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LINDA AYADE’S SUPPORT FOR GROWTH OF LITERACY AND LITERARY ART IN NIGERIA: A NOBLE ENDEAVOUR
Dr. Mrs. Linda Ayade, Wife of the Executive Governor of Cross River State, recently, while speaking as Special Guest of Honour at the 6th Lafarge Africa National Literacy Competition Finale held in Lagos made a case for the growth of Literacy and Literary Art among young people in Nigeria.
The wife of the governor stated in her speech “Lafarge must be celebrated for continually sponsoring these values and literacy which remains a key driver of sustainable development while deviating from the disturbing trend where organizations place huge sums on prize money for winners of games and pageantries that are based purely on luck and natural beauty rather than mental prowess as displayed by the kids we have here today.”
Dr. Linda Ayade’s support for growth of Literacy and Literary Art in Nigeria is not only praiseworthy but can also be described as a noble endeavour especially at a time that the nation is short of such support for the sector at that level.
It can be recalled that the first event the wife of the governor organized when her husband became Governor in 2015 was an essay and quiz competition for Junior Secondary School Students across the entire 18 Local Government Areas of Cross River State.
The competition had the participation of thousands of excited young people with winners going home with prizes including cash and educational support. Another edition of the competition is expected to be held soon.
In 2018, Dr. Mrs. Ayade unveiled the Linda Ayade Literary Art Competition which was conceived to promote literary capacity among young people in Cross River State and reward creativity and competence in literary works. The competition has two categories; the Poetry category and Prose category.
Her Excellency, the wife of the Governor of Cross River State, Dr. Mrs. Linda Ayade, concerned about the dearth of literary skills among young people in the state and nation, had conceived this laudable initiative and supported it through to its success. Winners went home with thousands of pounds.
Now in its 2nd edition, the competition has gained acceptance in the nation’s literary space and has impacted positively on the Literary capacity of many young people, promising a brighter future in the sector for the state and the nation.
Dr. Mrs Ayade has also made a commitment to continue supporting the growth of Literacy and Literary Art in Cross River State and Nigeria especially as it has to do with young people and has plans to launch other initiatives in line with this.
The “Reading And Short Stories With Linda Ayade” will see pre-teens and teenagers from Cross River State spend a few hours with the Wife of the governor reading selected books and writing short stories. The objective of this is to further improve Literacy among these young people for the benefit of the state.
We are grateful to Her Excellency for her support for the growth of Literacy and Literary Art in Cross River State and Nigeria and celebrate her now and always for these noble endeavours. God bless Her Excellency.
Emmanuel Etim is Senior Special Assistant Creative and Knowledge Economy to the Governor of Cross River State and Organizer of Linda Ayade Literary Art Competition.
