NCDMB holds fifth book reading programme in Nigeria
In Yenagoa, Nigeria, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) held its fifth book reading programme. The event at the Nigerian Content Tower Conference Centre brought together representatives of the Association of Nigerian Authors in Bayelsa State, the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, academics and university students.
As Premium Times Nigeria reports, the guest author was journalist and strategic communications specialist Paul C. Nwabuikwu. Participants read and discussed excerpts from his 2025 book, “Pain and Promise: Observations and Fragments on Nigeria and People, Public and Private (1990–2025).”
Encouraging reading
NCDMB Executive Secretary Felix Omatsola Ogbe, represented at the event by General Manager of Corporate Communications Obinna Ezeobi, said the programme is part of the institution’s policy of supporting reading, learning and the exchange of ideas. According to him, books make it possible to learn from other people’s experience and knowledge and to consider issues from different perspectives.
Ogbe also noted that the NCDMB’s mandate is not limited to the oil and gas industry and includes developing citizens’ capacities in various fields. He stressed that human capital development must extend beyond technical and professional skills and called for broader reading and critical thinking.
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Conversation with the author
Nwabuikwu said that in his newspaper columns he seeks to analyse topics more deeply so that readers are better informed about events. He called journalism “the first draft of history” and explained that many texts in the book became his response to events of 1990–2025.
The author mentioned Nigeria’s military intervention in Liberia and Sierra Leone through the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group, ECOMOG. He advised those beginning creative writing not to imitate other authors and to write about what genuinely interests them.
NCDMB held its first book reading programme in August 2024 with the participation of Leadership Newspapers Editor-in-Chief Azuh Arinze. In 2025, the events featured former The PUNCH editor Dayo Oketola and King Bubaraye Dakolo, while in April 2026, Dakuku Peterside was the guest.
