By Patrick Titus, Uyo
The Akwa Ibom State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Barr. Obo Efanga has applauded the initiative of Dr. Udeme Nana in establishing Uyo Book Club, meant to encourage the reading culture in Nigeria.
Efanga, who was a Special Guest during the January 2026 maiden reading session at Uyo Book Club, said the wonders of reading books make people to concentrate and remain focused in their life endeavours.
“Reading should be cultivated as a virtue because it enables people to concentrate and remain focused in life.”
He also noted that voters who made informed choices during elections are readers.
The Election Administrator, who has some published books to his credit, donated some of his published works to the Book Club saying that he enjoyed his membership of the Book Club and described that the discussion in the Whatsapp Group of the CLUB as cerebral and robust.
Setting the tone for January 2026 maiden reading session, the Founder of Uyo Book Club, Dr Udeme Nana observed that lack of reading culture was the cause of reduction in deep thinking and shortfall of critical reasoning prevalent in the society .
Nana also noted the decline in the reading culture among Nigerians, adding that the present society has abandoned the reading habit for the pleasures of scrolling, texting, skimming through which do not make for reflection.
The Mass Communication scholar further observed that the society has lost the value of deep reading which according to him helps to reshape he mind.
“it seems that we are in a society where the habit of reading is waning.
“Nigerians seem to be losing the habit of deep reading which helps to reshape the mind.”
Nana who was recently credited by Goggle for coinage of the word “Digidiots” to describe people averse to using information technology gadgets or using them unethically pointed out that a large population readers is the best for democracy as reading enables people to understand issues better
“Reading enables people to understand arguments, reflect on competing claims and platforms and reason about the alternatives.
“When reading habit declines in the society, the capacity for rational engagements reduces and people are no longer moved by ideas but by empty slogans and resort to religion, ethnicity and vote selling”.
He reiterated the mission of Uyo Book Club initiative to change the bad narrative of poor reading culture for good in Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria.
Nana, in his review of the Uyo Book Club Book of of the month – The Alchemist – written by Paulo Coelho, regretted that the reading culture in the society has gone low adding that the book club was set up to revive reading habit of the people.
“Uyo Book Club is in its 11th year. We set up the Book Club because we noticed that the reading culture was going down .
“It is so unfortunate that we are in a society where reading culture is very low. Consequently, we have lost the habit of deep thinking and concentration .
“A large population of readers is the best for democracy. We are in a society where slogans have replaced reasoning. Reading should be taken as a civic duty by citizens.
Nana recalled a situation in the National Assembly where an Electoral Bill was passed passed into Law without the Lawmakers reading it. That really showed where we are as a people. “Let’s spread the message of reading”, he urged.
“Bringing back the culture of reading is a task Uyo Book Club has set for itself,” Dr. Nana posited.
He inducted the Akwa Ibom state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Barr Obo Effanga into Uyo Book Club and challenged him to establish a Book Club in the Akwa Ibom State Independent Electoral Commission Headquarters in Uyo.
