The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Language

  • Language in the time of politics

    THEY are not new, but by virtue of the uses (and abuses) to which they are being deployed, they deserve more than a cursory glance. They define the thoughts, actions and inaction of some of the leading actors on our national stage. They convey to us the feelings of our leaders and offer us a glimpse into the fecundity of their minds.

    They are words and phrases that have been effectively used by some of our compatriots to comment or act on the state of the nation. But, this is not just another voyage into the world of linguistics. Nor is it a matter of semantics as an end in itself. No. After all, words are mere vehicles conveying our thoughts.

    When the literary giant, Prof. Wole Soyinka, said President Muhammadu Buhari had committed some “unforced errors”, some excited lawn tennis enthusiasts were wondering whether the Nobel laureate had been sweating it out on the court to keep fit. Before anybody could find out if tennis was the secret of Soyinka’s agility and trim figure, politicians had seized upon the innocent phrase as a weapon to fight their battles.

    Akwa Ibom Governor Emmanuel Udom got an award from the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), sparking an outrage in the camp of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state. The party claimed that the governor had done nothing to earn the award, which they never claimed was not worthy of the importance the giver and the recipient attached to it. The APC wrote to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), complaining that a Federal Government institution should not have honoured the governor, who belongs in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The party said it thought little of it until Udom “turned the award into a political campaign slogan”.

    The APC urged SGF Boss Mustapha to call Udom to order as, according to the party, he was planning to erect billboards carrying his photograph while receiving the award from the SGF. It is still unclear if Mr Mustapha accepted this plea. Or whether Udom will agree to be called to order.

    Minister of Information Lai Mohammed also got an open letter from the APC on the award. The party wondered why the NTA should honour Udom.  That Udom got the award , the PDP said, was “an unforced error”.

    Not willing to turn the other cheek, the PDP fought back, calling the APC’s “attacks” “devilish” and “very petty”. Did the NTA actually commit an “unforced error”? Where was the APC when the NTA announced the winners of its National Service Awards? Why shut the stable after the horse had escaped? Should the governor not be allowed to enjoy the excitement of his prize?

    Isn’t the “forced error” actually APC’s? Why didn’t the party approach a court of competent jurisdiction to seek an order that Udom should not be honoured by the  Federal Government, its proxies, agencies, representatives, officials, servants and any other who may be directed, permitted and requested to confer such honours? Besides, it could also seek a declaration that the governor deserved no honour?

    Ever since a Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) official claimed that a mystery snake swallowed N36million belonging to the agency, the word “swallow” has taken on a new meaning. The official is said to have since recanted, saying the cash was actually collected from her by her boss.

    Despite that, some Nigerians have been claiming that animals, including monkeys, are swallowing cash. When President Buhari went to Ghana’s independence anniversary celebration, he promised that Nigeria would assist that country to fight corruption. The innocuous pledge became the subject of cruel jokes. Ghanaians were saying we should capture the snake that swallowed  N36million before lending them a hand.

    At restaurants now, it is no longer fashionable for diners to request for “swallow”. Asked if he would like to have rice and beans or “swallow”, a patron would simply retort: “Me, swallow? Am I a snake?”

    Until Senator Shehu Sani (Kaduna Central) let the cat out of the bag on the delicate matter of senators’ salary and allowances, it was as if the words “jumbo” and “bumper” had become obsolete. A senator gets N13.5million monthly running cost and a salary of N750, 000. Besides, there is N200million for constituency project.

    “I decided to burst it open. It was a moral issue,” Sani told the BBC. Senate spokesman  Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi confirmed Sani’s assertion, saying it was not new. Now many Nigerians are saying the “jumbo” running cost must be reduced or stopped altogether. Some are pushing for the “bumper” salary to be reviewed.

    Others are demanding an explanation of what the “running cost” actually stands for. Has the National Assembly become a factory? There are those who have called for the abolition of the National Assembly, saying as usual without facts and figures that it is a conclave of thieves who are bound together by a common goal – to loot the treasury and drop crumbs for their constituents.

