The Lions Club has reaffirmed its commitment to promoting literacy and education, saying its annual reading and spelling bee competition will continue as part of activities to commemorate the United Nations World Literacy Day.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Trade FM during the competition in Lagos, the Committee President, Lion Dr. Matthew Obasohan, MJF, NLCF, said the initiative was part of the club’s commitment to supporting programmes aligned with the United Nations.
Obasohan explained that while the Lions Club has its own global causes, it also identifies with important United Nations initiatives and regularly participates in programmes that advance shared objectives.
He said the spelling bee was therefore not a one-off activity, but an annual event that would continue whenever the United Nations marks World Literacy Day.
“Whatever the United Nations is doing, we key into it. World Literacy Day is an annual event, so anytime they are having World Literacy Day, Lions Club must key into it,” he said.
He expressed satisfaction with the performance of the students who participated in the competition, particularly noting their determination and enthusiasm despite the challenges facing education in the country.
According to him, the emotional reaction of some of the students who lost during the competition demonstrated their commitment to excellence and the efforts of parents to ensure their children receive quality education despite prevailing economic difficulties.
He also noted that the participating students were drawn from public schools, adding that their performance indicated an improvement in literacy levels.
However, Obasohan called for increased government investment in public schools to create better opportunities for students and improve their participation in educational programmes.
“I am satisfied with what I have seen today,” he said, noting that the students had to interrupt their holidays to participate in the competition.
He disclosed that seven schools were initially expected to participate, but five eventually took part in the competition.
Looking ahead, the Lions Club committee president expressed optimism that next year’s edition would be bigger, while noting that his continued leadership of the spelling bee committee would depend on the decision of the incoming District Governor.
Obasohan said regardless of who leads the committee next year, the Lions Club remains committed to supporting literacy and educational development through initiatives such as the reading and spelling bee competition.
