A publishing company, University Press PLC, on Monday, donated over 3,000 books to the Ondo State Government to boost the state’s education sector.

UPPLC’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Samuel Kolawole, made the donation during a courtesy visit to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa at the governor’s office in Akure.

Kolawole said the gesture was part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility to the state.

He said, “This is one of the things that we do in University Press PLC. We believe that in any environment where we are, and we are succeeding, as part of the stakeholder approach to our business, we should give back to that society, to that community.

“So this is part of our corporate social responsibility. We are book publishers. We have a presence in Ondo State. We have benefited from this state, and we just feel that we should give back to the people of this state.

“This is not the first time we are coming to give back to society, especially in Ondo State. So we have come to give back to the state by donating books. We have over 3,000 copies of books for the libraries of public schools in Ondo State.”

On the issue of piracy as a challenge to the publishing business, Kolawole said there was a need for the government and other stakeholders to collaborate with publishing firms to end the scourge.

He said, “It is a challenge that is not limited to Nigeria. It is worldwide. What has made a difference in other parts of the world is the way that the laws in those areas have been enforced.

“In Nigeria, we are facing a lot of challenges because it is a big country, and so the challenge is even bigger and higher.”

He said the UPL continued to work with the Nigerian Publishers Association, which is the association of publishers in Nigeria, to fight piracy.

He said, “At the individual level, as publishers, and also at the NPA level, we are also working with the Nigerian Copyright Commission to see that we attack piracy and fight it and bring it to the barest minimum. It is a major challenge that publishers are facing.”

Responding, Aiyedatiwa noted that Ondo had benefitted from the patronage of University Press Plc, noting that the state had consistently purchased and recommended the company’s books at both state and national levels.

According to the governor, the provision of educational materials for pupils and students “is critical to human capital development, particularly in a modern, knowledge-driven economy.”

He added, “Major economies of the world are powered by knowledge built on education, technology and skills, and University Press Plc is already making a meaningful contribution to education and human capital development.”