After launching its innovative online learning platform called Accessible Studybase to enhance classroom teaching and learning for teachers, students and school administrators last years, Ibadan-based Accessible Publishers Ltd has embarked on yet another groundbreaking project known as Nigeria Literacy Book Adaptation Project, designed to restore the fading glory of Nigeria’s three big languages – Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba. Through it, translated books in these languages will be accessible to teachers and students to ignite the love of mother tongues among youths.
Nigeria Literacy Book Adaptation Project is a collaborative venture Accessible Publishers entered with Kenya-based Room to Read organisation and recently hosted in Ibadan alongside Nigerian translation and linguistic scholars to effectively carry out this assignment.
The four Room to Read team members for the project included Regional Operations, Director for Africa, Collins Munene, Global Director, Gender Equity, Zamaradi Saidi, Associate Director, Literacy (Africa), Tutus Kazungu and Associate Director – Publishing (Africa), Alison Ziki.
Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Ministry of Education, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), State Universal basic Education Boards (SUBEBs), government officials from different states, educational and curriculum planners, dignitaries, and other relevant agencies were also present to bear witness to the historic event.
While declaring the Room to Read collaboration workshop open, Accessible Publishers’ Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Gbadega Adedapo, said the initiative was akin to “igniting a movement that holds the power to reshape our educational narrative, renew our linguistic heritage, and rekindle the flame of reading among our children. This is more than an event; it is a clarion call to action, to inclusion, and to excellence,” and commended the Kenyan organisation for choosing to collaborate with his firm.
According to Adedapo, “We at Accessible Publishers Ltd are humbled by the trust your organisation (Room to Read) has placed in us, following your rigorous assessment of potential Nigerian partners. This recognition affirms our longstanding dedication to excellence in educational publishing. For over two decades, we have pursued a singular mission: to make quality education accessible and affordable for every Nigerian learner, regardless of location or status.”
Adedapo highlighted the strategic importance of the collaboration with Room to Read, as “a partnership written in purpose and bound by vision. Room to Read envisions a world in which all children can access quality education, realise their full potential, and meaningfully contribute to society. And through this Nigeria Literacy Book Adaptation Project, that vision is taking root here, in our communities, in our languages. We celebrate and applaud Room to Read for recognising the significance of local languages and indigenous cultures in learning. Your commitment to publishing storybooks in Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba reflects not only linguistic inclusiveness but also cultural affirmation. This opportunity will once again allow our children to see their worlds mirrored in literature, their names, their proverbs, their folktales, not as afterthoughts, but as centrepieces of learning.
“We are also deeply moved by your gender-sensitive approach to literacy. Your unwavering dedication to the education of the girl-child is both progressive and powerful, as reflected in one of your maxim, “Creating a world free from illiteracy and gender inequality. By placing books in her hands, you place destiny in her reach.”
Adedapo then called on cultural custodians, translators, educators and knowledge bearers, “may your work be a gift to this generation and a legacy to the next. Let me end on this note: Literacy is not a luxury, it is a lifeline. It is the ladder from poverty to possibility, from obscurity to opportunity. With every page we produce and every child we reach, we turn the tide toward progress.”
Some of the language experts assembled to carry out the translation task include Hausa language expert from the Department of Linguistics and Foreign Languages, Bayero University, Kano, Professor Tyjani Shehu Almajir Osita Gerald, Hausa language expert from the School of Secondary Education (Languages), Federal College of Education, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Dr. Suleeyman Hamisu Aliyu, Igbo language expert from the Department of Linguistics, African and Asian Studies, University of Lagos, Dr. Nwagbo Osita Gerald, Hausa language expert from the Department of Linguistics and African Studies, Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo, Mrs. Abdulazeez Umma Sa’ade, Yoruba language expert from the Department of Yoruba Studies, Tai Solarin University of Education, Dr. Aboderin Oluwakemi Adebisi, Yoruba language expert from the Department of Library, Archival and Information Studies, University of Ibadan, Dr. Clement Adeniyi Akangbe and Dr. Ebele Okafor from the Department of Linguistics, African and Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Lagos.
These language experts shared their views on the imperative of the exercise that they believe should have started years ago, noting that now is as good as nothing. For Dr. Akangbe, “The collaboration between Room to Read and Accessible Publishers Ltd was highly effective and well-coordinated. It brought together a diverse team of language experts, educators, and publishing professionals in a structured and inclusive environment. Room to Read provided technical expertise and international best practices, while Accessible Publishers brought local knowledge and implementation capacity. Together, they created a platform where quality and contextual relevance were prioritized, ensuring that the final products met global literacy standards while remaining authentically Nigerian.
This kind of collaboration is a model for future literacy development initiatives in Nigeria.” According to Mrs. Abdulazeez, “The training provided a wealth of insights that cut across literacy theory, cultural adaptation, and child psychology. I found the sessions on narrative structure for early readers and culturally sensitive illustration particularly enlightening. These are aspects often overlooked in academic discussions of children’s literature. I intend to infuse these learnings into both my university lectures and writing practice. My course content will now give greater emphasis to the value of localized storytelling in cognitive development. As an author and teacher, I plan to create more Hausa children’s books that are pedagogically sound and culturally grounded.”
Gerald summed up the proceedings at the workshop and the entire collaborative efforts thus, “For starters, I have learnt how to mentor students in creative writing projects specifically for early-grade readers in Igbo. I, along with my other colleagues, are planning to launch a student writers’ club focused on producing children’s literature in Nigerian languages. As a writer, I will try to develop a series of culturally embedded storybooks for children in Igbo that reflect urban and rural realities, including intergenerational relationships — something we don’t write about enough in our children’s literature.”
