The Nigerian Library Association, NLA, has conferred its Eminent Service Award on Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano state, for contributions towards promotion of education, library development and service to humanity.
The award was presented to the governor during the combined 58th and 59th Annual General Meeting and Conference of the association, on Monday, in Kano city.
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In his speech, Governor Ganduje acknowledged that the efforts of his administration to revamp the sector of education have been reinforced by the resuscitation of public lib. services across the state.
“A nation can only grow and prosper when its citizens are well educated. However, education and lib. cannot be separated. That is why even before our free and compulsory education policy, we invested generously in constructing, renovating and equipping libraries across the state”.
“The public lib. before the year 2015, were in shambles. The physical structure was first looked into. We directed for assessment of our eighteen branch libraries and awarded contract was awarded for their rehabilitation; the contract has since been completed”.
“We built four new additional branch libraries in some selected libraries. We selected and upgraded additional six libraries in the state and stocked them with books worth millions of naira for primary, secondary and tertiary levels. The Bindery of our main library was upgraded to a Printing Unit and equipped with new machines”.
According to the governor, “a mega Electronic Resources Unit comprising e-Learning Centre and Digital Library/Computer Based Test (CBT) Centre and Multimedia was established at the Murtala Muhammed Lib”.
“The complex was equipped with about 400 Laptops and Desktop Computers, teleconferencing facilities, printers, scanners and digital televisions. This development has transformed the state library to modern one like those available in developed countries”, he added.
To promote reading culture and by implication the use of lib. among children and youth in Kano, Dr. Ganduje disclosed that the state government initiated a Readership Promotion programme for public schools, with Media Trust Ltd., publishers of Daily Trust newspapers, adding that the programme has demonstrated potential to impact on education in the state.
In his welcome address, the president, Nigerian Library Association, Professor Innocent Issa Ekoja, said the combined conference, under the theme “Libraries: Inspiring, Engaging, Enabling and Connecting Stakeholders for Sustainable Development”, was arrived at because the library as information provider has an important role to play in the realization of sustainable development.
