Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State and his siblings are to establish a library in honour of their late father, Ishmael Ikpeazu, to revive reading culture among youths.
On completion, the library will be stocked with contemporary books on diverse spheres of academics, leadership and global developments.
It will be fully equipped with science laboratory for science students of secondary and tertiary institutions, to conduct their practicals.
It will also have a recreational area, where students on an excursion can unwind and engage in interactive and educational activities, an amphitheatre for lectures and seminars and accommodation for visiting scholars and researchers.
Governor Ikpeazu, while unveiling the Ishmael Ikpeazu Memorial Library on Sunday in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, explained that the library will house not less than 30,000 books.
According to him, it is not going to be about old books, but contemporary books.
Ikpeazu, who was visibly excited at the calibre of guests at the event, including Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State and Uchechukwu Ogah, minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, explained also that the management of the library would be hosting leaders and achievers, who would be invited from time to time to talk to the young ones and redirect them positively.
Governor Uzodinma applauded the Ikpeazus for the noble cause and promised the support of his family and the people of Imo State on the realisation of the project.
He described Governor Ikpeazu as a true believer in the Igbo cause, noting that he identifies with his developmental strides in Abia State.
Chinenye Nwaogu, a senior special assistant to Abia State governor, who is one of the organisers of the event, explained that the proposed Ishmael Ikpeazu Memorial Library will not just be a library of books but a complete resource centre, where each visitor will literarily walk through the lives of simple yet determined people, whose lives leave great lessons on resilience, determination, faith, integrity, focus and success.
“This place will afford visitors, researchers, students a learning environment that will excite their curiosity, inspire their inner mind towards making conscious efforts to succeed against all odds.
“The Ishmael Ikpeazu Memorial Library is a centre of excellence set up by the Ikpeazu family to promote scholarship and inspire a new generation of determined and focused leaders.
“It was conceptualised to preserve the legacy of the single-minded pursuit of excellence, character moulding, value for hard work and enterprise and upholding the tenets of faith and personal development.
“The edifice is designed to have different features among which are a main physical library that will be stocked with contemporary books on diverse spheres of academics, leadership and global developments. Upon completion, the place will become a real source of impact in this community and beyond,” he stated.
