TotalEnergies tasks students on reading culture for career growth

TotalEnergies has called on students to nurture reading habits to enhance their mental capabilities and become good leaders of tomorrow.

The call was made, at the weekend, during the 2024 Deep Water Asset Book Reading and Open Day themed “The World is a Maze; Navigate it-Read.”

The programme, for senior secondary school students, aimed to encourage reading habits and impart knowledge to the younger generation.

The students were led to read and discuss the book “Give Us Each Day” by Samuel Monye.

Participants expressed their scope of knowledge of the book by answering questions and explaining the characters in the book. In discussing the content, the students linked the book subject to current societal events.

The author exposes readers to the limited choices and harsh realities faced by the many migrants who flee home.

In his opening remarks, Country Communications Manager, Dr Charles Ebereonwu, said the book reading was part of the firm’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for students.

“As a company that is interested in the development of the youths, we catch them young, activate and catalyse their thinking so that they begin to observe what’s happening in their environment by reading, hoping that they could still go down writing their experiences,” he said.

Deputy Managing Director, Deep Water Asset, Victor Bandele, said the book reading was a significant event for the company because it promotes the culture of reading among students in Nigeria.

Reading, he said, is one of the most essential habits needed to be developed in life for information, direction, and character development.

Bandele recalled former President of the United States (U.S.), Barack Obama, saying “Reading is the gateway skill that makes all other learning possible.”

He said that Obama’s statement aligns with the event’s theme and implies that to successfully navigate the complexities of life, one needs to read.

He, therefore, encouraged the students to make a conscientious effort to research good books with themes and characters that align with what they would like to do in future.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, advised the students to create an interest in reading, noting that a lot is gained through reading.

Hamzat, who was represented by the Lagos State Commissioner for Basic Education, Jamiu Alli-Balogun, lamented that the reading culture is gradually dying in Nigeria, saying that this event is an avenue to bring it back to life.