DeeMoat Hub Created to Promote Reading, Critical Thinking — Onome Ugolor

By Lucky Isibor 

The DeeMoat Hub, a new platform designed to promote knowledge, creativity, enterprise and intellectual engagement, was born out of a conviction that communities can only grow when people have access to knowledge, opportunities and spaces for the free exchange of ideas.

Programme Lead of DeeMoat Books & Ideas, Onome Tovia Ugolor, stated this on Saturday, 19 September, at the inaugural edition of the DeeMoat Books & Ideas programme, which featured Nigerian writer and publisher, Dr. Eghosa Imasuen, and his non-fiction book, The Challengers.

According to Ugolor, the hub was conceived as a platform for “learning, innovation, enterprise, creativity and meaningful engagement,” with particular attention to young people.

She said the Books & Ideas initiative was established to bring books, authors and ideas into direct conversation with the public while creating opportunities for readers to engage with writers and reflect on issues raised in books.

“DeeMoat Hub was born from a simple but powerful conviction: that communities grow when people have access to knowledge, opportunities and spaces where ideas can be freely exchanged,” Ugolor said.

She explained that the Books & Ideas programme represented an important expression of the hub’s broader vision, adding that it would provide an inclusive platform for authors to interact with readers, inspire public dialogue and take ideas beyond the printed page into society.

Ugolor said the initiative was particularly important at a time when reading habits were facing growing challenges  and young people were confronting an increasingly complex world.

“At a time when reading habits are under pressure and many young people are navigating an increasingly complex world, we believe that books remain powerful instruments of education, imagination and transformation,” she said.

She added that DeeMoat Hub hoped to use the initiative to promote a stronger reading culture, encourage critical thinking, celebrate Nigerian and African writers, and connect younger generations with stories and ideas capable of influencing their future.

The inaugural event featured The Challengers, written by Imasuen, which explores the experiences of a group of entrepreneurs and their role in the emergence of a new business culture.

Ugolor said the choice of the book was consistent with the spirit of the programme, noting that its themes of “ambition, courage, enterprise and the experiences of people who confront obstacles and create new possibilities” resonated with the objectives of DeeMoat Books & Ideas.

She described the gathering as more than a book presentation, saying it marked the beginning of a community of readers, writers, thinkers, innovators and citizens committed to using ideas to advance society.

“Today’s gathering is therefore more than a book presentation. It is the beginning of a community—a community of readers, writers, thinkers, innovators and citizens who believe in the power of ideas to inspire action and advance the common good,” Ugolor said.

She called on authors, schools, universities, government institutions, businesses, development partners and members of the public to collaborate in building DeeMoat Books & Ideas into “a vibrant and enduring platform for intellectual and cultural engagement.”

Hon. Pius Alile, the Deputy Chief of Staff to Edo State Deputy Governor who represented the Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Dennis Idahosa, described the initiative as a hub for innovation, knowledge acquisition and knowledge transfer.

He said knowledge should not merely be acquired for its own sake but should translate into productivity, innovation and societal development.

“We should acquire knowledge for productivity, for the transformation of society, for innovation, and for achieving societal goals,” Alile said.

He also pledged government support for the initiative, stressing that “any society that rejects knowledge rejects growth.”

The Permanent Secretary, Edo State Ministry of Education, Enodomwanyi Otamere, also commended the hub and encouraged young people to return to the culture of reading.

Describing DeeMoat Hub as a place worth visiting and a research centre with a variety of books, Otamere urged students, young people and adults to develop stronger reading habits.

“The use of the internet has actually taken young minds away from reading,” said, urging the public to “go back to our books.

"We should always go back to our books. Let us look at our books.

"Let us do away with that saying that if you want to hide something from a Black man, put it inside a book. Let us look inside the book. There are more things in books than elsewhere."

He disclosed that the Ministry of Education would forward The Challengers to the appropriate department, the Edo State Book Review Committee, for consideration. If approved following the review process, he said, the book could be recommended for students.

The founder of DeeMoat Hub, Rev. David Ugolor, explained that the broader vision behind the hub was also rooted in the need to provide young people with an enabling environment for learning, networking, creativity and leadership development.

According to him, the word “Mozt” has significance in Benin culture, where it is associated with security. He said the hub was established against the backdrop of what he described as an increasingly insecure world, with lack of knowledge being one of the factors contributing to insecurity.

“Knowledge is power, and through books, you can gain knowledge,” he said, adding that the hub was intended to provide an environment where young people could express themselves and benefit from mentorship.

Rev. Ugolor, who cited his three decades of experience working in the Nigerian non-governmental sector, said he wanted to deploy that experience to help prepare the next generation of leaders.

“I thought that a better way to share that experience was to create an enabling environment. The Moat is a space that will enable young people to express themselves,”

Asked whether the hub would eventually allow members to borrow books, Rev. Ugolor responded humorously: “Not yet. Otherwise, you know what happened to the white-throated monkey? It could happen to the books.”

Speaking on The Challengers, Imasuen said the book was an attempt to tell a true story about entrepreneurs he admired and the emergence of a business culture among his generation.

He described the work as narrative non-fiction, explaining that he wanted to document how a group of entrepreneurs built a business and demonstrated principles that are now being replicated by newer generations of businesses, including fintech companies.

Imasuen also situated the story within what he described as a new phase in Africa’s development.

“First, we fought for freedom. Then we fought for democracy. Now, we are fighting for economic freedom,” he said, adding that the entrepreneurs featured in the book represented people playing a role in that process.

He stressed that the book was not designed as a conventional business guide offering prescribed lessons or formulas for making money, but as a true story intended to allow readers to observe, reflect and draw their own lessons from the experiences of its subjects.

The event marked the first edition of DeeMoat Books & Ideas, with the organisers indicating that more books and authors would be featured in subsequent editions as the hub expands its intellectual and community engagement activities.

High point of the event was the lunching of the book "The Challenger," which saw some of the guests buying copies for themselves and their loved ones