AfLIA Goodwill Message at Nigerian Library Association National Conference

As a member of the Governing Council of AfLIA, I formally represented AfLIA at the  57^th Nigerian Library Association National  Conference  and General Meeting the Petroleum Training Conference  Centre, Effunrun-Warri, Delta State, Nigeria. The theme of the conference is “Libraries: Dialogue for Change”

At the opening ceremony, I delivered a Goodwill message on behalf of AfLIA Executive Director Dr. Helena Asamoah-Hassan who is unavoidably absent.  Here is the transcript of the AfLIA goodwill message:

AfLIA Goodwill Message at Nigerian Library Association National Conference

Standing on existing protocol...

I bring greetings from Accra, the headquarters of African Library and Information Associations & Institutions(AfLIA), the umbrella body for the Africa LIS Sector and our trusted voice for African Librarians.  I stand as an AfLIA Council Member representing the Executive Director Dr. Helena Asamoah-Hassan who is in a crucial meeting that will determine the direction of AfLIA for the next few years.

Nigerian Library Association (NLA) as one of the foremost National Library Associations in Africa is a strategic member of AfLIA.  AfLIA is particularly inspired and delighted  that three Nigerians – myself (Chairperson, Library Education and Training Institutions), Madam Neemat Abdulrahim (Chairperson Public and Community Libraries Section) and Dr. Chinwe Anunobi (Rep for English speaking West Africa)  are now in the Council as well as Dr. Nkem Osuigwe who works full-time with AfLIA as Director, Human Capacity Development and Training.

AfLIA has just signed a MoU with the African Union with so many pathways and opportunities opening up for libraries and Librarians. It is our fervent hope that Nigeria will feature prominently as we explore this new relationship with African Union.

Last year in Durban, South Africa, AfLIA hosted all the Ministers who supervise Libraries at the national level. A direct outcome of that meeting was the MoU I just talked about with the African Union. We are not stopping at that. This year, we are hosting the Ministers again in Accra, Ghana. We pray that the Nigerian Minister of Education will be present this year as we missed his presence last year in Durban.

AfLIA congratulates Nigeria for having the highest number of delegates at the AfLIA conference in Kenya in May.  Our sincere Thanks  goes  you, Dr. Umunna Opara,  the NLA President and Prof. Lenrie Aina , the Ntional Libraian, for being with us in Nairobi, Kenya. We hope that your conversations in Kenya with Emerald Publishing  , ProQuest, PressReader, BookAid and others will continue to yield favourable results for NLA and the National Library of Nigeria.

AfLIA holds her conference biennially. The next conference will be in 2021 in Accra, Ghana. We enjoin Nigerian Librarians to get ready for the conference and maintain its lead as the biggest Library Association in Africa!

AfLIA is 6yrs old only, our membership is growing, we still have a long way to go but we keep moving. Currently, there are still many Sections that are yet to be created in AfLIA. You can help to form one. Register your Institutions with AfLIA. We are yet to have a strong vibrant Section like AWLIN in AfLIA. Nigerian female Librarians, what are you waiting for? Imagine how you will influence library and women issues in Africa! We are yet to have an IT Section, Preservation and Conservation Section etc.

We use opportunity to invite all LIS educators  to the forthcoming Webinar, where Professor Ismail Abdullahi of  North Carolina Central University, Durham, United States of America. will be discussing “The need for Qualitative and standardized LIS Education for Africa”

On a final note, We congratulate NLA on being a force to reckon with in the LIS Sector in Africa. We rejoice with you as you hold this conference in oil-rich Warri. As the common parlance goes 'Wari no dey carry last', may NLA and Nigerian Librarians never carry last.

Thank you.

Dr Ayodele John Alonge (Chairperson of Library Education & Training Institutions Section of AfLIA)

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Note: Dr. Nkem Osuigwe, Director, Human Capacity Development and Training is acknowledged