by Eromose Ileso
There are times you reminisce on
certain aspects of life especially one that is wrapped in the duvet of nostalgia.
In that respect, the years gone by have been revealed to be better especially
as it affects key sectors that aid in developing the mind. One
of such areas is the present state of library in the Edo State capital.
Growing up in the suburb of
Medical Stores and Okhoro in Benin City, spending time at the Bendel State and
later Edo State Library board complex at Okhoro road inside the compound of the
Eghosa Grammar School which has been re-christened Eghosa Anglican Grammar
School was like a habitual pass time. Students that came to that Library stretched
as far as New Benin community, other extensions of that part of the city and
beyond.
The library was always a beehive
of activities. Whether it was the general reading section where students
brought their books from home to read, or the book section inside the library
complex proper, the place was always filled up.
You could borrow books from the
library. I once borrowed a book from there on one of my various visits. The tag
of the Bendel State Library Board was always conspicuous at the back, because
though Bendel state had been divided into Edo and Delta, most of the books in
the library were largely from the Bendel State era that was purchased by the Ambrose Alli administration.
Yet the era the books were
purchased, never took away the importance of the library that you could walk to,
and spend some quality time reading and studying. The general reading section
was detached from the main building complex of the library. You could get
there, and walk straight to the main building to read your books at the time.
On 4 February, 2017, I was in the playground
of Eghosa Anglican Grammar School for a funeral ceremony. As I walked with a
friend who was with me, I made a passing comment about the same library that
was in the grounds of that school with it old light green paints still visible.
But now it has been abandoned, with overgrown weeds and obviously reptiles lurking
over there.
The main entrance along Okhoro road has been fenced out and
completely closed. While the section that is visible on the grounds of Eghosa
is fenced with the old bard wire that was there when the library was a Mecca of
study. As we walked towards his car, I remarked how the library contributed to
my life as a person and student, my friend said "me too" He grew up
around the Owoseni area of New Benin which isn't far from the Library.
It all started to go wrong when
Adamu Iyam became the military administrator of Edo State during the Sani
Abacha era in 1994. He adopted a policy targeted at turning the education sector of the state to a dungeon of labyrinth.
He introduced a 'self-sustaining
policy' for certain parastatals in the state at the time, and the Edo State
Library Board was one of them. It meant they(workers) had to generate revenue
and at some point pay themselves salaries. The policy also resulted in the sack
of several teachers from state own primary and secondary schools.
Secondary schools had to introduce morning and afternoon classes for junior and senior
secondary school to deal with the short fall in teachers. The junior secondary students
were made to attend school in the afternoon.
It wasn't long after, the library
complex at Okhoro was shut down. Most of the books there were moved to a
building in the compound of Edo State Post Primary Education Board which is
just down the road at New Lagos road opposite Eghosa Grammar School. With this,
and with less staffs, the culture of going to the library in Benin City took a
hit. The books there suddenly lacked companions that would read them or caress
them where possible.
One reason why the library was
always frequented by all and sundry was, because of it central location. With it
relocation to the Edo Post Primary Education board complex, it was natural that
few people would go there to catch a glimpse of what was happening there.
Nobody thrust books into a building
and suddenly call it a library. Most libraries are purpose built facility for
reading and research tailored to address the appetite of students who are in
need of some quiet place to study. Rather with the movement of books to Edo
PPEB, it no longer took the position of a library, but rather a building where books
were up for auction.
You cannot underestimate what that
library at Okhoro did to the educational destinies of those that grew up around
it. Many in that class would understand it better.
With the state of library completely
dead, the Lucky Igbinedion administration constructed a building at Sapele road
opposite Imaghero College which houses the headquarters of the Edo State
Library Board and a bank. I once went there to read several years ago during my
court attachment from the Law School. It was nice being in a government library
again, with the well-polished tables, chairs and new shelves containing new
books reflecting how new the complex was.
But as it common with things in this
clime, education isn’t one of the priorities of the government as reflected by
various budgetary allocation. The present state of that library complex can be gleaned from one of the fallen letters of the Edo
State Library Board which is at the top of the building.
You cannot find a
letter missing from the Hollywood sign in California. If it happens, it is immediately
replaced. But the fallen signs of the Edo library have been in that state for a
long time. It reflects the state of library in the ancient city. Some might
say, a fallen sign doesn’t mean the library itself is in a bad state. Yet, both are
mutually exclusive here.
While there is the National
Library board at Iyaro by the Edo State Ministry of Education, it still doesn't
make up for the poor state of library in Benin City.
With the city now expanding as new
settlements spring up together with increase in population, there is absolutely
no community library where students can pass out time reading, like it was
before.
With a generation that is increasingly
deviating from the culture of reading, a stimulant would have been siting libraries at
strategic locations in settlements to occupy the minds of youths beyond the
vestries of android and iPhone companions
With digital online libraries now
dominating most of the reading sphere these days, there is still nothing like a porter
issuing you a book you just borrowed with the stamps of the library board plus
an indication of how many times that book has left the library.
While libraries in most part of
the world have gone online and fully digitalised, Benin City cannot boast of adequate
buildings that fits for a library, which makes even the dream of seeing a fully
digitalised library a long way off.
When replaying the cards of nostalgia
becomes the tool to get back at the good times, it is obvious that such a thing to which nostalgia is centred on, is lacking in progress and innovation and that is the state of library in Benin
City.
