21st Century

By Alkasim Harisu

Thanks to the rapid growth of technology, the world witnesses an absolute change. Technology has afforded the world a one-in-a-million chance to communicate with people all around the globe. Distance, inarguably, can no longer hinder communication. The world, as Marshall McLuhan posits, has been reduced to a global village. Thus, the emergence of cellular phones has, doubtless, permitted people access to all parts of the world. 

Lump it or not, the phone, the above notwithstanding, is a curse in disguise. That is why it is described as a blessworthy and curseworthy thing, occupying the minds of the youth. The sudden spread of the phone has necessitated the proliferation of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, etc. What a breakthrough!

Those virtual platforms have become a commonplace occurrence. Everyone has their favourite social media handle and may be addicted to it or them. Some people own more than one handle. Honestly, chilling and relaxing constitute one of the biggest whys people can’t be less addicted to SM. This answers the question of the use or purpose of motivating the youth to join SM.

Day in, day out, people feel duty-bound to Facebook one another. On running out of data, many of us feel like nothing on earth. Some look like death warmed over. We toil to buy data to watch trivialities. Still, SM is, undoubtedly, a tool for knowledge. The Internet is today the most significant school, the most extensive library and the most learned and experienced teacher. There is virtual, nothing one can’t access, learn, or do on the Internet.

The SM platforms make athenaeums where everyone sells their ideas to the world. The political moguls, being attention-cravers, exploit the medium to attain a considerable following. The baddies, like the wind, sell and buy sex on the platforms. Evil-minded people, so also all forms of vulgarities, avail themselves of the opportunity to win popularity.  As smartphones overshadow all other forms of phones, phonephilia among the youth rapidly thickens.

The level our youth are addicted to phones defies any stress, no matter how obvious. Many youths can’t help surf the net or go online when ailing. I hope this addiction will not accompany them to old age. Instagramming to see ladies’ pictures is a notable reason some of us buy phones. As a result, when our phones do not tweet, Facebook or WhatsApp well, we, without a second thought, look for money to buy better phones. We can do all sorts of jobs to get enough to buy the phones.

Addiction to phones is continuously gaining momentum. I once got my phone faulty. At the moment, the coronavirus pandemic was hitting India hard. I felt an excruciating pain piercing my heart. I could not sleep the night without a phone. As a result, I borrowed a friend’s laptop to keep me company. It was a great difficulty for one to get out of the four walls of our university following the devastating, quick spread of the virus. Fortunately, there is a bank neighbouring it. Thus I used it to excuse my request to go out. Heading to the gatekeepers, I pretended to be going to the bank to correct a problem troubling my account. Instead, I hasted to a market at a nearby place called Gangrar. Having my phone fixed, I  intended a return to school. My return, unluckily, exposed me. Personnel keeping the gate saw me coming toward the school. My pleading a lot softened his heart. Thus, he forgave me. Had he not pardoned me, I would have received a two-week quarantine. 

It is a prodigious task for us to part ways with phones. It is a great difficulty, if not a sheer impossibility, to afford to remove ourselves from phones for two days, or even one, at the very least. I am at a loss for words to think of how to divorce our lives from these gadgets. Our addiction to phones has significantly deprived us of our immature reading culture. Students, nowadays, prefer watching videos on SM to reading. Our books gather dust because they don’t receive reading or talk of good care. Many of us hate to read even short write-ups on SM.

We, moreover, habitually don’t recite going-to-bed and waking-up prayers. It astounds me to see people, upon completing prayers, bring out their phones. They don’t care to say the rosary, not to talk of praying to Allah for guidance. About this, I have firsthand knowledge. Phones enjoy the youth market. The market, or proportion of the phone-buying youth, is overwhelming. Our societies now swarm with mollycoddles whose parents buy them sophisticated phones—consequently, the number of young people who abuse the phone trebles. 

The setbacks social media bring to us are too many to mention and discuss. We, nevertheless, can monitor it. In this connection, I recommend the following:

1. Parents should exercise their duty more carefully. They should not buy their children phones at tender ages. They should also know that proper parenthood does not mean buying their children their wants. Because coddling children is tantamount to spoiling them rotten.  

2. The government should also exercise all the options at its disposal to rid children of phone addiction. For instance, it can recruit good teachers in schools, legislate the age of phone possession and ban less important and vulgar SM handles.

