Akada Children’s Book Festival Puts African Storytelling First

LAGOS — The Akada Children’s Book Festival is celebrating Nigerian and African children’s literature and promoting a love of reading among young Nigerians. The annual festival champions indigenous storytelling, local language literature, and culturally relevant content for children across Nigeria.

Akada, which means reading or literacy in Yoruba, has positioned itself as a counterweight to the dominance of foreign children’s books in Nigerian classrooms and homes. Festival organisers say Nigerian children deserve stories that reflect their own experiences, languages, cultures, and communities.

Festival Director Lola Shoneyin, herself a celebrated Nigerian author, said the appetite for indigenous children’s books is enormous but underserved. She said Nigerian publishers and writers have the talent and the stories. What they need is consistent platforms, support, and recognition.

“Every Nigerian child should be able to pick up a book and see themselves in it. Not just as background characters in a foreign story, but as heroes, adventurers, thinkers, and leaders. That is what Akada is working to make normal,” Shoneyin said at the opening event.

The State of Children’s Reading in Nigeria

Nigeria faces a significant literacy challenge. Despite high primary school enrollment rates in many states, reading comprehension and book culture remain weak. Many Nigerian children complete primary school without ever reading a book for pleasure. Libraries are rare in most public schools.

In addition, the dominance of social media is competing for children’s attention at younger and younger ages. Child psychologists who attended the Akada festival said books and storytelling offer cognitive benefits that screen-based entertainment cannot replicate. Reading builds vocabulary, empathy, concentration, and critical thinking in ways that passive video consumption does not.

Furthermore, reading in indigenous Nigerian languages is particularly important. Children who read in their mother tongue alongside English develop stronger cognitive flexibility and a deeper connection to their cultural identity. The Akada festival celebrates books in Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Edo, and other Nigerian languages alongside those in English.

Authors and Publishers at the Centre

The festival brings together Nigerian children’s authors, illustrators, publishers, teachers, librarians, and parents for a weekend of book fairs, storytelling sessions, author readings, and creative workshops. Emerging writers receive mentorship from established authors. Young illustrators showcase their work alongside professional artists.

Several Nigerian publishing houses used the festival to launch new titles. A children’s picture book about a young Igbo girl who becomes an astronaut and a Hausa-language adventure story set in ancient Kano were among the launches that attracted significant attention from parents and teachers.

Organisers said registration for the next Akada festival is already open. They are calling on schools across Lagos and other states to bring groups of children to future events. They also announced a new school library partnership program that will donate Akada-curated book collections to public primary schools across the country.