Obasanjo seeks revival of story telling culture, donates books to Ibogun pupils

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday advised parents and community leaders to revive the culture of story telling among children to enable them imbibe good moral standards.

Obasanjo gave the advice yesterday at a programme tagged “Story time with baba,” at his ancestral home at Ibogun in Ifo council area of Ogun State as part of activities marking his 80th birthday anniversary which comes up on Sunday

The former president sat among the pupils of Baptist Day School, Ibogun where he had his primary school education and told them folk stories.He recalled that while growing up in the community, his parents and other community leaders usually gathered young children, including him, under the moonlight to give riddles and tell them fables.

The elder statesman, however, expressed concern that such practice had been jettisoned by parents and thereby denied the children a good platform to build character.

He said that he had written 12 books containing several of such stories to sustain the culture.He distributed copies of the books to pupils of the school and other schools in the state.

Obasanjo who was accompanied by his wife, Mrs. Bola Obasanjo and some close associates enjoin the children to improve on their reading habits, saying “Only regular reading, hardwork and commitment to your studies can get you to greater heights.”

The Chairman of the Celebration Planning Committee and Director of the Centre for Human Security of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Prof. Peter Okebukola had earlier in his address, described Obasanjo as a great writer and author with several books to his credit.