3. Schools should frequently organise debates and quizzes to allow students to exercise their brains. They should also ban the usage of phones in a class by teachers. 

4. society should go to great lengths to watch how youngsters use phones and combat phone abuse by either seizing or reporting the concerned kids to their parents/guardians. More so, society should preach ethics and patience to the youth.

In conclusion, the youth are the leaders of tomorrow. Hence, we must do our best to police their phone usage. We must be extra vigilant about the friends they make at school and at home. Today, one can almost access all sorts of knowledge on social media. Instead of spending our data and time on trivial things, why shouldn’t we watch educative videos on YouTube or subscribe to other well-meaning pages on SM? Because, as a matter of fact, the Internet, believe it or not, is the largest school this epoch has seen.

Alkasim Hariru wrote from Kano. He can be reached via alkasabba10@gmail.com.

By Kabir Musa Ringim

As a graduate of Computer Engineering and holder of MSc Information Technology, I’m sceptical to write about this topic which is quite controversial, because of the divergent views by two opposing groups of people about it. I will explain this later.

The world is currently in the information age, also known as the computer age. Although it began in the mid-20th century, characterized by a shift from a traditional industry established by the Industrial Revolution to an economy primarily based upon Information Technology, the biggest challenge now is how robots have started taking over many jobs previously meant for humans.

While the innovation of technology has dramatically improved our day-to-day activities, it has also proven that we no longer need actual human beings to help with many of today’s jobs soon, thanks to robotics.

A robot is a machine programmable by a computer capable of carrying out complex actions automatically. According to the Britannica dictionary, a robot is any automatically operated machine that replaces human effort. However, it may not resemble human beings in appearance or perform functions in a humanlike manner. By extension, robotics is the engineering discipline dealing with robot design, construction, and operation.

As the definitions above show, robots are here to replace humans in workplaces, markets, the army, etc. Though robots are still under development, the history of robots has its origins in the ancient world. During the industrial revolution, humans developed the structural engineering capability to control electricity so machines could be powered with small motors.

Already, machines and robots have started replacing humans in many workplaces like banks, industries, markets, and media houses in Nigeria. For example, automated Teller Machines (ATMs) allow banks to employ few tellers, while the internet enables them to have few customer care representatives. Nowadays, you don’t need a hardworking secretary to type your work when you can easily dictate to a computer what you want to write and get it printed.

Office workers in public and private institutions have already started feeling the heat. A robot can do a job that 20 persons can handle in a week in a day. Governments now give less priority to office workers and more priority to the health and education sectors when it comes to employment and recruitment. But it is just a matter of time before this status quo changes because the education and health sectors will soon start experiencing the tsunami of job loss.

Soon, schools don’t have to recruit many teachers when a single tutor from anywhere in the world can teach thousands of students online and have their exams and tests marked by a computer program or robot.

Health institutions will soon require the services of a few health workers, medical doctors, and consultants since a patient can get a prescription for himself by talking to a robot or chatting with a consultant that renders online services. Also, robots can soon perform surgeries. 

Security outfits will face massive job loss with the development of robot police and soldiers. A robot will be stronger, more loyal, more reliable, and more accurate than humans, in addition to it being a machine, as such, emotionless and immortal. Moreover, one robot can fight thousands of humans on a war front. Drones are now more preferred than having an air force officer flying a warplane to enemy camps.

Media houses like TV and radio stations don’t need to employ OAPs, presenters, newscasters, and language translators in a few decades to come, because machines and computer programs can handle their jobs. Instead, news editors and program managers will simply work on program contents and news and upload them into a special computer program (robot) for presentation, translation, and subsequent casting on air.

Same case with employing sales girls and sales boys at retail stores, shops, and supermarkets. Who will go shopping when people can easily order what they want to buy online and get it delivered to their doorstep? Likewise, cleaners, houseboys, office messengers, cooks, and labourers will all cease to exist because of robots.

Other jobs that robots will take away from humans include, but are not limited to, telemarketing, automated shipping services, sewer management, tax preparers, photograph processing, data entry work, librarians and library technicians, etc.

But with all that I mentioned above, I’m not trying to spell doom for the next generation of youth who will graduate from school and start looking for jobs in a few decades. As I have stated from the beginning, there’s a divergent view on the topic. Some people view robotics as a weapon to wipe out humans from industries, the military, offices, workplaces, etc. In contrast, others view it as a significant development that will improve lives, which is needed to be embraced by all.