    They have been deriding senators as greedy, lazy and shameless. Is this fair?

    The business of lawmaking is hazardous, riskier than working a rice milling machine, physically and mentally exerting. Sleepless nights, oversight duties, public hearings, motions, counter-motions, seminars and more. And all that for  chicken-feed.  Given the sacrifice of our lawmakers, I am afraid, we will all wake up some day to find out that they have gone on strike for a better pay and an environment conducive to their job.

    No prize for guessing the would-be mover of the motion for a better pay for legislators?

    The word “reconciliation” seems to have got more prominence since President Buhari chose Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to lead the battle for peace in the ruling APC.  To many, the task is Herculean, but those who are familiar with Asiwaju’s tenacious grip on whatever cause he believes in have no doubt that he will succeed.  However, the popular question is, would there have been any need for a peacemaker if the party leadership was alive – morally and practically?

    When former President Olusegun Obasanjo issued his controversial “special press statement” in which he lashed out at the Buhari administration, he spoke of the need for a “third force”. He then threatened to form a Coalition for Nigeria Movement. Weeks after, former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke and former Osun State Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola stormed Abuja to join Ahmadu Ali (remember him? The one who got shoved off the PDP chair and, thereafter went into the political cooler) and others to present the Coalition.

    Ever since, it has remained a mystery how this “third force” will take concrete form.  Obasanjo, a sworn statesman, who has publicly renounced politics, has been strutting across the land – from Bayelsa where he had lunch at former President Goodluck Jonathan’s home to Makurdi where he laid a wreath at the graveside of the victims of herdsmen’s attacks.

    Some of Obasanjo’s associates have dumped the PDP for the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Is SDP the “third force”? The party denies it all. And the old fox, the mischievous chief, keeps them guessing.

     

    The blind versus Okorocha

    THERE is so much discontent in the land. Protests in Benue over killings by herdsmen. Anger in Plateau over killings. More protests over abductions – of Chibok and Dapchi girls – by Boko Haram. Pensioners are up in arms against governments.  Lawyers marched on Tuesday in Lagos over the Land Use Charge, which the government is ready to discuss.

    In Imo State, an unusual kind of protest was staged on Monday. Hundreds of people with visual impairment, under the aegis of the Nigeria Association of the Blind (NAB) marched on the Government House in Owerri, blocking the gates.

    Okorocha Imo
    Owelle Okorocha

    Their grouse?

    Non-payment of their “welfare packages, annual subventions and unfulfilled promises by the governor”. Governor Rochas Okorocha said NAB leader Mr Kalu Christopher promised to establish a Special School for the Blind. “No blind person in Imo has access to education, except those who can afford to travel to Ebonyi and Enugu states… .We met the governor in 2013. He promised that the school would take off in September 2014.But in November when we led a protest to him, you know what the governor told us? He said to us ‘had it been you came earlier, you would have seen truck carrying gravel to the new school site’.

    “But, since that 2014 till today, we have not seen the truck or the gravel and not even the school site has been shown to us. It is only in Imo State that a leader in that high position can openly lie without minding the effect.”

    Poor fellows. It is not only in Imo that leaders lie; they lie all over the place – with impunity. An activist has suggested that His Excellency should rather shelve his plan to erect more statues and pump the cash into building the school for the blind–as being recommended by some so-called experts–he should mount a huge statue of  the NAB leader in Owerri.

    That way, he said, the blind would  have a sense of belonging. Besides, Okorocha could set up a ministry for the blind and appoint one of his sisters as commissioner. Or draft in one of his in-laws who are eyeing his seat to be Special Assistant on the Blind Affairs.

    But Okorocha is not all sentiment.  He is also a man of equity.  Those who know him well say they would not be surprised if they woke up one day and found that he had erected a monument to the blind in the Owerri city centre.

