…as he calls for mental revolution as the way out of the woods for Nigeria
By Aluu Vincent
It was an evening to remember as Uyo Book Club played host to Founder of Topfaith Schools, Dr Emmanuel Abraham at the City View Centre of WatBridge Hotel, Saturday June 25, 2022.
The June reading session titled, “An Evening with Dr Emmanuel T. Abraham, witnessed by an array of personalities became a mentoring session for the younger generation as the Guest spoke of his grass to grace story.
Prominent on the list of attendees were Rt. Hon. Ekong Sampson Ph.D, Patron, Uyo Book Club, Dr. Martins Akpan, Medical Doctor, Poet and Writer, Professor(Mrs) Felicia Etim, University Librarian, Federal University of Otueke, Bayelsa state, Dr. Mbuotidem Uwah, The Librarian, Federal Polytechnic, Ugep, Dr. Arnold Udoka, Senior Lecturer, Department of Performing Arts, University of Calabar, Professor Joe Ushie, Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Uyo, Professor Charles Obot, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Communication Arts, University of Uyo and others.
The founder of Topfaith Group of Schools, Mkpatak, Dr Emmanuel Abraham, thanked Uyo Book Club for what he described as an attempt at revolutionizing Nigerians mentally by redirecting their minds to reading and loving books. He said he was impressed by what he has seen at the reading session and promised to partner the club so students in Topfaith schools can benefit.
The City View Hall of the Letters House was agog and full to its capacity with professors, academic doctors, dons and barons from all walks of life who came, sat and were fed satisfactorily with the touching life story by Dr Abraham, drawn from his autobiography with the title “The Previous Hours of my Present Days”.
He said, “Mine is a story of the local boy from the rustic village of Mkpatak in Essien Udim LGA who defied the odds to become somebody in life. It was a journey of hard work, determination, focus, commitment and perseverance to succeed. The things I did and how I handled my previous hours has contributed to what I am today in my present life”
He concluded his story by noting that the quest to make it in life and contribute to human capital development gave birth to Topfaith Nursery, Primary, Secondary schools and Topfaith Univeristy. He urged the youths never to give up on themselves irrespective of their background noting that there was always light at the end of the tunnel. He however called for mental revolution in Nigeria as way of getting out of the woods. He said the action of Uyo Book club is a step in the right direction of fixing Nigeria.
He also saluted Watbridge Hotels & Suites, Uyo for providing free library facilities and services for its guests, saying this shows the respect the management of the topnotch hospitality outfit have for knowledge. In his remarks on the Visitors’ Notebook of the library, Dr Abraham wrote: “It is a pleasant surprise for me to see a library in a hotel. This is modernity, creativity, innovation and respect for knowledge.”
In his speech during the club’s reading session, Dr Emmanuel Abraham hailed Dr Udeme Nana for founding the club and charged him to extend the dream to both secondary and primary schools in order to inculcate the culture of reading in the students.
Uyo Book Club, an intellectuals’ hub, is a community of books lovers and readers in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, whose vision is to revamp reading culture among young people in the society. Watbridge Group hosts Uyo Book Club’s reading sessions, every last Saturday of the month.
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