PASSION is in-built, and that is why Abimbola Olajide, though a dentist, has fallen in love with with the world of books.
Born 35 years ago in the Oyo town, but had her early education in Ibadan, before proceeding to the University of Lagos where she bagged a degree in dental surgery in 2001.
While the passion for dentistry still remains in her, her love for books is already taking much of her time; as it is now, she is the Chief Executive Officer of Book Affairs, a concern dealing mainly, as the name suggests, with books.
Dr Olajide says as a young child, she always had a passion for books, and most of the time, she was either always reading or writing. She always had a note pad around and was always scribbling down something; she wrote down her thoughts, wrote articles on topical issues, faith issues and whatever came across her mind.
This love for reading and writing is what has today given birth to Book Affairs. In her words, “reading and writing go together.”
Today, this is the passion which she wants to pass on to the younger generation. She says she wants to make books accessible to people at affordable rates.
According to her, :”I have always loved the printed word; even while in dental training, when we had to rely on a lot of online journals, I would rather go for the printed copies.”
She says that a lot of people still want to read but in the battle for priorities is hindering them. This is the vacuum which Book Affairs seeks to fill by making books available and affordable.
She, however, admits that presently, the reading culture is poor, compared to what obtained in her days. In those days, she says, children took pleasure in reading and always wanted to read and exchange books, but nowadays, they prefer to watch TV, forgetting that reading is an art and involves putting the imagination to use. It is in her words, “imagination set in motion.”
According to Dr Olajide, today’s youths don’t want to do intellectual work and this, to a large extent, has led to the decadence in the society. There is too much concentration on recommended texts. People don’t bother to study encyclopaedias, or even read newspapers any longer.
In the pursuit of her passion, Dr Olajide says she is motivated by the need ignorance presents. She says she sees a lot of ignorance all over the place and is trying to rectify the situation by encouraging people to read .
According to her, a lot of information is derived by reading, and I am always impressed by people who have open-minded, analytical minds.
In her line of business, Dr Olajide says she encounters some challenges, but efforts are on towards solving them, particularly the problem of funding.
However, on the long term, Dr Olajide is also thinking of setting up a reading society, with the aim of capturing people with a passion for reading.
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