Lagos- The Librarian, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Dr Ukoha Igwe, on Saturday called on librarians in schools across the country to step up efforts in sustaining school libraries.
Ukoha made the call at the close of the week long Nigeria International Book Fair, held in Lagos.
According to him, the libraries remain the power house of knowledge, adding that without them, there will be no innovation.
He said that librarians must be able to develop their capacities to improve on library services.
The NOUN librarian said that for librarians to remain relevant, they must ensure that they trained and retrained, to be at par with new technologies and other developing trends.
Ukoha said that libraries should be torchbearers that must constantly provide light for people to come out of darkness.
He said that the failure of libraries to provide light for people would promote conflicts among the young people in the society.
“The only difference we can make as librarians is on capacity building. Universities in developed world for instance, provide access to people online in various courses through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC).
“We must also strive to remain relevant in this side of the divide, by developing our capacity to create the much needed impact in our society.
“It is also imperative to look at ways of empowering every Nigerian child.
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“Today’s youth are the present and future of not only Nigeria but Africa, as a continent.
“They must be equipped meaningfully, for them to be able to impact on themselves, the community and the society in general,” Ukoha said.
He said that failure to equip today’s youth with the much needed information would amount to bleak future, as they remain the powerhouse of every nation.
The NOUN official said that more than 50 per cent of African youths were illiterates, adding that such development was responsible for the various societal ills plaguing the continent.
“It is simply because these youths are not equipped with fundamental knowledge, that we are recording a high level of violence in most countries in Africa.
“They need empowerment to replace an empty mind with a busy one.
“All the societal ills are targeted at the youths, including HIV and AIDS, and can only be stemmed if they are given opportunity of information,” Ukoha said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the book fair, which opened on May 11, ended on May 16, with over 300 local and foreign exhibitors in attendance. (NAN)