UBA's ‘Read Africa’ Session Holds at Coker Secondary School

It was a refreshing, interactive and rewarding session as students of Coker Senior Secondary School Orile-Iganmu, Lagos yesterday benefited from the UBA Foundation ‘Read Africa’ initiative, targeted at reawakening a healthy reading culture amongst African Youths.

R-L: Group Legal Counsel, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Samuel Adikamkwu; and MD/CEO, UBA Foundation, Ijeoma Aso; during the UBA Read Africa Session held at Coker Secondary School, Orile-Iganmu, Lagos yesterday. 

Mr. Samuel Adikamkwu, Group Legal Counsel, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, served as UBA Foundation’s mentor for the occasion, leading the students through  a reading session and advising them about how to grow up to be successful individuals. He advised the students not to regard any printed material as useless. “Reading has made me what I am today” he told the students.

 He also advised the students to read quality materials “even if it is a page of a newspaper you find, pick it up and read, you will learn a lot through reading, you will never lose anything from reading.”

Citing the example of Chinua Achebe, author of ‘Things Fall Apart’, copies of which were distributed at the occasion, he said it was through reading that Chinua Achebe polished his writing skills which eventually turned him into the renowned literary giant that he became.

Vice Principal Academics, Coker Secondary School, Orile-Iganmu, Mr. Adekunle Adeniyi; Group Legal Counsel, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Adikamkwu Samuel; MD/CEO, UBA Foundation, Ijeoma Aso; Principal, Coker Senior Secondary School, Mrs. Omowo Omobosede; Principal, Coker Junior Secondary School, Mrs. Esther Babatunde; and Vice Principal, Administration, Coker Secondary School, Mr. Ikwegberurhie Orode during the UBA Read Africa Session held at Coker Secondary School, Orile-Iganmu, Lagos yesterday. 

Adikamkwu also encouraged the students to watch less of television and read more, advising that each student should read for a minimum of 10-20 minutes a day. “You stand out when you read. To excel in life you have to make extra effort to read outside your immediate course of study. Reading expands your intellectual base enabling you to discuss intelligently any topic that comes up. Reading turns you into a sought after employee.”

“Reading is like digging for gold. It is not gotten on the surface, you must dig deep to find gold. Make time and dig deep to acquire knowledge through reading,” he told the students who listened attentively.  

Ijeoma Aso, MD/CEO, UBA Foundation, explained that the reason for the special reading session at the school was to make students develop their potential through reading.

 “You should use the time you have now to read as many books as you can, as there is no limit to knowledge. No knowledge gained is wasted. People who do not read are educated illiterates”. She told the students.   

After the reading sessions, Mr. Adikamkwu and Ms. Aso distributed copies of the literary classic ‘Things Fall Apart’ written by Africa’s literary giant, Chinua Achebe to the students and led the students through a reading session of selected chapters from the novel. They later answered questions from the students.

The Principal, Coker Senior Secondary School, Mrs. Omowo Omobosede thanked UBA Foundation for the kind gesture and for choosing Coker Secondary School. She further thanked the bank for its interest in rekindling the reading culture of students. “We are overjoyed, as our hope has been rekindled with the recognition by a big bank like UBA for this initiative.” she said.

As a the CSR platform for the UBA Group, UBA Foundation, through her four areas of focus has continued to impact positively on the lives of Africans,  particularly in the various countries where the group has presence through a number of laudable projects and initiatives.