Newspapers are for Your Children!!

Hello everyone.

An hour ago, i took a look at my notifications and saw that all the articles written by my friends were all about welcoming the new year, experiences fromt the previous year and expectations from the new one. I was about writing a similar article but i couldn't find a suitable title for it. Almost all the nice "titles" i could think of were already taken by someone else. So, unfortunately or fortunately,i decided to write about something else.

Going down memory lane, i was addicted reading newspapers. All thanks to daddy who always return home everyday with atleast three dailies.

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I started developing keen interest in newspapers when I was six years old. Like a curious little cat, I would immediately come to sit close to dad when he is glancing at a newspaper and I would also try to take a glimpse .

I always find the the bulky and complex little inscription of news matter written all over the papers boring and uninteresting. What always spur my interest was the beautiful and disparate images been displayed on every pages.

When I see an image of of a group of surgeons operating on a patient, I would ask dad " Daddy, why are these people writting with red crayon on the stomach of this man?" . Daddy would try his best to explain to me what was happening. Before he even finished talking, I would shove his hands away and turn to the other page which might be talking about kids and parenting. On seeing a little white girl with a cute smile, I would declare that she was my friend whose name was blessing, since blessing light-skinned. I would scream at daddy to buy me thesame bicycle that I saw blessing riding in the newspaper.

Out of exasperation, dad would leave the newspaper for me and listen to a transistor radio instead . He would return to it when I have gone outside to play. Later on, the transistor radio got spoilt. I spilled a cup of tea over it. But i dont think that was my fault, dad always drank tea while listening to the radio or reading a newspaper and the tea cup was very close to the radio on that day. Lol.

By the time I was 12, I had already started developing interest in the written words of the newspaper. As matter of fact, dad's newspapers really helped me in learning how to read earlier than the rest of my classmates and friends.

When there was no light to watch cartoons or home videos,I would pick up any of the newspapers and start reading them, just for something to do. I actually read the words aloud and if I come across any difficult word, dad would notice and assist me with its pronunciation.

I remember when I was in grade 5 and grade 6, Mrs. Funke our English teacher realised that i was very fluent in reading and was also good in dictation(spellings). Therefore, she always chose me to come forward when it comes to reading a comprehension passage for the rest of the class members.

By the time I was in Junior high school. I became more interested in the news conveyed by the papers. At that tender age, I knew almost all the names of the governors of the 36 states of my country and as their pictures were always appearing in the papers for one reason or the other. I was also quite familiar with alot of senators and ministers. I also got to know about the capital cities of more than a dozen countries in the world amongst other things . All these are stuffs that many SSS 3 students wouldn't know.

Every evenning, dad returns home from work with a bunch of newspapers which he dumps on the center table and goes in to take a shower. I would quickly grab the newspapers, and skipped all the long stories about politics which i find very boring. My favorite sections were the "kiddies corner, games and puzzles, followed by entertainment and sports. By the time dad was through with dinner, I must have seen all my favorite stories. Dad preferred the political discussions.

As expected, my social studies and general knowledge teachers observed my vast knowledge in current affairs and were very impressed. Needless to say, I was the best in these subjects. They also told other teachers about this.

Sometimes, when the general knowledge teacher was having a hard time with a senior class, he would send for me at once. I would correctly give the answer to a question that the whole students in the class could not answer and the teacher will order them to give me a round of applause. I really enjoyed these moments and i walk back to my classroom with shoulders up, grinning from ear to ear.

Once in a while, I helped some of the senior students with their assignments in general knowledge and social studies if I can. I was also very good in debates because i would always consult my newspapers at home ( both old and neew) for excellents ideas and points about the topic of discussion. This made me very outstanding in a number of interschool and interclass competitions. And of course, I was always given a prize for my brilliant performance.

In a short while, I became quite a popular kid in the building. All thanks to my darling newspapers. When boys and girls of my age were mostly familiar with "Tom and Jerry" and disney characters, through daddys newspapers, I was able to meet and learn more about iconic figures like; nelson Mandela, martin Luther king, mahatma Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher, Williams Shakespeare and a host of others.

The covers of my exercise books and textbooks were always wrapped and decorated with the colorful pages of old newspapers. They looked very attractive to my class members and they pleaded with me to bring some papers for them to use on their books too. As a generous chairlady, I gave them as many newspapers as they wanted. In a short while, I became the chief supplier of wrapping newspapers to many students in my school.

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To all my sponsors, subscribers, commenters and upvoters, thank you so much for the continuous love and support. Wishing you all a more successful and celebrated 2022.

Yours lovely,

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Bilqees.