Comedienne, Lepacious Bose, was aiming to crack skulls instead of ribs when she blasted the youth over poor reading culture on her Instagram page. She spoke about everything from poor reading culture to the youth embracing ignorance.
She posted:
“When I was a teenager, every girl of my age read novels. In fact, we often engaged in a competition to know the fastest reader among us and how many novels that each person read. We could read anywhere we chose; in a bus, in the toilet and at mealtimes.
Nowadays, I meet a lot of girls on the way, but I have never seen them reading a book. They don’t even hold novels in their hands, at least to show off or in pretence. Instead, they are always glued to social media. They know who is dating who and who is wearing what. Many of them do not even know the names of the governors of their states, but they know the name of Kanye West’s mum.
They do not know the capital of Kaduna State, but they know Kim Kardashian’s home address, even the colour of the paint on the wall of her toilet. Ask them what is happening in Syria, they cannot tell you because they don’t know. But they know that Jay Z and Beyonce had a fight this morning and why.
In fact, they know the details of Emeka Ike’s divorce more than the actor and his wife do. If you ask them which state in Nigeria is preparing for an election right now, they don’t know. But they can tell you about Tiwa Savage’s whereabouts, what she is wearing and even what she ate for dinner.
Our generation is not living up to expectation, I know. But what happens to the next generation that will take over from us? They are a disaster waiting to happen. Yet, I quote Asa, who said, ‘Who is responsible for what we teach our children? Is it the Internet or the stars on television?’ So sad.”
A fan mistook her bants for condemnation of social media and she said:
“I never condemned social media. We are talking about mental development here. It is pertinent to grasp the essence of the write-up. Back then, ladies read romance novels and in the process, their written and spoken English got better. Nowadays, they speak with fake accents and cannot spell words in English."
Another fan commented:
“Kids of today emulate and aspire to be what they see in the media. Imagine what will happen if a blogger reports that she just finished reading this novel and it was so interesting. Those with the means to speak and be heard have a huge role to play.”
There is a growing trend of celebrities expressing their views publicly on issues affecting society, from M.I lashing out at Femi Fani-Kayode, to Basketmouth dropping statements on critical issues.