For me, humans by nature, since time immemorial, have had survival instincts, and no technological development was able to render people jobless. If a job is no longer in existence, humans will always find themselves a better alternative. When industrial machines came into being in the 19th century and replaced millions of menial labourers, humans found a way to survive them; the same way robots will be integrated into our daily lives. By the way, remember that humans make these machines and robots, not the other way round.

Kabir Musa Ringim is HOD Computer Engineering, Binyaminu Usman Polytechnic, Hadejia, Jigawa State.

By Uzair Adam Imam 

Associate Professor Mainasara Yakubu Kurfi, and other journalism educators, urged Kano State Polytechnic journalism students to imbibe critical thinking in reporting their beats as journalists of the 21st century. 

Kurfi, who is the Head of Department, Mass Communication, Bayero University, Kano, tasked the journalists in the making, reiterating that the students should be jack of all trades and masters of none.

Kurfi stated this Thursday at a One-Day Lecture Series organised by the Department of Mass Communication, Kano State Polytechnic.

Speaking on the topic, The 21st Century Mass Communication Student, the university don added that there were numerous opportunities in the field and that the students should read a lot to upgrade their learning and skills.

In his words, Kurfi stated, “there are numerous opportunities in mass communication because the world is no longer a global village but rather a global room.

“For this reason, you only need to read hard and acquire the necessary skills. If you do that, you’ll be getting money from the comfort of your room.

“Some of the career opportunities for a 21-century mass communication student include; film production, photography, advertising, development communication, public relations, broadcasting, strategic communication, among others.”

Also speaking, the event convener, Malam Aisar Salihu Fagge, stated that the essence of the lectures was to prepare students for the basic need of 21st-century journalism.

He added that the event would also develop help the students develop entrepreneurial mind to enable them to learn the modern skills of the journalism profession. 

Academics from sister institutions, directors from various units, heads of departments, and alumni of the Mass Communication department graced the event.

The Head of Department, Mass Communication, Kano State Polytechnic, Malama Binta Muhammad Lawal, ably represented by one of the department’s lecturers, Malam Salihu Sule Khalid, commended the event.

By Damilare Dosunmu

Last Friday at the State House in Nairobi, the president of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, announced the addition of coding as a subject into its primary and secondary schools curricula. This new development makes Kenya the first country in Africa to approve coding as a subject of study in the two early schools.

 “I applaud the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development for leading our nation to this landmark achievement, by implementing coding as a critical skill within our new Competency Based Curriculum,”  President Kenyatta said at the event.

The President also launched the National Cybersecurity Strategy 2022, which provides strategic interventions in addressing national cybersecurity challenges in Kenya. The Kenya National Digital Master Plan, which will run till 2032, was also inaugurated.

With all these digital roll-outs, the president, whose tenure comes to an end in a few weeks, is optimistic about the impact the National Digital Master Plan would have on the country. He believes the plan will establish the country’s leadership in ICT by fostering the growth of ICT-related businesses and creating an enabling policy, legal and regulatory environment for the greater adoption of e-governance.

“This, no doubt, will enhance employment creation, enable and scale up ICT innovation and the development of a dynamic and robust ICT sector that will enhance the growth of all sectors of our economy. The master plan also guides investors while planning their investment priorities,” President Kenyatta said.

The digital master plan’s target of establishing over 20,000 village digital hubs across the country will enable the government to employ an additional 40,000 youth directly to run the centres and train interested citizens.

Kenya continues to maintain its place as one of the hotbeds for digital innovation on the continent. This new initiative reflects an ambition to reimagine education and a solid dedication to building the future. And as it seems, both the private and public sectors are aligned with this vision. Just this year alone, Microsoft, Visa, and Google opened their first development centres in the country’s capital.

Source: www.techcabal.com

By Abdullahi Yusuf (Abdool)

The viral tape of Chrisland School, Lagos, has become a trending topic lately due to its indecency and the nature of the people involved (i.e. children).

But before we conclude on whether the act involved rape or not, let’s look at the bigger picture, which is questioning the moral upbringing of the kids involved, who are obviously at the initial stage of puberty (below 13 years of age). We can all believe that it is too early for them to have such a bad experience at this young age. But who is to be blamed for this?

