… Today’s Brains Are Overloaded With Junk, No Space For Creative Enterprise And Curiosity
Mr Anayo Agu, the Chief Executive Officer of Seeds of Greatness Institute in Enugu and an inspirational speaker, says self-education is projected to exceed $1 trillion in daily revenue in five years, noting that it is one of the fastest growing industries in the world.
Agu, Special Adviser to Enugu governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi on SME and Investment Promotion, stated this in an interview on the sidelines of the launch of a book titled: “The Undergraduate”, in Lagos.
Aug, the keynote speaker and reviewer of the book authored by Mr. Ifeanyi Uba, was the Special Adviser to ex-governor Sullivan Chime on SME and investment promotion.
According to him, the art of the self-education movement is the ability to read, communicate and imagine new ways of doing things.
He argued that reading is the greatest tool of enlightenment, modern civilization and human progress and therefore the need to bring it back to the family dining tables, schools and our public squares.
“There is an urgent need to reawaken the reading culture in Nigeria, as this is the foundational skill. It affects the way we think, feel and act.
“Readers are learners and learners are almost always leaders in their fields of endeavours. According to Eric Hoffer, in times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.
” In a similar vein, Alvin Toffer warned that the illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.
“Today, everyone who owns a handset is overwhelmed by an endless stream of information and data transmitted from multiple sources and ceaselessly presented for one’s attention, processing and use,” he stated.
Agu noted that today’s brains are overloaded with junk, leaving little or no space for creative enterprise and curiosity, adding that there was also a need for all stakeholders to join hands to stem the declining culture of reading in the country, especially among the youths.
Reviewing the book, he stated that the book; The Undergraduate, has 273 pages and is recommended mainly to distracted youths and some parents who hardly dropped their handsets, even at breakfast or dinner tables.
He noted that the book also has about 20 chapters adding that it is a big book.
Speaking further, he noted that almost everyone was eager to write a book, but only about one percent of the human population ended up fulfilling this innate desire.
“This is so because writing a book is hard. It is harder than thinking, which many philosophers and thinkers such as James Allen and Wallace Wattles consider the hardest human activity.
” To a consultant, a trainer and a development expert such as Ifeanyi, the author, a book helps to establish one’s authority level, to promote one’s expertise and often open doors of opportunities even in unusual places.
” Above all, as a creative process, writing gives one an immeasurable opportunity of time and space to share one’s gifts and talents and to shine light in some dark spots, especially those pathways of life where one has experienced difficulties and learned some unpleasant lessons,” he said.
Also speaking, the author of the book, Ifeanyi Uba, said that ‘The Undergraduate’ was one of the several books he had written in recent times.
According to him, ‘The undergraduate’ is based on events on experiences he once had while he was in the university.
He added that the book was about a fictional character titled; ‘Ifeanyi Umah’.
“My name is Ifeanyi Uba, but the fictional character is Ifeanyi Umah and the adventures, the experiences he went through, from arriving at the university up until the time he left.
“The book is inspired by so many experiences that I went through personally and also experiences that my close personal friends went through, experiences that I observed. I decided that I am going to write a book about it and here we are today,” he said.
Uba added that the book was the biggest he ever wrote because it was a full-sized novel, but very interesting
