From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
Worried about the declining reading culture among young adults, especially in secondary schools where the students now only read for the purposes of passing their examinations, a non-governmental organisation, PAMTECH Foundation, recently organised a reading competition for secondary schools in the Imo State as a way of reviving the dying culture of reading books and initiating them into reading books to aid their self-development.
Speaking at the event tagged, “Decade defined for adolescents,” founder of PAMTECH Foundation, Engr. Chidomere Ndubuisi, told a true-life story of a young lad who entered the university without anything but made one million naira before graduation.
He said: “This was conceivable because the young chap exposed his brain to knowledge, understanding that to succeed, one needs to examine what he knows.
“With the help of a single book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, this boy’s life was rewritten. And one of the most extraordinary actions he took was to sell off all liabilities in his possession to buy the very asset that made him begin his journey into being a billionaire, a personal computer.
“Now, he has determined that he will not become a billionaire alone, that through reading these life-changing books, a decade will be defined, thus the birth of DAD4Adolescents.”
Ndubuisi further admonished the studentst: “Books should be your best friends. Everything needed for a better successful future is found in books. The treasures of humanity are hidden in good books. Until you open that book, knowledge will be hidden from you.”
He pointed out that an adolescent that consistently reads self-development books and feeds his mind with creative imagination is royalty in the making.
“Self-education is true education that gives your life meaning. Fifteen minutes of daily reading is to utilize one percent of your day that will yield dividends for you to become the one percent top in your industry in the next 10 years. The difference between you now and the person you will be in the next 10 years is determined by what you read and a deliberate network of valuable people. Self-education is a highway to bringing our imaginations to reality; anything you do not know, you can learn,” he said.
Contestants for the reading competition read an excerpt titled, Not just now, right now, are: Emeli Ezekiel Ayodele from Government Secondary School, Owerri; Anyanwu Wisdom from Development Secondary School, Owerri; Umelo Anulika from Owerri Girls Secondary School, Owerri; Ibekwe Victoria from Anatta Secondary School, Owerri; Udoka Mac-Anthony from Holy Ghost College, Owerri and Ike Venessa from Ikenegbu Girls Secondary School.
The contestants, after the reading competition, were scored based on their diction, correct pronunciation of words, per-audience eye contact and understanding of the piece.
At the end of the competition three finalists chosen by the judges: Emeli Ezekiel Ayodele from Government Secondary School, Owerri scored 63℅; Udoka Mac-Anthony from Holy Ghost College, Owerri, scored 84% and Umelo Anulika from Owerri Girls Secondary School scored 86% to emerge winner of the competition.
There was also a spelling competition. At the end of the event, the winner went home with a total cash prize of N80,000, and the Spelling Bee winner went home with N150,000 cash prize.
The represented schools were given a shelf of fully loaded personal development books so that students could easily access books that could change their lives. Awards of recognition were given to Mr. Hector Ikenna and Mr. Ajah Excel.
The organisers encouraged the students to be familiar with their spellings and to ensure that they add an additional 10-20 words per day to their word gallery.