The 21st century has come along with many technological advancements. Some of these are of optimal benefit to humanity but detrimental to morality in some aspects. Contemporarily, one can access information and things we merely hear about in the olden days.

Internet is one of the goodies of this century. It enables its users to access what happens around the world quickly. Internet helps one learn a lot of things and get exposed to global opportunities with ease, while on the contrary, it holds a lot of negativities, especially for our younger ones.

We can’t dodge away from the reality of the moment, but we can put a lot of effort into making sure the negativities of the moment do not corrupt our progeny or us.

Parental negligence is the major contributing factor to the immorality we are experiencing. Parents nowadays show an unreasonable love to their children, which haunts them when they can no longer protect themselves or the children. This love gradually exposes the evil in the children due to a lack of due diligence in discharging parental responsibilities by the parent.

In the olden days, a total stranger could discipline a child for misbehaviour, and the child’s parent would appreciate the stranger for helping them do the right thing. But unfortunately, in the present time, a neighbour cannot punish a child for any misdemeanour because doing that could instigate the wrath of the child’s parent, and they would fight back as if punishing their child is a felony.

I could remember a scenario I read about on Twitter not long ago. A lady who visited her aunt narrated the story. She was necessitated to make a call and realised that her phone was out of credit which compelled her to borrow the phone of her aunt’s son, who was about 14 years of age, to make the urgent call. When using the phone, a video suddenly came in through WhatsApp, and she became curious to see what had just come in. She was shocked when she saw a nude sent to the boy by a young lady who happened to be his classmate. So she went through his chat with the same young lady to ascertain the fact. What she saw was devastating. She realised that the boy had been in a sexual relationship with that girl for a very long time.

In the above scenario, the parents are unaware of what’s going on with their child. He has been destroying his life without their knowledge due to their negligence. Their contribution to his misbehaviour is massive as they provided him with a phone and never cared to monitor what he was doing with it.

Typical African parents find it disgusting to give sexual orientation to their children. They think doing it is immoral, while not doing it causes more harm than good to our contemporary society.

Sex education to children is not about telling them about sexual intercourse; it’s about orienting children about their sexuality, sexual abuse, and what they should know about the sensitive parts of their body and acts they should consider as molestation. It is also about gender stereotypes and limitations concerning their morphology and physiology.

In conclusion, being a parent means being a protector, a teacher, a guide and a counsellor to the child. As a parent, don’t ever become reluctant to discharge your sole responsibility. Whenever you fail as a parent means unlocking an element of distress to society, which will strain you before diffusing to the larger community.

Abdullahi Yusuf (Abdool) studies at the Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Bayero University, Kano. He wrote from Kaduna State via abdoolphd@gmail.com.

By Aminu Rabiu Kano

If there is one vexing question that has continuously engaged the attention of stakeholders worldwide, it is certainly about the future of a classroom teacher in the ever-changing global world. No doubt, the role of a teacher is critical in building and sustaining a healthy and responsible society. Indeed, the future of any thriving community rests in the teacher’s pivotal role to progressively impart valuable lessons and skills to children. But then the world is fast evolving, from one era to another, thereby altering the modus operandi of several human activities, teaching and learning inclusive.

In the 21st century, the world has witnessed so much transformation in virtually every aspect of human life, with technology leading the way into a more digital world. The change brought upon by the technological revolution has had a tremendous impact on every facet of human interaction. Recently, the Covid-19 pandemic has shocked the entire world as physical human interactions were curtailed, thereby bringing a paradigm shift in man’s understanding of his environment.

Specifically, the education sector is affected by the changes constantly happening in and around the world. Naturally, this raises serious questions about the role of a teacher. As globally recognized, a teacher everywhere possesses some latitude of power and influence, which earns him respect in society. But since the world is witnessing tremendous changes that have never been seen before, some urgent questions arise that are pertinent to a teacher’s continued relevance.

On the one hand, a teacher is expected to help students learn by imparting knowledge and setting up a situation in which students can and will learn effectively. While on the other hand, he (teacher) is faced with the daunting task of introducing a novel, pragmatic approach to learning to be at par with changes in the world. While the task is enormous, it is still humanly possible for a teacher to deliver his primary functions while at the same time leading with power and influence.

