Presenting the award yesterday at the Golden Royale Hotel Enugu,
the National President of the Association, Mr. Abdulsalami Rilwanu said they had
not presented it to anyone over the years because nobody in authority had made
conscious and laudable efforts to uplift library services in Nigeria, until Mr.
Peter Obi became the Governor of Anambra State.
He
said that in appreciation of his efforts, that the association had wanted to
honour him while he was still the Governor, but for his refusal and insistence
that he preferred honour offered when one had left office.
His
words: “ Obi was unanimously chosen for the
honour because of his efforts as the former Governor of Anambra State to
support the growth and development of public library services in the State.
Before him, in both the old and new Anambra State, no Governor visited or built
any library since 1966, when the then Col Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu built the
Onitsha Library.”
On some of the things Obi did that made him worthy of the honour,
Mr. Rilwanu said that he not only initiated and acquired land, but completed
the Prof. Kenneth Dike Library at Awka and renovated the Onitsha Library and
that the two were the only e libraries in the whole of the South-East.
He also mentioned the tomes of books he attracted to libraries in
the state, the over 1 Billion naira the former Governor disbursed to public and
mission-owned secondary schools in the State for provision of libaray in the
schools in the state as well as the construction of libraries at the
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu University, Igbariam campus.
Speaking further, Mr. Rilwanu said that Obi went beyond the
provision of infrastructure and “ensured that library workers
enjoyed normal promotion like their counterparts in the service and
he extended support and recognition to the Director of the State
Library Board (provided him with an official car), as well as the State Chapter
of the Association, a van and a bus for distribution of books and for staff use
during his tenure as the Governor of Anambra State”
The association called on those in authority to emulate what Obi
did for the restoration of reading culture among the people.
Speaking, Mr. Peter Obi said he was both delighted and humbled to
receive the award. He called on leaders to contribute to the resurrection of
library culture as part of the efforts to support book culture for the good of
the country.
The Nigerian Library Association (NLA), an umbrella body for all
library and information professionals in Nigeria was established in 1962.
Caption for the Pic
The National President of the Association, Mr. Abdulsalami Rilwanu (left),
presenting the Golden Merit Award to Mr. peter Obi (right), in honour of his
contributions to the growth and development of Libaray while he was the
Governor of Anambra State at the Golden Royale Hotel
Enugu, yesterday
Why We Decided To Honour Obi- Nigerian Library Association
![Why We Decided To Honour Obi- Nigerian Library Association]()
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Wednesday, June 25, 2014
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