By Daniel Idonor
President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday in Lagos described as invaluable the feedback on his Facebook page on policy pronouncements and direction of his government.

Decked in a blue T-shirt, a pair of black trousers and his trademark Niger Delta cap, the President was the host at the launch of “Bring Back the Book,” an initiative aimed at engendering a reading culture among Nigerians and formal presentation of a book of his conversations on policy and governance with Nigerians on Facebook.

He said he invited the youths to the event so that “we can, together, begin a serious conversation on the critical issue regarding the neglect of the book and very urgently put in place a citizens framework to Bring Back the Book.

The event which witnessed a lot of musical performances by notable

stars like Dbanj, 2Face, Zakky Azeeh, P-Square among others as well as some 450 to 600 million who watched the event on TV and on the internet, saw the President in delight for being part of those who supported Prof. Wole Soyinka’s launch of a nationwide book campaign with children yesterday, aimed at placing our country on irreversible progress.

Thanking  Nigerian authors, other dignitaries including Joe Trippi and young Nigerians, Jonathan maintained that with the calibre of literally giants gathered, he was confident that a new culture of book reading will be enthroned in the country.

According to him, “many agree that the foundation for the development of all civilizations lies with a vibrant educational system and that at the core of these values is a sustainable reading culture.

“Today we are fighting a battle to restore our educational standard to its glorious past and to lift it further to the heights where it would lead the resurgence of our march towards economic prosperity, environmental sustainability and social advancement.

“After due consultation, the consensus is that we require a nation-wide campaign to bring back the book reading culture. This campaign which is being embarked on by government must be supported by all. “It is my suggestion that we focus on restoring a book reading culture with particular emphasis on children and youths.”