  • Kudos, Ambode on Yoruba language law

    Kudos, Ambode on Yoruba language law

    SIR: A few weeks ago, the amiable and unassuming governor of Lagos State, Akinwumi Ambode signed into law Yoruba Language Preservation and Promotion Law. With the signing of the bill, Yoruba language is now a compulsory subject for all students in Lagos State, both in private and public schools. Besides, Yoruba language has been inculcated into the General Studies in all tertiary institutions in Lagos State.

    The multiplier effects of the action of Ambode are many. First, it will make Yoruba language to regain its enviable position among world languages. This is a language of over 25 million Yoruba people in Nigeria and another 25 million in the Diaspora. Secondly, the language, at least in Lagos State, will be saved from going into extinction as being predicted by scholars because of its disuse. Thirdly, it will provide jobs for teeming Yoruba language graduates who were roaming the streets because of the travails of the language.

    Furthermore, the action of Ambode proves that the Lagos State sobriquet, Centre of Excellence is not a misnomer. Aside, as the USA is called God’s Own Country, Lagos State is Nigeria’s God’s own state. There is no doubt that providence rather than other factors bestowed the state with forward looking administrators having their eyes on history. From Brigadier Mobolaji Johnson to the action man original, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, Gbolahan Mudashiru, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Gen. Buba Marwa, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola and Ambode, all are God’s gift to Lagos State.

    The humility of Ambode in spite of his brilliance academically and accomplishments in life and as a governor showed that you cannot purchase in the market place the fact that you are born great. As a matter of fact, I envy Ambode and Lagos for setting the pace in indigenous language rejuvenation, promotion and preservation not only in Yorubaland but Nigeria as a whole. The late sage, Obafemi Awolowo had in the past set up Yoruba Historical Research Council under the leadership of the nationalist historian, late Professor Sabiru Biobaku. How happy would I be if Oyo State which is the epicenter of Yoruba civilization is credited with this feat? Obviously, Yoruba language, the pure and undiluted, being used in writing, as means of communication by the media houses etc, originated in Ogbomoso zone, precisely, Orile Igbon, before it spread to other part of Yorubaland. Is it therefore not an irony that Oyo’s looking the other way when the language is going into extinction?

    Posterity will be generous with Ambode for his lofty strides by preserving Yoruba language. Nonetheless, he should please do the same for history as a discipline in Lagos schools. May be other governors in the region will emulate it. Yorubaland is too sophisticated and enlightened beyond not to have history as a subject or a course of study in our schools. We know the usefulness of history more than our neighbours that are misguiding us to jettison history under a warped federalism. Unless history is equally repositioned, Ambode’s giant strides may pass into oblivion.

     

    • Adewuyi Adegbite

    ayekooto05@gmail.com

  • ‘Don’t let Igbo language die’

    ‘Don’t let Igbo language die’

    Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has expressed grave concern over what it called the gradual erosion of Igbo language, culture and values.

    The organisation therefore called on Igbo language experts, the governors of Southeast states and other concerned groups and individuals to establish a mechanism for translation of more English and scientific words into Igbo language and to establish generally acceptable Igbo vocabulary.

    The national vice chairman of Ohanaeze and former Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Prof. Chigozie Ogbu, expressed the concern when an Igbo interest group,  Igboekulie, organised a public lecture and presentation of awards to students, teachers, schools and individuals for promotion of Igbo language and culture, at College of Immaculate Conception (CIC), Enugu recently.

    “Language is a living thing which must grow, otherwise it will die. There must be new words in Igbo language. I appeal for translation of more English and scientific words into Igbo language,” Ogbu, who was the chairman of the occasion said.

    The President of Igboekulie, Prince Ben C. Onuora stated that the group, a non-profit organisation formed in 2015, was poised to among other things advocate for the promotion and protection of the economic, social, political and cultural values of Ndigbo as well as the revival of the Igbo language.

