HYBRID LIBRARY INDEED

Akinboro Oladayo Samson

 HYBRID LIBRARY INDEED

One of the responsibilities of government is to provide social amenities for the people. The people of Mushin Local Government Area were joyful when the past local government Chairman Adepitan erected a building on surplus land at the St. Jude Primary School, Ilasamaja, Mushin.

The building was commissioned by Muiz Banire whom the building was named after, the building carries a big sign board indicating the architectural beauty of the Library.

This building is not just a building. It has boldly at the top HYBRID LIBRARY a name that is uncommon to most of the student living in the area but sounds well. People were happy especially students and parents who know the importance of education.

The most unfortunate thing about the library however is that after it was commissioned, it was not opened for people to use for several months. The building was just their on its own wasting along with its beauty and glory. After sometimes a very good observer will notice the presence of people living in the so called Hybrid Library, you will see people spreading their wet clothes on the fence, some relaxing with comfort on the balcony and you begin to wonder as a right thinking member of the society what the building was actually erected for.

Later on, it was noticed that students have started trooping in to the Hybrid Library with their bags on their back and some carrying a handful of books in their hands. It was a thing of joy at the initial stage because from the outside the Hybrid Library has started functioning.

Ironically, I took it upon myself to visit the library and see what is inside the building, when I got in it was an eyes sore. Plastic chairs and computer tables with sockets everywhere but no single computer, about two shelves with few books on them, it is a total disappointment to the students whom had vision a big library full of computers, shelves with updated books just like a standard library.

Some of the politicians around when people lament on the state of the digital library said the computers and books for the library had been booked for in the overseas and will soon arrive. It’s being years now we are still waiting for Godot, which may never come. Right now students in their hundreds take their books to the Digital Library to read and go home with sometimes two Librarians, sometimes one and most of the time no one.

It is however, obvious that the Hybrid Library was built to score a political point, the building was erected to amuse the on lookers and not to serve the purpose it was supposed to serve, a thing that is common in the country like ours, which is most unfortunate.