Research by Kappa Delta Pi (2015) discovered that little value occurs in any classroom without excellent teacher preparation to lead students. This implies that the leadership skills possessed by a particular teacher have a tremendous impact on learning outcomes. A teacher, in this context, is equated with a senior policymaker whose ability to lead the way for progressive policies and handle complex issues has a direct impact on the happiness of a vast number of people.

A teacher is thus not seen as a leader with limited influence and power but a leader of all students, of people large and small. Therefore, teacher leadership is an inescapable reality. In essence, I am saying that in a bid to maintain and even augment their relevance in a changing world, teachers must possess some leadership skills to meet students’ demands.

Secondly, for teachers to remain relevant and influential in a fast-changing world, they must be an agent of change. But in order not to misunderstand change with fashion, a teacher must do some research to be able to glean the source, nature, character, prospects, and challenges of any change mantra. This means understanding the politics of change and collaborating with like minds in pushing for a progressive change in all aspects of human life. By so doing, the teacher extends the reach of his leadership empire beyond the four walls of a classroom.

Thirdly, for a teacher to continue wielding enormous power and influence, he must do all he can to produce students who not only keenly observe but clearly understand what is happening around them. Therefore, the onus is on the teacher to train his students and imbue them with the mindset of identifying problems in their immediate society and investing their efforts towards solving them. In this light, skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving are pivotal.

Finally,  a teacher can only lead with power and influence in a changing world if he is adaptable. Adaptability in this context implies the readiness and ability of the teacher to receive, internalize, support, and promote positive changes. Therefore, as the world moves to a digital era, the teacher must embrace technology to deliver lessons. For instance, the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in the closure of schools and other institutions of learning, thereby disrupting academic activities. This notwithstanding, in some climes, teachers resorted to using technology for lessons delivery. By way of advice, a teacher must leverage technological gadgets to produce students with a digital mindset.

Aminu Rabiu Kano is a political and public affairs commentator. He can be reached via arabiukano@gmail.com.

By Dr. Bello Shehu Abdullahi

Success in this life, be aware, is never accidental. You might have been told that you can’t succeed by your hard work. Of course, everything is fate-driven and all things are presupposed by the divine will of our creator. However, let me tell you that the requirements to succeed in whatever thing you do cannot be by accident. Even those born with silver spoons put a number of things into action, if not themselves, at least, their parents have. As such, one crucial thing to be warry of in relation to success attainment is the need to put in place the four inter-dependent entities below.

You might be curious to know these ways to success, or you have even been battling with a way to get yourself successful in your career with ease? While there may be no easy way to success in life, getting the below points borne in your mind could make you achieve it with super ease.

• Determine
Simply put, I’ll define determination as ‘the penchant to get something done.’ Your ability to get this attribute stuck into yourself or get yourself engulfed with a very high will to succeed in your endeavours is the very first step you need. Fate apart, if you have no determination to get something done, it is only in rare illogical and mysterious cases that something—whether good or otherwise—comes your way. With this awareness, then, you need to be determined in achieving that principal or minor goal of yours. Your ability to be determined will not only make you get prepared for the ups and downs of the process but would also—even at the very least—enrich your mental dexterity to be psychologically self-sufficient in your dealings.

Let’s say you’re a high school or college student and you’ve been informed of the complexities of your course of study and the extensive research rigour one needs to excel in it. These got you scared and stuck in self-doubt. ‘Can I really make this?’ you have asked yourself. One thing I’d tell you is to imbue a very strong determination to achieve that acclaimed unachievable feat while erasing the very first self-doubt in you. With this, you set a rigid way forward to success for yourself. Do you know what you need next?

• Dedicate
Determination to achieve a feat—perhaps a ground-breaking one—isn’t sufficient. While you determine to achieve a certain goal, you as well need to dedicate yourself to the very requirement to achieve such a goal. For a student, needless for me is to say you need to study hard and get acquainted with both the theoretical and practical aspects of your course of study. Your own case might not be for education, but business. You too need dedication. See, the very first time you start your business, highly probable it’s that you might experience some kinds of cons than pros. The ability to dedicate your time and identify the cause of this would eventually give you joy. Your feasibility study might be weak, or even the analysis of the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your business might be unstably inaccurate. If this happens, then, dedication sets you free from these ilks of economic worries. While you’re dedicated, you also need this.

