By Jordan Walbe.
The Convener of Jos Book Fair, *Dr. Hankuri Tawus Gaya*, has said reading shapes the state of mind, stressing that when young people are engaged in reading at a young age, they grow up becoming very knowledgeable and inspired by the books they read.
Dr. Gaya described the *Read Plateau 2026 Project* as essential for building a reading culture, noting that it is the school outreach arm of the Jos Book Fair, an initiative of the *Campus Missions and Leadership Initiative, CMLI*.
*What Read Plateau Does*
According to him, Read Plateau exists to build a reading culture in secondary schools and does four things in every school:
– Places books in the school to stay as the club’s own library
– Starts or strengthens a reading club: 10 readers, 5 junior and 5 senior, meeting weekly with two teachers
– Trains the teachers so the club continues after the project ends
– Promotes reading in mother tongue
He explained that the club meets weekly for about 90 minutes — a word of the week in mother tongue, silent reading, mother tongue practice, discussion, and a drill from the 100-Question Study Guide. Every reader keeps a log and every book is signed out and returned.
*Reversing Loss of Mother Tongue*
Dr. Gaya said many Plateau children speak Berom, Mwaghavul, Ngas, Tarok, Anaguta, Afizere, Irigwe, Aten, Ron, Challa and other Plateau languages at home but have never read a sentence of them on paper.
_“That is the loss we are reversing. Language carries culture, and culture carries the values by which we perceive ourselves and our place in the world,”_ he said.
*21 Schools Reached Without Grant*
He disclosed that since April 2026, books have been placed in *21 secondary schools across Jos North, Jos South and Jos East*, with reading clubs meeting and teachers leading voluntarily.
_“Picture a 14-year-old girl in a classroom in Jos reaching the last page of a novel by a Nigerian author. It is the first book she has ever finished that was not a textbook. That is the moment Read Plateau exists to create. None of this was funded by a grant. It was carried by conviction, volunteers and friends who believe in the next generation,”_ he said.
*BookFiesta November 5 and Call for Sponsorship*
Dr. Gaya announced that the *Plateau BookFiesta 2026* will hold on *Thursday, 5th November, 2026*, where readers will compete in book knowledge and mother tongue reading.
He said the Jos Book Fair and Read Plateau project need sponsorship and are open for sponsorship, calling on the Plateau State Government, organizations and individuals to partner.
_“Your partnership will not buy a banner. It will fill a shelf. It will put a book in the hands of a child who has never owned one,”_ he appealed.
He said partnership logos will be on all materials, backdrops and media, and listed prize categories requiring sponsorship:
– *First Prize: N1,500,000 + Books + Bookshelf + Winner Trophy*
– *Visionary of Reading (Second Prize): N1,000,000 and above*
– *Leader of Reading (Third Prize): N750,000*
– *Champion of Reading (Adopt a School Award): N500,000*
– *Ally of Reading (Category Prize): N250,000*
– *Friend of Reading (Special Award): N100,000*
– *Readers and Teachers Book Pack: Books for 10 Readers and 2 Teachers of one school*
Every participating school will go home with books and a bookshelf, while readers and teachers will go home with books of their own.
*Team Members Speak*
*Mr. Sam Semako* of Jos Book Fair said the project wants to break the myth that Africans, Nigerians and Gen Zs don’t read.
_“Reading is a habit. If it is cultivated you can take it into old age. There are so many things embedded in books that when you don’t open them, you don’t get to have access to them,”_ he said.
*Comrade Stephen Owe*, Organizing Chairman, said the project brings schools together to talk about books and revive mother tongues.
_“We have about 15 out of 22 schools that have started. My call is one hour of reading in the morning, one hour in the evening, and more authors should publish in our mother tongue,”_ he said.
Volunteer *Jemimah Galadima* urged youths to finish at least one or two books a year and called on Plateau State Government to sponsor the project for the development of young leaders.
