A Festschrift in Honour of Professor Chukwuemeka Eze Onukaogu

CALL FOR PAPERS
In acknowledgement and recognition of the invaluable contributions of Professor Chukwuemeka E. Onukaogu an astute scholar and persona to literacy and literacy development in Nigeria, Africa and beyond, we hereby call for papers in his honour in the under listed areas:

1. Theories and Practice of Teaching Reading and Writing.
2. Teaching Reading in the Language Departments:Challenges and Prospects
3. Teaching Reading in Technical Institutions: Challenges and Prospects.
4. Literacy and Early Child Care Development.
5. Literacy for Empowerment: Socio-Cultural, Political and Economic
6. Literacy and the Challenges of Globalization
7. Literacy for Cultural Identity and Ideology.
8. Literacy for Prison inmates’ Reformation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration
9. Literacy for the Physically Challenged
10. Teaching Literacy across the School and Life Curricula
11. Literacy and Technological Transfer.
12. Literacy and Elocution Acquisition
13. Literacy, Teacher and Effectiveness.

As our man Professor Onukaogu rightly observed “reading is indispensable to a people in the promotion of their culture and civilization. Since our forefathers did not have a reading culture, we today cannot fully comprehend the hallmark of their civilization because they did not document for us to read and learn what it was that made their civilization tick” (Onukaogu, 2001). This festschrift, a well deserved mark of honour for Professor Onukaogu, is to further expand the understanding of a topic that is dear to his heart.

Professor Chukwemeka Eze Onukaogu is a Professor of English, Obafemi Awolowo University , Ile Ife , Nigeria . He was President, Reading Association of Nigeria (RAN) – 1999 to 2001 – and Chairperson, International Development in Africa Committee (IDAC) (2004 to 2007). IDAC as a standing committee of the International Reading Association, (IRA) consists of the Chairs of all the Reading Associations in Africa. IDAC is charged with the implementation of IRA literacy blueprints for Africa . Prof. Onukaogu has collaborated with major corporate stakeholders in education and literacy in our country such as UNESCO, UBE, SUPEBs, ETF, World Bank, UNICEF, NERDC, Ministries of Education, among others, in promoting literacy and literacy education in our country.

He is the founder and chief executive of the CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR LITERACY  EDUCATION (CELE) www.celeonline.com. Through CELE he has since 1998 been very active in promoting the literacy empowerment of Nigerian prison inmates and in using literacy to enhance the reformation, rehabilitation and the reintegration
of Nigerian prison inmates. He is the foundation Dean of the College of Humanities of Joseph Ayo Babalola University , Ikeji Arakeji, Osun, State, Nigeria where he set up a Reading , Writing and Elocution Center (RWEC). Through RWEC he has produced the first Literacy and Reading curriculum in Nigerian tertiary education for the award of a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literacy and Reading. Recently, he was appointed the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Independent National Electoral Commission for Anambra State, Nigeria . Such a man who has his footprints in literacy and literacy education and who has also championed the teaching of reading in Nigerian schools and colleges deserves celebration and honor with an enduring legacy – a festschrift.

The book will be edited by the trio of Obiajulu A. Emejulu, PhD; Stephen O. Eyeh and Ifeoma Isiugo-Abanihe, PhD.

Typewritten, double-spaced manuscripts, not more than 15 pages in length (including end notes), should be prepared using APA style. Manuscripts submitted for publication will be peer reviewed. For initial consideration, please submit an abstract not longer than 500 words via (1) Karoeye@… (2) omejulus@… and (3) ifyabanihe@…. Authors should be aware of the following deadlines:

30th November, 2010 – Submission of Abstracts
31st December 2010 – Notification of Acceptance of Abstracts of Manuscript
31st January, 2011 – Review and Notification of Acceptance of Manuscript
June, 2011 – Publication Date
For more information, please call: 08035962523 or 08037048720

Thank you.

Stephen Eyeh Obiajulu Emejulu
Department of English Directorate of General Studies
Joseph Ayo Babalola University Federal University of Technology
Ikeji- Arakeji Owerri

Workshop on “Numeral Systems of Nigerian Languages”

Happy International Literacy Day

Dear Esteemed Ranmates,

This to wish you all a happy and activity filled Literacy Day.May today be for all of us a day of renewed commitment to wrestle illiteracy and reluctant reading syndrome to a stand still.

May your individual and collective efforts toward literacy development in Nigeria yield bumper harvest. May I also use this opportunity to every Ranmate who sent goodwill and,prayers to me on assumption of office. I ask for support and cooperation to move RAN forward.

Chinwe A. Muodumogu, PhD.

President

Reading Association of Nigeria (RAN)

Faculty of Education,

Benue State University,

Makurdi

Untimely Death of Prominent RAN-Mate Sunday Mancha

Dear RAN-Mates,

It is with deep sadness that I am announcing the untimely death of prominent RAN-Mate and Coordinator of Open Doors Reading Clinic, Sunday Mancha. He died in a motor accident on Wed. 11th August, 2010. Sunday made a lasting contribution to  RAN-Jos Branch and to  literacy development in Nigeria and beyond. He was co-author of an article on the Power of Language Experience in the April 2010  Reading Today and was an active participant and presenter in IDC-Africa conferences. We  appreciate the prayers of RAN-mates for his young family and for all of us at Open Doors.

Prof. (Mrs.) Joanne Umolu, Ph.D.

Director, Open Doors for Special Learners

Open Doors Special Education Centre

Jos,  Nigeria

www.opendoorsnigeria.org