Join ITF To Stimulate Reading Culture, Varsity Don Urges Nigerians

A Professor of Library and Information Science from the University of Jos, Prof. Vicki Lawal has lauded the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) for cultivating reading culture among Nigerians especially its workforce and neighboring communities through its Library Week celebration.

Prof. Lawal, who is also a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa, made this known during the Fund’s 16th Library Week celebration with the theme: “The Dialectics of Knowledge Management in a Globalized Age.”

The Don, who lamented the poor reading culture amongst Nigerian students, commended the ITF for organizing and consistently sustaining its library week for the past 16 years, while also giving out gifts as motivation for staff and users to cultivate a reading culture.

“In the University today, we are struggling to encourage our students, who are constantly on social media to cultivate a reading culture, I think we should borrow a leaf from the ITF to incentivize reading for our students to come to the library to read,” she said.

She noted that there was the urgent need for Organisations to establish knowledge management systems to remain relevant especially in a highly globalized age.

“Organizations are supposed to work towards harnessing their tacit and explicit knowledge for the purpose of remaining relevant, competitive and progressive in terms of their activities within an organization like the ITF.

“Knowledge management is very important. We are growing to a level of technology where information sources are increasing and it requires that we are up to date by harnessing most of the information that we have available especially for organizations.

“It is important that organisations have a knowledge management policy, which means that they will need to work towards implementing all those policies to ensure that they move forward or remain globally competitive,” she said.

In his address, the Director- General of the ITF, Sir Joseph N. Ari, noted that the ITF Library Week was a week-long event organised by the Fund to cultivate reading culture among Nigerians and to celebrate the invaluable role that libraries, librarians and library workers play in the lives of individuals and organisations.

The DG, who was represented by the Director of Field Services Department, Mrs Adetola Aje, emphasized the importance of Libraries and commended the Research and Curriculum Development Department (R&CDD) for organizing the Library Week.

He called on staff to embrace a culture of curiosity, adaptability, and continuous improvement by being open to new ideas, show the willingness to unlearn and relearn, and be committed to staying ahead of the curve.

“As we navigate the complexities of a globalized world, let us remember that knowledge management is not just a technical process or a set of tools. It is a mindset, a philosophy, and a strategic imperative. It is about harnessing the collective intelligence of diverse individuals and communities, leveraging technology to connect and collaborate, and creating an ecosystem that fosters innovation, growth, and development, he added.

In his address, the Director, Research and Curriculum Development Department, Mr. Farouk Wase, said that the Fund consistently organised the week because ITF was a citadel of learning.

“We are in the business of human capital development and capacity building and we cannot drive this without knowledge background. And the library week is one of the focal points we try to reiterate the need for people to try to harness their knowledge assets.

“We do it annually for people to be able to revamp their reading habits, reading attitudes and also to have access to new books and publications which we have been able to accumulate annually,” he added.