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1. IMPROVEMENT OF READING CULTURE THROUGH SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN NIGERIAMBONU CHIKWELU. MPhD(ENTREPRENEURSHIP) RESEARCH SCHOLARSHARDA UNIVERSITY, GREATER NOIDA, UP, INDIAON STUDY LEAVE FROM FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC, OKO, ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA HARD COPY READING E READING ?

2. INTRODUCTION • Cheek (1999) described reading as a process that requires the use of complex thought process to interpret printed symbols as meaningful units and comprehend them as a thought unit in order to understand a printed message. According to Etim(2008), basic literacy means an individual’s ability to read, write and speak in English ( or any officially recognised language of a nation). • Reading habit is the use of reading as a regular activity. It is the cultivation of an attitude and possession of skills that make reading a pleasurable, regular and constant activity.(Nssien, 2007) . • Reading culture is the process of building up positive reading attitude among students and children over a period of time. When an individual habitually and regularly read books and other information materials that are not necessary required for him to advance in his profession or career, he is said to have a reading culture(Gbadamosi, 2007:44). It is the type that sees continuous and dedicated reading information resources by pupils, children, students and adults for knowledge acquisition, which will be applied practically for development. • Development generally means the improvement of people’s lifestyle through improved, qualitative and functional education: incomes, skills development and fulfilled employment. Development also means that people should be able to read and write. In Africa, this is a problem as most people are still illiterates, Nigeria inclusive. Nigeria needs this type of development in order to meet its present generation without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their needs. This is an embodiment of sustainable development. (Igwe .K.N, 2011)

3. S STATEMENT OF PROBLEM • In Nigeria, a study carried out by (Henry2004), reveals that 40 percent of adult Nigerians never read a non-fiction book from cover to cover after they finish school. The same study show that 30 million Nigerians have graduated from high school with poor reading skills. (Nssien 2007:94) • Government and proprietors of schools have not complied with library provisions in the National Policy on Education (NPE). (Aina,2011; Unagha,2008) • Education of the citizenry is not yet a priority going by the budgetary allocation to the sector by the different levels of government over the years. UNESCO recommends that developing countries should allocate 26 percent of their annual budgets to education sector. However, an analysis of the Federal Government’s allocation to the sector is nothing to write home about: 2000- 8.36%, 2001- 7%, 2002- 8%, 2003- 7%, 2005- 11%, 2007- 8%, 2008- 13 % ( Mordi, 2008:32) METHODOLOGY This paper is a qualitative study and will use secondary sources such as articles in published news papers and magazines, journals, text books and internet. It will also employ case study in exploring ‘Room to Read social enterprise’

4. L CONSTRAINTS ON READING CUTURE IN NIGERIA • The low level of reading habits and culture among Nigerians is caused by multi-varied factors. According to Aina et al(2011) and collaborated by Gbadamosi(2007:45), it includes: • Poverty: the par capita income of an average citizen in Nigeria with its abundant natural resources is two US dollars per day. Many are too poor to send their children to school. They lack money to buy books and pay school fees. • Corruption: corruption has a profound effect in Nigeria. The government is trying to fight corruption, which has drastically affected Nigerians reading culture. In schools for instance, many students prefer in immoral acts like trading sex for grades, using money to buy grades, cheating in examinations abound in institutions of higher learning. Those who engage in these infamous acts consider reading a waste of time. • Noise culture: a learning environment requires places for quiet study. Most schools are located in densely populated areas, where distractions prevent the smooth flow of learning. Also advent of home videos, film houses, social media, and other electronic gadgets constitute noise in the learning process. • Undue Importance Attached to Wealth: many Nigerians especially the youth cerebrate mediocrity hat the expense of intellectuals. This is as a result of get rich quick syndrome. • Lack of Reading language: in many homes the language of reading is introduced late; the first contact point of some children with this language is school. As children grow older, reading and its associated activities become herculean. • Dearth of Libraries: libraries play an important role in the promotion of reading habits. Government and proprietors of schools have not complied with library provisions in the National Policy on Education.

5. WAY FORWARD: SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP • Poor reading culture or habit is therefore a social problem which the government, the family and the educational institutions are not able to confront alone. This is an opportunity for social entrepreneurship where it is evident that the social market has failed to ameliorate this problem. • Our best hope lies in the power and effectiveness of socially motivated, highly empowered individuals who fight for changes in the way we live, think and behave • The social entrepreneur represents the individual- the practical dreamers who have the talent, the skill, and the vision to solve the problems, to change the world for the better. Social entrepreneurs have a unique approach that is both evolutionary and revolutionary, operating in an enlightened market environment where success is measured not by financial returns alone, but by tangible improvements in the quality of people’s lives. Social entrepreneurs take workable models and adapt them for the benefit of the people, communities, nations and the planet. They do not accept that only government and powerful individuals and corporations are positioned to determine where and how resources should be allocated.(Skolls,2011) MEANINGS OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP • Social entrepreneurship is best understood as a multi-dimensional and dynamic construct moving across various intersection points between the public, private and social sector. The organizational mechanism employed are largely irrelevant: social entrepreneurs work in the public, private, and social sectors alike, employing for profit, not-for-profit, and hybrid organizational forms (or a mix of all three) to deliver social value and bring about change. Such ventures can variously be incorporated as charities, co-operatives, companies limited by shares or guarantee, community, businesses, development trusts, as well as more conventional private limited companies. Leadbeater (1997)

