The Chairman/CEO of Havilah Group, Akogun Lanre Adesuyi, has asked the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency complete the building of the National Library complex which has remained uncompleted for many years.
Akogun Adesuyi made the call on Tuesday after he received an award at the flag-off ceremony of the 2023 Readership Promotion Campaign (RPC) put together by the National Library in conjunction with the Ministry of Education.
The Havilah Group Chairman lamented over the fact that for many years the National Library building project has been abandoned by various governments and is yet to be completed, a situation which he asserts has been a shame and reproach to the nation.
“I am pleading with this new government, please this shame is enough,” Akogun Adesuyi pleaded with the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to see to it that the Library complex is completed in no time.
Further addressing the government, he stressed that more needs to be done in a bid to properly reposition the Nation Library to a point where its greatest impact can be felt even in the life of the masses.
The Havilah Group CEO said it is disheartening that the annual budget for purchasing books in Nigeria is less than 100 million naira, yet the nation continues to vote and spend trillions on mundane projects that are of no true benefits to the people.
He said it is crucial that Nigeria revives her reading culture if the nation is to grow at the rate in which advancements are being recorded in the world today.
National Librarian hands over plague to Akogun Lanre Adesuyi in recognition of his Indelible contributions to the pursuit of knowledge.
The Havilah Group CEO said Nigerians need to take a deeper look at themselves and begin to strive more for knowledge and new insights which give greater value to the self and the society at large.
In continuation of his support for a reading Nigeria, Akogun Adesuyi pledged to give to the National Library N50million worth of books which would be shared to children especially those in the hinterlands where many do not access to good reading books.
He charged all those partaking in the struggle to see that a standard national library is completed, to continue and not give up, stating that it is a legacy upon which great futures will be built and as such it is worth all the sacrifice.