From Guerrilla Basement: Nigerian youth are said to constitute over seventy percent of the country’s population and one thing lies at the mind base of this human swarm. It has to glitter like Facebook and Blackberry and twist like Azonto. This is the major driving force of the psyche of this vital group that constitutes the bulk of the nation’s intelligence. But when this dazzle and glitter flashes from a totally different direction: books, the story assumes a different dimension. Literary achievement leaves a distinct variety of clatter.
The naming of the city of Port Harcourt as UNESCO World Book Capital for the year 2014—the first sub-Saharan African city ever to hold this title—has turned this time, the good eyes of the world on Nigeria. This is an achievement set to reposition and usher in the Niger delta (known for youth militancy and kidnappings in recent past) and Nigeria as a whole to an advantaged position that cuts across psychological, economic, political and intellectual revitalization.
The seeds for this potent outcome are contained in the projected marathon of events to underscore the 2014 World Book Capital year. Spearheaded by the Rainbow Book Club (organizers of the Garden City Literary Festival), these events are tied with the strings of one theme—Books: Window to Our World of Possibilities. Potent and prophetic.
The seeds for this potent outcome are contained in the projected marathon of events to underscore the 2014 World Book Capital year. Spearheaded by the Rainbow Book Club (organizers of the Garden City Literary Festival), these events are tied with the strings of one theme—Books: Window to Our World of Possibilities. Potent and prophetic.
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