The Federal Government has stressed the need to promote the effective use of indigenous languages for communication especially at the grass root.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, David Adejo, said this in Abuja on Thursday, at a One-day workshop on Preserving and Promoting Nigeria Indigenous Languages as Tool for National Development.
Adejo was represented by Dr Lydia Gigina, Director, Education Support Services in the ministry.
He said the promotion was aimed at stimulating the child’s interest in learning in order to avoid the loss of identity and also retain our unique cultural values.
According to him, the speakers of indigenous languages are not only identifying with their local communities, they also carry and promote the ethical values of their forebears.
”Thus, the indigenous language system unites them with the environment and this is crucial to their survival as well as the hopes and aspirations of their children and youths.
”In Nigeria, our indigenous languages are those languages that are spoken by native speakers within any given social set up.
”The socio-economic development of an individual or community is usually closely related to the use of the language of such indigenous community.
”Such an individual grows, learns and lean on the culture of his people through the effective use of the indigenous language,” he said.
The permanent secretary emphasised that every effective and efficient school curriculum was drawn from the culture and experiences of the people within the given environment of which their indigenous languages were key.
He, therefore, called for the promotion and protection of indigenous languages which should begin with strategic actions by the governments at various levels of federal, state and local councils.
He said that on the part of the federal government, there had been a National Indigenous Language Policy aimed at preserving and promoting indigenous languages.
”Some highlights of such policy initiatives are development and sustainability of curriculum on many of the indigenous languages and offering of one indigenous language by every student in the Junior Secondary Schools in Nigeria.
”Others are teaching and learning of indigenous languages at the SSCE, NCE and the various levels of degrees in the universities, encouraging the use of indigenous languages as alternative means of communication at public functions within a given environment.
”Using of indigenous languages as means of communication in some states Parliaments, encouraging the use of indigenous languages to present news on electronic media, ” he added .
He expressed concerns over the influence of foreign languages and culture on our indigenous languages, saying this had done a lot of harm to them.
According to him, such influence was palpable in every aspect of our people’s lives.
”In Nigeria for example, by reason of colonial experience, English Language has been adopted as the official language of communication. The Nigeria Educational system was first modelled after the British type of curriculum.
”This is bound to have negative impacts on the development of our indigenous languages.
”To check this trend, on Dec.15, 2022, the federal government approved the adoption of mother tongue as compulsory medium of instruction in Nigeria primary schools,” he said.
The NATCOM UNESCO Secretary General, Dr Idowu Olagunju said that indigenous languages should not be left to erodeset aside as this should be the pride of the country.
Olagunju blamed parents for contributing to the eroding of the indigenous languages, while calling on them to foster the teaching and learning of the language to promote our identity.
In the same vein, the Director, Educational, Planning and Research in the ministry, Mr Adeye Adeleye expressed concern over the non-documentation of languages which led to them being eroded.
Adeleye said that lack of properly developed linguistic phonemes and morphemes necessary for the teaching of some of the indigenous languages, were factors responsible for its eroding.
(NAN)