• Persist
Persistence, the ability to bear every adventure and discovery you’re exposed to in the course of doing something, is what you need next. In pursuit of success, you find yourself at a level where no one else can convince you not to quit. Some even have committed suicide due to a lack of persistence. If your adventures and discoveries are life-threatening, the spirit to persist gives you a perpetual fruit you could never have imagined. In your experience as a student, tests, assignments, seminar and class presentations, sleepless nights, etc. are all that you battle with and make you result in quitting. See, if you quickly make that wrong decision, you don’t only waste your spent time and resources, but also ruin the very near success you have determined to have and have dedication for. So, while you’re determined and dedicated, make sure you persist with all the hurdles of your career. Don’t forget you want to achieve this.

• Succeed
Yes. This is exactly what you want to achieve. Success. You strive and tirelessly sacrifice to be determined in order to be successful. You don’t only get determined, you also dedicate everything you have for success. In fact, despite your experience of many trials and hurdles, you persist in that lane. And, now, this is SUCCESS. This is the end product of the tireless agitation. Largely, if you ever dream to be successful in life, one thing I’d want you to bear in mind is these things above. You determine, dedicate, persist and so you succeed.

By Muhammad Abubakar

Technology has changed the world of education. It provides quicker ways of accessing learning materials in varieties. Indeed, this is a brilliant opportunity. Technology provided cyber-libraries, fully occupied with every knowledge in every fabric of human endeavour. From sciences to humanities, all is available over the internet. There they are available, every time, every day, everywhere and for everyone.

Knowledge with the help of the internet has become accessible and very cheap for almost everyone. With very affordable data, one can download as many reading or learning materials as he wishes to possess in every literature genre—poetry or prose. Moreover, the technology is beyond providing a reader with the recently published works; much older works, dating five, six, seven or more hundreds years back, can be found and be successfully downloaded.

Often I say, “If you want to see the world naked, fall in love with books.” Only through reading and writing the recorded history of the past nations and communities reside in these days; only through it would we record the present as a documentary to the younger ones and the future generations to come. A good reader would have an excellent knowledge of the past, present and can predict the future. Readers have eyes to see the unborn days. If readers didn’t read and write, we might not have lived a complete account of life.

Reading culture died among young people these days. However, in the past three to four decades—albeit I was not part of the days there, I collided with authentic histories of how the predecessors [students] of those days suffered in seeking knowledge. I academically encountered examples of good students—who came through the doors of past days, whose education, knowledge and experience are beyond the curriculum. They are well educated and well trained. They read, write and speak better than 21-century students. Despite their meagre technological resources, short-planned curriculum, reading and learning materials scarcity, they are far more developed than us.

Twenty-first-century students’ poor reading habits lead to many crying stories and anti-social behaviour—for instance, school violence, massive failure and examination malpractice. The massive failure of the 2021 UTME in Nigeria is an example of bad elements generating by poor reading culture.

Students don’t read, and they need high quantity certificates. This century provides an excellent opportunity for students in reading, self-development and intellectual development. But we prefer utilizing our time in other options than reading. We spend most of our time; exhaust most of our data: gossiping and uploading pictures to appreciate others.

Technological advancement has a role in adjusting our reading attitudes. Students should adopt the habit of utilizing most of the time reading. The difference between the past students and these of the present is befriending books. Our being online on Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Tik Tok, and other media platforms should be less—and if necessary, let’s use it positively. It’s crystal-clear that our habits show that we hate reading. Despite the resources we possess in today’s world [21 century], most secondary and tertiary institutions students can not effectively write a letter of any format.

For example, PDF Drive provides any kind of material students can require to learn, curricular or extracurricular. University of People also delivers lectures on every topic need. You don’t need to be constantly reading, and every time, twenty to thirty pages of a book every day will suffice you. Better too late than never. If you’re finding reading boring—read simple stuff, gradually you will make it.

I recommend we should promote reading culture among ourselves through reading and writing challenges. For example, organizing poetry and prose contest, book chats and reading sessions can help. Reading culture would be rapidly promoted among students [young and older ones] in our communities through these means and others.

In conclusion, during our leisure time, weekends and breaks—let’s train our younger siblings; divert their zeal to books. Coach and guide them towards their curricular and beyond. Read them stories, poems, and lots more. Ask them to practice writing—and make simple competitions to them regarding reading and writing. Let’s no go and leave the young generation behind.

Muhammad Abubakar can be reached via muhammadabk1097@gmail.com.