Bukola Ladoja’s RASDA takes reading advocacy to Oyo school

IN continuation of her efforts to ensure that school children embrace the reading culture, Chief (Mrs) Bukola Ladoja, wife of a former Oyo State governor, Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, has taken her crusade to the People’s Girls Grammar School, Molete, Ibadan.

Chief (Mrs) Ladoja, who is the president of Reading Awareness Society for Development (RASDA), has been on the forefront of championing the reading culture, especially among students over the years.

It was in recognition of her efforts at promoting the reading culture that the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), few months ago, made her its ambassador.

At the People’s Girls Grammar School last week, Chief (Mrs) Ladoja, who is also an author of 18 books, first thanked the school’s old students’ association, particularly Mrs Jokotade Agbatiogun, who facilitated the programme.

Chief (Mrs) Ladoja then reeled out the benefits of reading to students, just as she added that reading story books is different from reading curriculum books, as story books are read to develop the mind and one’s horizon, while curriculum books are read to pass.

She said in today’s world, there are just so many distractions which take the student away from reading for leisure, adding that it was God who ministered to her to embark on the project.

She charged the students to develop themselves through reading, saying it is only through that that they would be able to master the art of language, as well as ‘visit’ places through their imaginations.

She said, “I want to encourage you to embrace the reading culture; it is good to read the curriculum books, but those are for you to pass your subjects. However, apart from your curriculum books, you must also imbibe the culture of reading story books, magazines, newspapers, among others.

“This will broaden your mind and sharpen your brain; reading will also make you to become fluent as you will learn the structures and uses of the English language, and with this, you can stand before anybody and talk.

“I want to tell you that success in the future has nothing to do with whether you attended public or private school, but what you can develop yourself with, and reading is one of the ways to develop your thinking and communication skills, which are highly important in the digital age that we are now.”

The RASDA president then charged the students to make going to the library a habit, “and read story books, even if it is just for one hour every day.

“Change is definitely hard to embrace, but when you do this every day, it will become part of you.”

Mrs Ladoja encouraged the school authorities to also start providing newspapers for the library, as it would help the students know about current affairs.

She then donated N10,000 for the school to start buying two newspapers every day for the library for the benefit of the students, just as she urged members of the old students’ association to take it up after the N10,000 is exhausted.

Mrs Ladoja also donated some books to the school library and instituted an award in which the best reader would be given an award at the end of each term.

She said modalities would be worked out on how to determine the best reader and the awards they would get.

Earlier, an author and surgeon who was also at the event, Dr (Mrs) Modupe Oyetade, told the students that before she physically visited London, she had been to the city in her imaginations through reading books that described London.

“In fact, when I finally visited London, it didn’t seem I was there for the first time because I had been ‘going’ there through my encounters with the city through books.

“I had also ‘visited’ several other countries through books, and that tells you how important reading is.

“I, therefore, want to encourage you to read a book at least once a week, as a reader will always be a leader.”

While also speaking, a member of the school’s old students’ association, Mrs Agbatiogun, said she decided to invite Mrs Ladoja to speak to the students when she had a chance encounter with her when she was speaking about the reading culture.

Mrs Agbatiogun, a director in the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), said she was really impressed with the manner by which Mrs Ladoja made her presentations to the students, adding that many of them immediately made up their minds to embrace the reading culture.

The principal of the school, Mrs Funmilayo Kolade, in her remarks, thanked Mrs Ladoja for support to the school.

Also at the event were a director at the Oyo State Ministry of Education, Alhaji Bola Ibrahim; a publisher, author and lecturer at the University of Ibadan, Dr Osarobu Igudia; another old student of the school, Mrs Adetunmbi Igun; Principal Assistant Registrar, University of Ibadan, Dr (Mrs) Adejoke Akinpelu, among others.

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