No reading culture

Some believe the problem is arising from the fact that African society believe in superstition and rely on oral tradition. "We never knew what they call a book or magazine during our childhood days. All we knew and one way we learn were gathering around the elders to listen to stories and history of our society," said old man Sando Lavala, aged 76 and a Paramount Chief for over 30 years in central Bong County in the West African State of Liberia. He agrees that most people in his native Liberia and Africa as a whole lack a reading culture because education to a larger extend depended on traditional practices and beliefs.

Kenneth Best, a Liberian newspaper publisher and a journalist for over 30 years, has his own feelings about the lack of reading culture. He thinks reading is a general problem among his kinsmen. As a print journalist who normally follows the daily reading trend of his customers, Best feels that Liberians do not have a strong reading culture. 

"Most Liberians do not read and for me I think this is because of the high illiteracy rate in our country. Our political leaders did not develop the mind of the people by teaching them to read or creating the condition or environment to encourage the culture of reading and so we do not have a reading culture among us as a people," he said.

Professor Michael S. Seator who teaches social science at the University of Liberia echoes Best's sentiments. Seator said the reading culture of Africans is dismal and many people do not value education and so they do not take time to read.

"For me, the main thing about education is to know how to read, but for us in Liberia and Africa as a whole, we just do not like to read." Seator said it is more a question of interest in reading than in a lack of technology and points to fostering the love for reading in primary school as key.

Roland Abban, a Ghanaian Accountant based in Accra, Ghana, also thinks that Ghanaians have a poor reading culture. "I do not think our reading culture is good. I agreed with the perception that if you want to hide something from a black man, just put it into writing. We do not normally like reading too much," he said.

Abban believes that most Ghanaians will only take off time to read when there is a general notice or it is something that concerns them personally.