    Onuora said the group was worried by the recent postulation of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), that Igbo language faces prospect of extinction by 2025 if preservative actions were not taken.

    He called on the Houses of Assembly in the Igbo speaking states in Nigeria to devote a day in every week for the conduct of their legislative business in Igbo language.

    Chairman of the planning committee of the event,  Prof. Chibueze Jiburum, had earlier noted that Enugu was chosen as the host for the event being the headquarters of Eastern Nigeria and that the state government supports Igbo language and culture.

    The Guest Lecturer, Prof.  (Rev. Fr.) Philip Ogbonna, blamed the erosion of Igbo culture and values on the decline in speaking and writing of Igbo language.

    Ogbonna whose lecture is entitled “Language; An Indispensable Tool in Keeping a Culture Vibrant”, stated that language is an ethnic identity, and any cultural group that loses its language has invariably lost its identity.

    The event featured cultural dance and drama displays by students, as well as presentation of awards of excellence in Igbo language to students, schools and teachers as adjudged by West African Examination Council (WAEC).

  • Deterrence, language and politics

    In  the ongoing imbroglio between   the  US  and North Korea,  and   the threat  of its leader  to send missiles to  Guam  an American  territory  in  the Pacific, the North  Korean leader  was quoted  as saying that  the US President Donald Trump  is ‘bereft  of  reason‘. It  was  a roundly  insulting statement   in  defiance of diplomacy,  its  protocols  and niceties of   international   relations.  Yet,   given  the nature of the verbal  vitriol  with which  the US media had  been  branding  their newly elected president   in recent times,  especially   on his handling  of   the business of governance from  the  White  House,  the insult  could have  come  from  any   of the   numerous  the anti Trump media in the US. Indeed  I make bold to say that worse  has   been  said   by the US   media about Trump   in his   nation including hints at his imbecility as well  as his state  of  sanity,  since   his inauguration    this year  as   the 45th  US   president. So  now,  who  is the   owner    of the copy right   on  Trump’s  stupidity  or  unreasonableness between, the  US   media and the North  Korean  leader?  The   answer  is the conundrum  we  are dealing with today.

    This     is because    the use   of   language  matters  in any human  endeavor most  especially in politics and diplomacy.  If  the lexicon  of America’s  most  dangerous enemy in terms of nuclear threat  in describing the US president coincides  with those of leading US  media houses   in  criticizing or  vilifying their  president, then something is rotten   in the state   of the United  States. Just    as Shakespeare  said  in  the great tragedy, Hamlet   that  something is   rotten   in  the state  of  Denmark.

    To  dilate  more on this unfortunate coincidence or unity of language between common  enemies  of the US president ,    now  at  home  and abroad,  it  is pertinent  to bring in two instructive quotations, albeit  in quite  differing contexts, for    serious  appraisal. The  first   says  that’   we  have seen  the enemy  and the enemy  is us. The other is  a   warning  or  threat  in one of the famous  James  Bond    spy   novels. It  says –‘ first time is happenstanc, second time is coincidence, third  time is enemy action‘ The   first  one on sighting the enemy  was reportedly  said  by a  general   to     his  officers   to  point out  the disorganized  state  of    their   command strategy  to defeat  the enemy. It   was  meant    therefore   as   a clear  challenge for   a rethink to avert  the prospect  of a catastrophic  defeat  before it is too late. The other  from the James Bond  archives is  more  like  diplomacy  based on the reactive type,    but    with  a high  dose  of  pragmatism   to  avert  any expensive mistake, in a type   of ‘play me foul and I play  you tricky’ scenario. Either  way  you  can  still  find its   prototype  in  the title     of    another Shakespeare  classic,  ‘Measure  for  Measure‘.

