By Chukwuma Ajakah

Inspired by the history and noble objectives of the World Book Day which first held in the United Kingdom and Ireland in 1997, the leadership of Career Builders Academy, CBA, inaugurated their own model of a day meant for the celebration of books and reading which included inter-class reading competition. 

Pupils of CBA, Ijanikin, Lagos, joined the global community last Thursday to mark the World Book Day instituted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, UNESCO in 1995 to celebrate books and reading.

As part of activities commemorating the day, the management of CBA organized a book reading session for the pupils drawn from Primary 1 to 6. Captivating short stories and novellas on children literature from the stables of frontline publishers, Lantern Books were specifically chosen for the reading fiesta.

At the CBA’s inaugural edition, the pupils practically demonstrated uncommon reading skills to the delight of the audience which included the Founder and Director, Mr. Kingsley Umunna Umeji who had earlier floated an elite group known as The Pacesetters Club for topnotch performing students with the aim of keeping of the young learners motivated in maintaining a studious lifestyle and engaging in healthy competition for excellence.

The books read by the representatives of each class include Chudi Ebiringa’s God Answers Okey’s Prayers and The Great Fight, Chief Koko’s Bicycle and The Twin Brothers, and My Baby Sister written by Olajire Olanlokun, Ifeanyi Ifoeguna’s A King Without a Kingdom and Elephant’s Bag of Ttricks, Chima Laughs Last by Chinelo Ifezalike, and Barnabas Herbert’s The Will of Hope. 

While delivering her keynote address on the “Importance of Reading”, the HM, CBA (Nursery & Primary), Mrs Gloria B. Chukwuma, implored the pupils to cultivate the right attitude towards their studies, shun negative tendencies and imbibe ideal values that will distinguish them in life. Emphasizing that “Readers of today become the leaders tomorrow,” she admonished the learners to be tenaciously committed to cultivating desirable habits as well as reading and writing skills in order to become outstanding leaders in any field.      

The HM revealed that the school has a lot of programmes meant to stimulate the pupils to dream big and dare to excel in academics and other areas of life.  “Besides the Pacesetters Club which the Director personally sponsors, giving amazing prizes out and entertaining successful students, there is The Stars Weekly we organize each week to test the pupils’ skills in problem solving and voracious reading. There is also the Work It Out Quiz held every term.  Winners are handsomely rewarded with prizes that spur them to soar high in their academics.”

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The excited pupils took turns to read the books selected from the adventure and folk-tales series of the publishers, Lantern Books, a division of Literamed Publications. The reading competition was won by Primary 4, represented by Miss Confidence Obechina and Master Ayilara Al-ameen who read Chinelo Ifezalike’s Chima Laughs Last, a short story of 81 pages and six chapters. The second prize went to Primary 1 which masters Nicholas Olude and David Utibe led in reading Olajire Olanlokun’s My Baby Sister. The representatives of Primary 5, Shaun Obuero and Joshua Chima emerged Third Best Readers after their fascinating rendition of Olajire Olanlokun’s Chief Koko’s Bicycle.

The book reading section featured the following pupils who read on behalf of their various classes: Nicholas Olude and David Utibe (Primary 1) Esther Obimago and Emmanuel Nwatu (Primary 2)  Dolapo Obaniwa and Uche Urubusi (Primary 3),  Confidence Obiechina and Ayilara Al-ameen (Primary 4),  Shaun Obuero and Chima Joshua ( Primary 5), Uche Miracle and Mary Sonula (Primary 6).  The readers were evaluated on the basis of appearance, fluency, voice modulation, and identification of key features of the book- author’s name, pages, date of publication, characters, the writer’s message or moral lessons. 

With Chima Laughs Last as the best readers’ choice, some of the book titles seem to have played out the Elephant Bag of Tricks. If God Answered Okey’s Prayer, Primary 3 would win, but Primary 5 rode to the third place with Chief Koko’s Bicycle and Primary 1 won the  second prize with another of Olajire Olanlokun’s book, My Baby Sister, leaving the audience and the classes that read “A King Without a Kingdom”, and “The Will of Hope” with the moral lesson  Confidence and Ayilara, the first winners, gleaned from Chima Laughs Last: “Be kind to those on your way up because you might meet them  on your way down.”