National Assembly Wants National Library Named After Chinua Achebe

A public hearing on the bill seeking an amendment to the National Library Act Cap 59 Laws of the Federation, organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Basic and Secondary Education, was held recently.
Chairman of the Committee, Honourable Zakari Muhammed, was quoted to have said the draft bill under consideration seeks to amend certain sections of the National Library Act, including renaming the National Library of Nigeria as Chinua Achebe National Library.

He said the bill also sought to review and make penalties stiffer for breach of provisions as well as compel the National Library Board to establish national e-library in order to bridge the gap in teaching and research.

Naija News understands that the bill also seeks to specify the tenure of office of the director/chief executive officer of the National Library.

Making contributions on behalf of the National Library of Nigeria, the legal adviser and secretary to the board, Mr Aminu Ogaji, described the proposed renaming of the National Library as unconventional.

He argued that there is no national library in the world that is named after personalities, even though sections or floors of the building could be named after such renowned personalities. The National Library of Nigeria, he maintained, should maintain the status.

Ogaji, who represented the director/chief executive officer of the library, Professor Lenrie Aina, however, expressed support for the bill, especially in the area of prescribing stiffer penalties for the breach of the provisions of the National Library of Nigeria Act.

He said the Act should be amended to raise fine for default from 50 pounds to N250,000 in addition to depositing perfect copies as required by the act.