    In   a way,   given   the  rabid  media  enmity  of   the US  president ,  it   could  be said   that  Trump   has  committed  the    fatal   error   of   misjudging     business acumen  and success  as  a ready   tool,  recipe   or   panacea  to unravel  political and diplomatic  puzzles.  Now,  he certainly  knows  better  that  his books on Deals  and his  much vaunted business  skills  have not prepared  him  adequately  at  least  to deal  with   his     native  news    media    and    North  Korea  without  bringing the global  wall  of peace and stability  down,  both  at home  and    abroad. In  the same vein, it should shock  those  opposed  to his presidential style and world view  that they are providing verbal  artillery  for the  enemies  of their nation  and that  could  hardly  be their intention although their use of violent language  of   criticizing     their  president     has fuelled    the ready    ammunition    of    their  nation’s enemy, North  Korea. That  is the truth and such  language should  be discarded if the US  is  to avert  the tragic fate  of a house divided  against itself,  which  is  sheer  and   inevitable collapse.

    It   is necessary   also  to  bring in another  type  of reaction to nuclear  threat  which is dangerous even  though its proponents claim it  to  be pacifist. The  culprit  here  appears  to be the UK Opposition  leader  Jeremy  Corbyn who  asked both Trump  and North  Korean Leader  to moderate their  language   to avert   war  which   could  be nuclear. I  wonder  at his concern  since  he is on record   as  championing the    cause    that nuclear  weapons  should  be discarded  by all   nations. These  are  the weapons  that the US  and N Korea are  inventing and realigning  to  destroy  each  other with  the US Defence Secretary  warning N Korea  not to confront the US except it wants to be annihilated  by America’s superior  military  might. Of  what  use  in terms of deterrence  are  the admonition of a pacifist    like   Jeremy   Corbyn  who does not understand or acknowledge  the currency  of this imminent confrontation,  which  are  the use  and   application  of   nuclear  technology and   bombast      for    the resolution  of this looming conflict  in the   Pacific?  On  this  matter  the British Opposition leader stands  on feet  of clay in terms of relevance, deterrence  or  persuasion of either  side  because  he has always  behaved like the proverbial ostrich   with its head buried in the sand on the use  of  nuclear  weapons  and he should just  keep  quiet  on the  matter. Or  face reality  and acknowledge their existence  and use,  to  be at  least   considered    electable in his native UK  as a future  PM.

    We  now  come home to look  at the day’s  topic in the  context  of the clamor  for  restructuring which is the fashionable political  concept in our polity  for  now. Restructuring in my view is a weighty  concept  in  politics  since politics   at  the end of  the day decides  who gets what, when  and how.  How badly we have dispensed that so  far  since independence   in  1960   on  our  own,  and with  what we inherited  from the forced  marriage  of 1914, called  amalgamation,   is the cause  of the present  clamour  for  restructuring. But political  restructuring is different  from  economic restructuring  like the Structural  Adjustment  Programme  which  we embraced  sometime   and from  which  we have not emerged  from  the gutters  of poverty  and penury  to  which  we  subjected our nation and its long suffering people.  While  the executioners    SAP  created an aristocratic, military  complex  and      hierarchy   that   misappropriated the  common  wealth  to  themselves, their families  and cronies and have used  that to control the state   and  our  economy  ever  since, and are at the heart  of the present agitation to fill  their  bulging pockets  and assets  both at home  and abroad    with such  ill gotten    funds.

    Restructuring  politically  is also  not like corporate  restructuring  or   strategic  management  where  you    do  an  assessment  of your strengths  and weaknesses internally  and  use that to combat  the opportunities  and threats   in your  environment,  in  a  strategic  plan  from such  analysis.  Anyway, the  Board  or   Management  is in charge of both the strategic plan  or  any  corporate  change ensuing from  any   such    SWOT  analysis. In  political  restructuring  such  as is  being advocated now,  who  will  be in charge  of the start  as well  as the process, its contents, goals and objectives ? Already  this government  has said  it is not interested,  so  who  will  bell  the cat? Is  it  the secessionists , expulsionists,  or the insurgents  we are fighting in the North  East  who  now  use little  girls  as suicide  bombers?  These   are  punishable  assaults    on the    security  and stability   of the Nigerian state   and are  political    irritants    testing the legitimacy of   government. We  have  a government in place  and it is the duty  of government to direct  the affairs  of the Nigerian  state  and secure  the lives  and property of the Nigerian  nation  and its  people   according to  the Nigerian  nation.

