Jordan Hill organises a Christmas Book Party, features Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, Uche Mac-auley, Treasures-Olawunmi, others

This year’s edition promises to be a huge package, with big names in the literary and media world in attendance as guest special book characters. Confirmed guests include the veteran actress, writer and media personality, Mrs Taiwo Ajai-Lycett (OON, FSONTA, FUTA), Uche Mac-Auley, Toni Kan, and the read-aloud marathon world record holder, Bayode Treasures-Olawunmi. 

In addition to these personalities, the book party also has media personalities that have contributed to the reading culture in Nigeria. On-air personality, Thelma Ilems and the Channels TV duo of Kunle Kasumu and Victoria Idowu have also been confirmed as guests for the event, which is slated to hold on the 21st of December, 2019, at The Pottersland School, Lagos.

Educationalist, Co-founder and Educational Director of Jordan Hill, Mrs Adeola Eze, says this year’s Christmas book party is a re-echoing of the values and mission of the organisation. “We want to create a Nigeria where creative reading and writing is at the forefront of development. We want to change the narrative in the literacy system, developing young and talented kids, and transforming them into individuals capable of being role models, not only in Nigeria and in the literacy world, but to make their voices heard all over the world.”

Six young authors, all of whom have passed through at least one of Jordan Hill’s programs and currently have books published by the institution’s publishing house, Jordan Hill Books, made the star-studded list of Special Book Characters. Oluwademilade Fagbayi, the author of “The Mischievous Old Woman”, Oluwadarasimi Fagbayi, author of “Max the Footballer”, Oluwatofunmi Lawal, author of “The First Female Ruler of L’Eko”, and Oluwakanyinsola Afolayan, author of “Mobola and the Spider”, have been confirmed as guest appearances at the event. Other young authors include the Dreamworld classics trio of Ogechukwuka Okechukwu, author of “Ben and the Wicked Old Woman”, Azeema Davies, author of “Be Careful What You Wish for” and Ufedojo Agudah, author of “The Sharpener of Life” will also be gracing the event.

“Seeing young ones just like them being recognised for their hard work and dedication to what interests them would spur other young achievers to do more in transforming the society around them. They serve as a constant reminder that the future of the nation is capable of being great; no matter the negativity around the nation, if given the right tools, the youths can succeed,” Mrs Eze commented, explaining the reason for recognising and pairing young talents together with already established veterans. “It’s just a testament to the fact that if you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything, and that’s what we want to show the world.

The Managing Director and Co-founder of Jordan Hill, Mr Kennedy Eze, gave reasons for the inclusion of parents as major attendees of the Christmas Book Party. “The parents are a huge part of the development process of a child. They know the child inside out and are better suited to nurture the child’s dreams and aspirations. However, most parents are not aware of the fact that their children have what it takes to excel in the world of books, and this one reason usually contributes as one of the major factors that kill the dream of the child."

"We have noticed in the past that parents who encourage their children with books as against mostly encouraging them with gadgets and video games end up growing children with the right values. And with the issue of children having shorter attention spans now than at any point in time, it is fundamental that we get the parents to believe in the power of books as a way of addressing this prevalent challenge so that they can be able to pass on the culture of reading to their children, as studies have shown that children tend to follow the actions of their parents.”