I had always thought that Nigerian children were only good at dancing, singing, watching cartoons and other t.v. shows. But all that changed when I read a story in the Saturday Punch newspaper (August 24,2010 edition) titled: "Nigeria's Youngest Authors". Ordinarily,I would have passe it off as another hype that doesn't get one anywhere. I did not. Curiously, and naturally as a writer myself, I took my time to digest the content of that story. Staring me in the eyes were the pictures of three young girls, who became authors at very tender ages of 8 and 9. Two of them precisely, were eight years old.

Eight years ol authors! That was interesting, especially with their names, schools, classes, and titles of their books included, I could help but give kudos to the NGO that produced these ones.

I was on facebook recently, searching for groups of writers, then I stumbled on CHILDREN WRITERS INITIATIVE. I decided to check it out and found out that it was the name of the NGO that actually made us proud as Nigerians, by giving us the Youngest Authors, ever published in the history of this great country. There, I became more convinced as the pictures of these children, including their teachers, were on display. Man, did I feel elated! You may also check out the group and see things for yourself, and may be do as I did - join the group.

One thought that occupied my mind as I browsed through the pictures was that: Why can't we have more organisations that would encourage Nigerian children to write their own stories, just as Children Writers Initiative is doing, other than just concentrating Essay writing, dancing, singing, et al, that has become the fad in the country? What can YOU and I do to help our children discover themselves through story writing? It is a food for thought, isn't it?