     It is not the   duty  of  government  to preside  over its own  liquidation in pursuing restructuring    outside its  mandate  and  the  Nigerian  constitution which  of course can  be amended  as required  given its provisions  for   such  amendments. What  Nigeria  needs is a clean  census that  shows  the real  number  of people  that government  feeds  and looks after. We  also  need  to cut the cost of governance especially    emoluments,   perquisites  and pensions for past and present  political  actors  as  well as  government functionaries. We  surely   need  to  combat  corruption as the government of the day  is doing  although  it is being challenged by  powerful  people  and politicians in high  places who  have a  stake in derailing the war  on  corruption . If  we do  all these and the state is firm   and strong  to deter  those contesting and  seeking to subvert its  goals  and objectives  in this regard,  we shall  improve our present political  arrangement  without inventing the wheel  of restructuring.  Otherwise we can safely  say- we have seen  the enemy, and the enemy is us. Once  again, long live the Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria.

  • One language, frequent clashes

    One language, frequent clashes

    Some communities bound by a common language in Gombe State clash so often that their youths have now had enough and want peace, reports VINCENT OHONBAMU

    They are the Tangale-speaking people of Gombe State found in Billiri, Kaltungo, and Shongom local government areas of the state. But their common tongue does not seem to foster enough unity. Every year, they clash, killing one another and destroying their possessions. And the bone of contention: land.

    This year, while the Muslim faithful were fasting and later feasting, the Tangale clashed again, with the state Commissioner of Police Mr Austin Iwar confirming that on June 29 a police sergeant, Abdul Muhammad was killed in the crisis. Iwar said on June 23, there was a distress call from Billiri Area Command claiming that over 50 heavily armed persons from Shongom had invaded some farms in Billiri and chased farmers away from their farms.

    “We immediately mobilised armed policemen to the scene,” Iwar said. “On arrival, the police met heavily armed men destroying crops in the farms. When the police tried to stop them, they threatened violence and they shot one policeman on the head, and he died on Wednesday morning at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe,” Iwar explained.

    The CP said there were no arrests yet, adding that the police do not want to take any action that would escalate rather than ameliorate the situation hence they were taking their time to establish the genuine culprits while investigating the incident in order to determine its immediate and remote causes.

    The lingering crisis between Tangale-speaking communities has been on for a very long time. Almost every year, during planting season like this, these brothers rise against another, over a few portions of land. Even the security personnel are sometimes victims of the clashes.

    Disturbed by the wanton destruction in their land, the Tangale Renaissance Group (TRG), a conglomeration of mainly youths from Billiri, Kaltungo, and Shongom local government areas decided to take the bull by the horns by calling on religious and traditional leaders as well as the state government to tackle the issue once and for all.

    On June 27 the TRG rose from an emergency meeting strongly condemning the wanton killings and destruction of properties. They also frowned at the silence of their community and traditional leaders in the crisis. In the same vein, they also condemned the attitude of some of their religious leaders, accusing them of paying lip service to the clashes.

    Beyond their traditional and religious leaders, the TRG also condemned the passive posture of political leaders, elites and other stakeholders in the crisis.

    The group said, “We strongly call upon Gombe State government to as a matter of urgency set up an administrative panel of inquiry to thoroughly investigate the remote and immediate cause(s) of the crisis/clashes with a view to finding a permanent solution to this unfortunate bloodshed.

