Iyke Bede
In the build-up to the 2025 Best of Nollywood Awards, organisers returned to a tradition that has become one of the event’s most meaningful pillars: the BON Children’s Book Reading Session. The initiative brings literature into public schools, and this year it placed the spotlight on journalist and author Tomi Falade and her historical play ‘Olobun.’
The reading session took place at Ikeja High School. By mid-morning, the school hall was filled with students. Nollywood actors Omowunmi Dada and Keppy Ekpenyong arrived with Oluremi Hamzat, the wife of the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, to lead the session.
The reading was a joint effort. Dada, Ekpenyong, Hamzat, and several members of the school’s staff took turns reading to the students. Their different voices and styles gave the story rhythm and kept the hall attentive. The students listened closely and reacted with quiet excitement and light applause as the session moved along.
The play tells the story of a woman who built a kingdom and shaped history through resilience and leadership. Falade explained why she wrote the play. According to her, Olobun’s life stood out as a chapter of Nigerian history that risked being forgotten. She said she documented the story years ago but published it only recently, driven by a need to ensure it stayed authentic. She stressed that when history is not told by those who own it, it risks being twisted into something unrecognisable.
Copies of ‘Olobun’ were handed to the students, turning the experience into something they could revisit on their own terms. The organisers also presented cash donations to the school, a gesture that aligned with BON’s ongoing effort to support learning spaces while promoting reading culture.
In her remarks, Oluremi Hamzat commended BON for sustaining a programme. She said:
“I appreciate the organisers for extending this invitation and for sustaining a tradition that continues to enrich the hearts and the minds of our children. Reading remains one of the most powerful tools for nurturing creativity, discipline, and intellectual growth. Lagos continues to invest in education because we understand that a child who reads becomes an adult who leads.”
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