By Ijeoma Ndubisi
Abuja – Mr Jerry Adesewo, the Artistic Director, Arojah Royal Theatre on Thursday called for political will to get Nigerians literate for “even national development’’.
Adesewo made the call in Abuja during an interactive session on “The Role of Drama, Theatre in Literacy Development”, which was organised in collaboration with the Creative Arts and Visual Imagery Centre.
The interactive session was in commemoration of this year’s International Day of Literacy with the theme; “Reading the Past, Creating the Future”.
“We have many policies, rules, and regulations that government as the enforcer lacks the political will to make happen.
“If we lack that political will, we cannot achieve anything as a nation.
“Literacy is not about speaking English, it is all about acquiring knowledge and channeling it in the right direction.
“The government is still the primary force to make policies implemented, but we are deep neck in policy summersault.”
Adesewo said that policies were always made incessantly in the country without full realisation of previous ones made.
He observed that the educational system was in total disarray and required a focused government to fix it.
According to him, the government needs to be focused on every sector in the country to salvage it from its challenges.
Mrs Angela Okpara, the Principal Librarian, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), said that most of the challenges being faced by the country both at individual and national level could be changed when the citizens were literate.
Okpara said that it was possible for the country to attain a great level of literacy if much attention was paid on education and acquiring knowledge.
“If we continue to pay lip service to education in Nigeria, we cannot achieve literacy.
“We know it might not be possible for the country to achieve 100 per cent literacy level, but it can be done to a considerable extent.
“When literacy is employed in our governance, it can alleviate poverty because majority of the problems in the country emanated from poverty and improper education,” she said.
She observed that education at some point was made compulsory at the primary level in states, adding that it could be extended to Junior Secondary School level.
Okpara said that education was meant to liberate the mind as it was a core asset in eliminating illiteracy.
Mr Patrick Otoro, the Chief Executive Officer, Eaglesview Arts Production Limited said literacy was the core cardinal for development.
Otoro said “Literacy is acquiring knowledge which is supreme’’.
“We need to be literate to fit into the ever changing global community.
“If one is not literate, you cannot acquire knowledge and when there is no knowledge, death is inevitable,” Otoro said.
Otoro blamed the woes being faced by the country on lack of insight and illiteracy.
He also said that much emphasis had been made on the diversification of income revenue generation for the country but yielded little or no results.
According to him, arts and tourism industry can generate lots of foreign exchange for the country, but regretted that less attention is being paid on the sector.
The officer noted that it was important individuals made deliberate effort to acquire knowledge.
He, however, said that it was time the general public and the government began to shift paradigm from personal interests hence, contributing to national development.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the day also marked the 50th anniversary of International Literacy Day. (NAN)