The Ambassador of Ireland to Nigeria, Peter Ryan, through the Zaccheus Onumba Dibiaezue Memorial Libraries (ZODML), has donated 20 bookcases filled with children’s books to public primary schools in Lagos State alongside the National Library of Nigeria (NLN), as part of efforts to strengthen reading culture among pupils.

The 20 bookcases, each containing sixty-five carefully selected children’s books, were assembled by ZODML and handed over to the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LASUBEB), and Head of the Lagos Office of NLN, Obianuju Onuorah, for the Green Library.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Ryan said the donation was intended to ensure that pupils in the selected schools have access to read each of the 65 books.

Ryan, who was represented by Aduke Gomez, said the books were chosen to help pupils improve their writing skills, engage in better communication and expand their vocabulary.

She noted that the gesture was the ambassador’s second book donation, following an earlier presentation to a school in Ikoyi.

The Co-founder and Chairperson of ZODML, Mrs Ifeoma Esiri, said the initiative carries the name and conviction of Zaccheus Onumba Dibiaezue, after whom the libraries are named.

She explained that Dibiaezue lost access to formal schooling as a boy but taught himself to the point of obtaining a law qualification and serving in senior public office.

“Every bookcase we hand over today carries forward his conviction: that a child given access to books can go as far as their curiosity will carry them,” Esiri said.

She expressed gratitude to the Embassy of Ireland and Ryan for entrusting ZODML with the task of assembling and delivering the bookcases, describing it as “a vote of confidence in the work that we do.”

She appealed to the head teachers of the beneficiary schools to build on the donation.

“Let this be the cornerstone, not the ceiling. Go to your alumni, your PTA, your community. Ask them to add to these books until you build a library around them,” she said.

She said the intervention was not new ground for ZODML, noting that the organisation has already established 34 school libraries, one community library, and 19 others inside correctional custodial centres across the country.

Referencing the state of literacy in the country, Esiri recalled a recent statement by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, that 75 per cent of Nigerian children suffer from learning poverty.

“By age 10, they cannot read and understand a simple sentence. Not literature. A simple sentence. Three out of every four Nigerian children cannot yet do this. It is a national emergency unfolding quietly in our classrooms,” she said.

She emphasized that the content of the bookcases matters as much as their existence. According to her, most of the 65 books in each bookcase are fiction written by Nigerian authors so that a child can see their own streets, food, and names reflected back at them, and understand that literature is not something that happens elsewhere.

Esiri described reading as the foundation on which every other kind of learning is built.

She said children do not become readers by being told to read, but by reading often and widely, books that delight them enough to reach for the next one.

“A nation that gives its children both a screen and a book teaches them not only to receive information, but to fall in love with a story. It is that falling in love that makes a lifelong reader, and it is a lifelong reader who builds a nation,” she said.

The Executive Chairman of LASUBEB, who was represented by the Board’s Librarian, Odunayo Adebowale, lauded the envoy and ZODML for the donation.

He said the gesture goes beyond the presentation of educational materials and represents a valuable investment in the future of children.

“Books are powerful tools that inspire curiosity, broaden knowledge, nurture creativity, and develop lifelong learning habits. By providing these resources, you have strengthened our shared vision of ensuring that every child has access to quality education and the opportunity to succeed,” he said.

He assured that adequate monitoring mechanisms would be put in place to guarantee that the books and bookcases are well maintained, carefully preserved, and effectively utilised for the benefit of learners.

We recognise that meaningful partnerships such as this are essential to achieving sustainable educational development. We, therefore, value this collaboration and look forward to strengthening the cordial relationship between the Irish Embassy, ZODML, and LASUBEB.

Onuorah also lauded the Irish ambassador for the donation and pledged that the national library would partner with ZODML to ensure the books are used by pupils in the selected schools.