AIFA Reading Society, Borders Literature for all Nations, ZODML Library and Alogba Community Library, Ikorodu. Other partner bodies include Lagos Book and Art Festival (LABAF), Nigeria Book Fair Trust (organisers of Nigeria International Book Fair), Booksellers Association of Nigeria (BAN), Nigeria Publishers Association (NPA) and a host of other book-related organisations.

The Network of Book Clubs had earlier outlined its strong and impactful package of activities for 2024, according to a statement from it’s spokesman, Mr Anote Ajeluorou, that included its members-only ‘Meet and Greet’ session in January and the network’s 4th anniversary celebration of the founding of NBRP that was held virtually on February 7, 2024. The second edition of Lagos Book Walk (#NBRPLagosBookWalk) is the network’s third activity for the year, and it attracts all booklovers from various strata of Lagos society, who yearn for the return to the book as Nigeria’s favourite pastime.

Faces at the Lagos Book Walk 2023 in Ikeja

The flyer for NBRPLagosBookWalk lays out the reasons ‘WHY WE ARE WALKING’ to indicate that “Just as a book, with all the wealth and enchantment it contains, can be carried everywhere, so also can the culture of reading sprout anywhere. All it needs is a mind that is hungry to be educated, enlightened, and transformed! The Network of Book Clubs and Reading Culture Promoters in Nigeria (NBRP) is a coming-together of individuals and groups motivated, not just by the magic of the written word and the power of language, but also to share this with others in our society. This is why we are walking.

“We are walking to spread awareness. We are walking to illuminate the dark corners of our collective psyche. We are walking to challenge the culture of aliteracy that is corroding our land and lowering our visions and sights. And, yes, we are also walking to stir our innate drive to keep on pushing for excellence and success; that thing that makes us want to fly beyond the bounds of our circumstances into the realms of fresh possibilities.

“We are walking for the book because, in books we see the incredible, and it gives us the courage to attempt the impossible. That’s why we are walking.”

The Lagos Book Walk (#NBRPLagosBookWalk) is an annual advocacy event convened by NBRP and partners in the book ecosystem to loudly boost the reading culture. It is physical and virtual and the physical event takes place at pre-designated locations in Lagos State. The first episode took place in Ikeja on April 27, 2023 and the 2024 edition will hold at Ikoyi and Lagos Island. The 2025 and 2026 editions are already billed to be hosted in Ikorodu and Badagry.

The next activity of the book clubs’ network is the flag off of Yenagoa’s tenure as the Nigerian National Book Clubs City from April 23, 2024. Yenagoa would be taking up the baton from Lagos which had itself succeeded Uyo in that role. Other activities listed in the calendar for the year 2024 include participation at the Nigerian International Book Fair in May and Lagos Book and Arts Festival in November. There is also the annual crown jewel event of the association, namely the Annual General Meeting and National Conference on Reading which would hold this year in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State in September.

NBRP was established in February, 2020. It is an amalgam of book clubs and reading culture promotions organisations from all over Nigeria. It, and its affiliate members, carry out reading promotions activities all over the country, all year long.

NBRP can be assessed at www.nbrp.org.ng/info@nbrp.org.ng/@NetworkPromote