By a correspondent
In a society filled with the vices of social media where students and young people flood the avenues of
Facebook comment sections and WhatsApp groups with disjunctive ideas, writings plagued with spelling
errors, verbal content polluted with silly grammatical errors, misinformation by some bloggers and content
creators, the Association of New Generation Authors (ANGA) investigated and discovered that while this set
of people may be enjoying the propitiousness of their gigantic followership through monetisation, the society
seems to be plummeting into a state of mayhem and frustration.
With this consciousness, research into the root cause of this social havoc became peremptory. The result
illustrated that the primary cause of such ignorant and misguided exposure is nothing short of a lack of
interest in reading, while the secondary cause stems from an absence of proper writing and public speaking
skills.
With this consideration, the Association embarked on an educative picaresque which aimed at educating
young people in the national territory on the importance of reading and effective communication through
writing and public speaking.
With regard to the importance of reading, the Secretary General who organised the training under the canopy
of the Association, Marks Abaiko, informed trainees in Yaoundé, Douala, Buea, Dschang, and Bamenda that
effective reading springs the following:
– Increase in vocabulary
– Expansion of knowledge
– Retentive memory
– Critical thinking
– Enhancement of spelling.
After wetting their appetite on the need to cultivate a reading culture, attendees were given ardent writing and
public speaking skills, which swing from basics to professional skills. They were also advised to always share
their knowledge in formal settings like classrooms, seminars, and board meetings, as well as to sensitise the
population about the knowledge acquired from reading.
This training travelled beyond the confines of effective communication to life lessons as Marks Abaiko
encouraged the youths to embrace hard work as the only engine to success.
He revisited the topic of the two days of training in five regional cities by drumming the following declarations,
which he requested participants to chant with utmost veracity and vivaciousness:
–-Reading is leading,
–The length and quality of your speech are determined by the number of books you have read (quotation from
Tales of Reality by Marks Abaiko).
— Communication is the most important currency in the market of opportunities. (Marks Abaiko)
— When your communication is sound, your promotion is bound. (Quotation from The Magic in
Communication by Marks Abaiko).
With this nutrition of knowledge, participants who suffered from poverty of knowledge travelled back home
with rich brains. Some even suffered from information constipation.
As an epilogue, the training ended with directives to the participants to preach the gospel of effective reading
and effective communication in their community and on social media.
The Secretary General of the Association, Marks Abaiko, was elated with the increased interest of the youths
to learn effective communication, especially in Bamenda and Buea, where the turnout was huge.The
Association promised to return with the second edition of the training in August 2025.