6. Meanings of social entrepreneurship( contd.)On this note (Nicholls A. 2008) defined social entrepreneurship as innovative and effective activities that focus strategically on resolving social market failures and creating new opportunities to add social values systematically by using a range of resources and organizational formats to maximize social impact and bring about change. • CHANGES CREATED BY SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP • Poverty Alleviation: Social entrepreneurship has aided poverty alleviation e.g. Microfinance movement, Mohammed YunnusGrameen Bank. • Healthcare: - Small scale project like support for mentally ill in the community to large scale tackling of HIV/AIDS: Khosa of South Africa. • Education and Training: Social entrepreneurship has reduced widening participation through such project as National Open University Scheme and encouraged knowledge democratization. • Environmental preservation and sustainable development e.g. Green energy projects. • Community Regeneration: Lack of affordable housing in cities is reduced through formation of street housing association. • Welfare Projects: - Social entrepreneurship has helped in provision of employment to the unemployed, home for the homeless and setting up of drug and alcohol abuse projects. • Advocacy and Campaign Projects: Social entrepreneurs have championed human right promotion, fair trade, disability right, child protection.

7. CASE STUDY ON ‘ROOM TO READ’: SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR STEADFAST IN PURSUIT OF GLOBAL LITERACY • John Wood, founder ‘Room to Read’, a global literacy and equality advocacy and action group. John wood’s belief in the power of education prompted him to resign his job as a Microsoft executive in 1999 to start Room to Read, a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving literacy in the developing world. According to Wood: • “At Room to Read we are trying to be social entrepreneurs who educate as many children in the world as possible. In this day and age, anyone who wants to have impact on the world” • Since its inception in 2000, Room to Read has grown into one of the world’s most successful, fiscally efficient social entrepreneurship organizations. Over the last 13years, it has built more than 15,000 libraries and 1,681 schools in poor communities in 10 countries in Asia and Africa, including Laos, Nepal, and Vietnam. • The education non-profit has already reached 7.8 million children and will achieve its goal of 10 million in 2015, a full five years earlier than expected. In 2011, Forbes magazine named Wood to its “Impact 30” list of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs. • Northeastern University’s Social Enterprise Institute, USA, has contributed to Room to Read’s success by donating money to build libraries at schools in India. The Social Enterprise Institute executive director, Dennis Shaughnessy said that the University would form its own chapter of Room to Read, for which the Institute would provide a $5,000 seed grant. The chapter will be led by students in Shaughnessy’s freshman’s Honours Seminar. The director said, • “We have been reading John’s book for many years now and studying his programme as a model for social enterprises. John is one of the leading social entrepreneurs in the world today, and Room to Read is one of the best organizations in that space” • Wood attributes much of Room to Read success to its employees, the majority of whom are locals who know the language, people, and needs of the communities they serve. They are the most important people at Room to Read because they are the ones out in the villages getting things done. • Another important aspect of Room to Read success is its method of for building schools and libraries. Rather than asking volunteers to travel to the countries in which they build the education facilities, the non-profit challenges locals to help with the work, allowing them to contribute to the process. According to Wood: • “We honour the work ethic of the communities by saying we aren’t going to build it for you, we are going to build with you. Let the local people contribute the sweat equity because many times parents there are cash strapped and this is what they have to offer”.

8. CONCLUSIONIt is obvious from the foregoing, that the factors confronting reading culture in Nigeria is multi-varied. The social entrepreneurship has a multi-dimensional approach to tackling social problems especially where the social market has failed. The constraints to the reading culture in Nigeria include the attitude/ values, the funding and the legal/ complaint factors. To create a positive social impact on the reading culture of Nigerians demands individuals with dreams and passion to create sustainable changes that will both evolutionary and revolutionary. RECOMMENDATIONS • University Social Entrepreneurship Centers: As can be seen from the study, big universities in Europe and USA have established social entrepreneurship research centres. (See table 1) and offering courses and degrees in social entrepreneurship. Nigerian Universities and tertiary institution should take a queue by establishing social entrepreneurship research centers. • Undergraduate exposure: Nigerian Universities and tertiary institution should offer courses in social entrepreneurship. This will help students make a choice either to be social business entrepreneur or the conventional entrepreneur. Also business schools can start producing social MBAs to meet the demand of the social business entrepreneurs. • Linkages with Successful Social Entrepreneurs: Nigerian Universities and tertiary institutions should work towards linking with successful social enterprise championing literacy projects such as Room to Read social enterprise. The will afford them opportunity to understudy their success factors. They will also be encouraged to set up an operational office in Nigeria so that the country will benefit from their programmes. • Social Enterprise Advocacy Projects: these will help fight legal and compliant factors hindering reading culture in Nigeria. These will create awareness towards government passing the necessary legislations to aid reading culture in Nigeria.

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