Rita Dominic, Omoni Oboli To Storm Port Harcourt For Children's Day

No doubt, the reading culture in Africa, especially in Nigeria is said to be declining. It is a common saying that ‘if a secret is to be hidden from Africans, it should be kept in the book,’ that is how bad the situation is in Africa. It is from the backdrop that the organisers of the prestigious Best Of Nollywood (BON) awards have lined up some movies stars to encourage some children in the act of reading. This is part of activities put in place to usher in the 2014 edition of the awards, which holds in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, later this year. BON is organising the BON Winners Children’s Day Book Reading on May 27, 2014 in Port Harcourt. Movie stars like Rita Dominic, Omoni Oboli, O.C Ukeje, Alex Ekubo and others have been pencilled down for the great event. The selected actors, who are past winners of the coveted awards, are expected to meet, motivate and read to about 5,000 children chosen from different primary and secondary schools across the state. According to the executive producer, Seun Oloketuyi, “May 27th is recognized across Nigeria as a day set aside to honour children. Therefore, since we have kid actors who have also gone on to win our award, we thought it fit to incorporate a children-centred event in our pre-awards activities. More so, being an actor is one thing, winning awards and honours for acting is another thing entirely. The actors we are taking to Port Harcourt are therefore role models who enjoy huge following among children of various ages and races.” He continued, “Essentially, BON Winners Children’s Day Reading will see some of our past winners who inspire adulation among kids to meet with some of these kids, read to them and inspire and motivate them to reach for their dreams.” Oloketuyi said further that the Children’s Day event which would be chaired by the First Lady of Rivers State, Mrs Judith Amaechi, will also afford these kids photo opportunity, meet-and-greet, question and answer session and lunch with their favourite movie stars. There would also be gift packs for children that attend the event.