If education is too expensive, try ignorance- Alaba Lawson

Esther Taiwo

It was fun at Jordan Hill Creative Writing & Reading Workshop recently as young authors were celebrated in grand style. Six books written for children, five of which were written by children, were launched at the event set aside to mark this year’s Children’s Day.

According to the Chief Launcher, Chief (Mrs.) Alaba Lawson, who is also the Chairman, Governing Council of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, Education is the right legacy, and if you think it is too expensive, try ignorance”.

Lawson, who is the immediate past President of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), in declaring the new releases from the Jordan Hill Books open to the public, further urged parents to value both boys and girls as children and raise both of them equally, not neglecting one over the other.

The Iyalode of Egbaland also congratulated Jordan Hill for the steadfast and consistent manner in which the problem of illiteracy is being tackled in Lagos and encouraged them to move to other states of the country to reach out to more children.

Also speaking at the event was an official from the Curriculum Review Department, Ministry of Education Lagos State, Mr. Samson Adeleye, who congratulated the young writers for their writing prowess and encouraged them to focus on things that add value to them and society.

He expressed excitement at the children books, adding to the number of reading resources for the community and further stated that the Ministry of Education would review the books for the possible approval of such for the state’s reading materials.

Reviewing the books at the book launch, veteran actress, author and film producer, Mrs. Uche Mac-Auley, who elucidated the importance of a reading culture in helping children become better writers as the young writers showed profound skills in creativity and style in the choice of expressions used in writing,

making the books rich in form. She praised the newly published child authors and other young authors published under the,Award winners from the Jordan Hill Young Writers’ Awards which held last September in celebration of children’s ingenuity and creativity in writing were also celebrated at the event.

The award ceremony which had followed the Young Authors’ Mentorship Camp 2018; a writing summer camp put together by Jordan Hill in collaboration with Corona Schools’ Trust Council and the Pottersland School Lekki, provided the right platform to reward young and budding authors from the Young Authors’ Mentorship Camp 2018 with offers of publishing contracts by Jordan Hill Books.

These offers finally culminated in the publication and celebration of the young writers’ books at the launch.The book, Mobola and the Spider, authored by six-year-old Oluwakanyinsola Afolayan, a pupil of Tender Palms School, Mende and award winner,

Best Story Writer at the junior category at the Young Writers’ Awards in 2018 were among the books launched. Also launched was Vehemence by Nola Metseagharun, a nine-year-old pupil of Corona School Lekki and Best Story Writer at the intermediate category and Oluwatofunmi Lawal’s ’The First Female Ruler of L’Eko’.

Oluwatofunmi Lawal was awarded the Best Story Writer at the senior category and is a nine-year-old pupil of Corona School Gbagada. The Educational Director of Jordan Hill, Mrs. Adeola Eze, said there is genuinely a book in everyone, adding:

Reading through all the books written by these young ones, I believe the most important is the message behind the story. And that is one thing that our young authors have all shown through the use of the pen; sharing a message with the world through their books”.

She said the young authors have shown in their writing that it is not good to be in a society where evil is the order of the day, and no one chooses to do anything about it.Mr. Kennedy Eze, Managing Director at Jordan Hill, expounded the value of the annual holiday camp organised by Jordan Hill, Young Authors’ Mentorship Camp,

which is billed to take place later in the year as one in which the aim is to inspire, motivate and mentor children to become better writers with enhanced creativity and style of expression while focusing on completing a book of their own, and thereafter get the book published, if selected as award winners.

Our belief is, when children are celebrated as young authors and young achievers, after their first book is published, they will be motivated to engage in more writing activities which will ensure their writing gets better and they spend more time on activities that add value,” he affirmed.