The Head of Department, Mass Communication, Crescent University, Dr. Kola Adeshina, has declared Nigeria’s reading culture “dead,” blaming social media, Artificial Intelligence, and a generation obsessed with instant results for the decline.
Adeshina lamented that the problem is worse today than years back when the old saying, “If you want to hide something from the black man, write it in a book” was made.
He spoke on Thursday at the launch of a book titled ‘My Take’, and 43rd birthday celebration of Kunle Sodipo, held in Abeokuta.
The don blamed TikTok, Instagram and other AI tools for shrinking the attention span of young Nigerians, arguing that students now rely on apps to do assignments, making classroom work the only real test of capacity.
He said, “The reading culture is dead and it’s very sad. About 10-15 years ago they used to say sarcastically that if you want to hide something from the black man, write it in a book, because he wouldn’t read. But it’s even worse now. The Android culture has diminished, and the GenZ culture has killed the emphasis that should be on reading. People don’t read anymore. We thought technology would improve reading, but it has actually killed it.
“People are now on TikTok, Instagram and other distractions. AI has made the matter worse. You give assignments now, the app will do it for them. The only assignment that can test the actual capacity of your student is the one done in class.
“We are raising a generation that is handing everything over to the machine. If you are not careful, we will hand over everything to the machine.”
Adeshina called for the return of humanities and moral instruction to primary and secondary schools, noting that the subject was introduced during the Obasanjo military regime but has since disappeared.
He also lamented that male students are “lost” in classrooms, more concerned about buying the latest Lexus than reading, while female students appear more serious.
“Someone earlier said GenZ are only concerned about result, but you must work and toil before result. The boys are lost. Everybody wants to see how they can buy the next jeep, buy the next Lexus. They don’t like reading. Ladies are now more serious than the boys, and it’s all over the world. I have taught in the UK, it’s the same thing,” he said.
Also speaking, Dr. Peter Olusade Adepimpe of Crescent University urged GenZ to return to libraries to build knowledge before speaking out.
He noted that they must change their mindset, study history to interpret the present and better predict the future.
“They have neglected the library. They will never go to read even if you give them references. How do you get the facts to speak when you do not read to enrich your knowledge?” he asked. “You cannot remove your yesterday from your today. It is yesterday that you use to interpret today and predict the future.”
Earlier in his remarks, the celebrant and author of the book, Kunle Sodipo, described the country as a “sick patient” in need of urgent intervention.
According to him, while there are positive areas to be proud of, the country must also confront its challenges honestly, adding that his objective was not to criticize government or citizens, but to offer solutions.
He argued that Nigeria can only earn global respect when it is economically sound, socially stable, and physically serene.
