Rebecca Ejifoma
‘Escape from Prison,’ a publication by Social Entrepreneur and Life Coach, Bashiru Adamu, is a quintessential piece for empowering people towards nation building. The book, which was unveiled in Abuja recently, is written to help people come to that place of mental freedom and intentionality towards their purpose, goals and aspirations, in spite of challenges. Adamu, who is the founder, Dream Again Prison and Youth Foundation, drew upon his wealth of experience working in Nigerian in writing this book as a way of giving back to the society.
“The book speaks to both those trapped in mental and physical prisons. And it is also about patriotism and nation-building, seeing a problem and creating a simple innovative and sustainable solution to it,” says the life coach.
His intention was to enlighten people with purpose and potential to succeed even within the constraints of prison walls.
“I want people to experience the freedom and beauty of living their dreams and the possibilities that lie therein. This book is my true-life story of setting up a library in Otukpo Prison in Benue State, as part of my community development service during my National Youth Service Corps programme in 2012, which granted me access to Zimbabwe’s first billionaire in the UK, Dr. Strive Masiyiwa. He gave me the opportunity of an all-expense-paid five-week internship in his organisation, Econet in Harare Zimbabwe,” he recounted.
Adamu expressed that the library he set up in Otukpo Prison has evolved into his non-profit organisation called Dream Again Prison and Youth Foundation. The NGO works to curb recidivism by empowering incarcerated inmates to utilise their time and energy to add value to themselves in order to become productive members of society when released.
“In the book are success stories of people whom the NGO worked with while in prison but now have successful lives after prison,” he revealed.
He thanked the government through the Nigeria Correctional Service for partnering with NGOs like Dream Again Prison and Youth Foundation, and some faith-based organizations in the reformation and social reintegration of offenders. He urged the government to work tirelessly to review the welfare packages of the wardens to motivate them to be efficient on the job, adding that staff training, housing, salary and equipment for the job should be provided.
“The judiciary will also need to revamp their approach with cutting-edge technology towards offering speedy trials to decongest the correctional centres, and the government should work on putting up a good support system for ex-convicts especially those who are found innocent after years in incarceration. Reformation is not just the work of the government,” he said.
