The management of the Alliance Franco-Gambienne says it has at least 3569 books up for grabs on Saturday, 15 December this year. For francophiles, this offers a wonderful opportunity to enrich their libraries and broaden their knowledge. And the price range is between D10 and D20. We do not expect a teeming crowd on that day, because book-lovers are in the minority in this country. In contrast, if the Alliance Franco-Gambienne were bringing Youssou Ndour to stage a live performance, the whole of Kairaba Avenue would be sea of human beings. And it would have been the talk of the town by now.

When people stop reading, they get mentally barren, relying on residual knowledge to see them through intellectual discourse. And they could be impossible to deal with in that they rake up antiquated bits of knowledge to shore up their arguments. If we want real progress on this continent, we have to do all that we can to defeat ignorance. It could be argued that ignorance has a lot to do with our degradation.

So the Alliance Franco-Gambienne Book fair is a welcome development. We see it as an impetus to revive the reading culture in this country. As a matter of fact, Alliance Franco-Gambienne has been in the forefront of intellectual and cultural advancement in this country, though its bias naturally is French. But the medium is irrelevant. In this ever so competitive world, an ambitious student should aspire to be bilingual.

The Department of State for Education should direct school heads to attend the book fair and buy books for their libraries. Students of languages at the Gambia College and the University of the Gambia should make it a point of duty to attend the book fair, as well.

Even if the turn out falls below expectation, the management of the Alliance Franco-Gambienne should not lose hope. They can still organize the book fair again and again until book fairs become a way of life in this country.

We also take this opportunity to call on both the British High Commission and the US Embassy to organize similar book fairs in conjunction with Timbooktoo Bookshop. We are all obliged to revive and sustain a love for reading in this country.