    “The perpetrators of this dastardly act should as a matter of urgency be apprehended and brought to book irrespective of their ethnic, religious, political and social status, to serve as a deterrent to others. We urge our community leaders to as a matter of urgency call their subjects to order henceforth to prevent further bloodshed in this manner. We call upon our political leaders, elites, and all relevant stakeholders to speak out against this mayhem.We also call on some of our religious leaders to stop paying lip service and be alive to their religious responsibilities of preaching peace and unity. We implore our sons and daughters using the media to promote peace, love, and tolerance.

    “Finally, we call upon all Tangale sons and daughters to eschew violence, bitterness and embrace peace, love, unity, and tolerance towards one another as this is the only tool to achieving meaningful development and progress of our people and the land,” read Benneth Mole while making known the resolutions reached at the TRG emergency meeting.

    In what looked like response to the yearnings of the Tangale Renaissance Group, Iwar, said the police had talked with the traditional rulers in the area and they expressed dismay over what is happening and were able to talk t their subjects.

    The Gombe state Police Boss said he had also spoken with the Inspector General of Police whom he said expressed surprise and dismay over the situation and promised to deploy resources to facilitate police activities towards ending in the area.

    He is optimistic that what the police had on ground in collaboration with the state government would bring a lasting solution to the matter, adding that the state government was focusing on the core matter of determining the real owners of the pieces of land being disputed.

    The CP also advised the National Boundary Commission’s involvement in the solution course. He also called on the people of the areas to help in identifying the core issue(s) and believed that all the moves being presently orchestrated would bring an end to the incessant clashes if there is no issue of deep-seated hatred among the people.

    After a similar clash last year, Mr. Rambi Ibrahim Ayala, member representing Billiri East Constituency in State House of Assembly at the floor of the House made a case for the demarcation of boundaries under matters of urgent public importance.

    He also sought for the reinforcement of security in the affected communities with a view to ensure lasting solution to the lingering intra-boundary conflicts among various ethnic nationalities in Gombe South Senatorial Zone.He said it was disappointing that despite the relative peace enjoyed in the state, pockets of communal clashes in some parts of the state has continued to rear its ugly head leading to bloodshed and economic losses.

    “We have a responsibility to our ebullient and dynamic state to serve as a fountain that will quench the ravaging fire of ethnic strife in our dear state.

    “The unresolved land/boundary dispute in some parts of the state has given rise to skirmishes, which has led to unavoidable loss of lives and property and we cannot afford to remain complacent as in the case during the Holocaust,” he had stated.

    Failure to act then led to yet another crisis with the likelihood to continue if the development remained attended to and with permanent solution in mind.

  • PMB’s audio message and national language question

    SIR: Since the release of President Muhammadu Buhari’s audio message in which he addressed Nigerians in Hausa, there have been angry reactions from every nook and cranny of the society. Understandably, the people were provoked with the address in Hausa language.

    In a nation where ethnic sentiments and bigotries have beclouded intellectual judgment, it is no surprise that his message was more likely to generate controversies and provoke reactions. These angry reactions and condemnations should as a matter of exigency, necessitate a call to revisit the national language question.

    One of the problems we are having as a nation is the lack of true identity. Otherwise, the message should not have generated controversies. Indeed, the wild criticism of the audio message in his mother tongue is an evidence of a nation that lacks true identity. Ethnic colouration had been added to his message even though the President may have made it out of innocence and good intentions to Nigerians.

    This wild condemnation brings forth these questions:  Is English language the true identity of Nigeria as a nation? What then is the pride of our nation if we elevate English which is our second language above indigenous languages in the country?

    We should know that Nigeria is not the only heterogeneous country in the world and therefore must not hide under the guise of linguistic diversity to promote English language at the expense of indigenous languages. Presently, English language is acting in the capacity of our national language because, for ethno-sentimental reasons, we have failed to reach a compromise to select indigenous languages as our national language(s).

    Switzerland today is one of the most developed countries in the world, yet they have four official languages. They made three of their four national languages official languages. Nigeria should follow in that step by making Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo official languages in Nigeria alongside English language.

     

    • Temitope Ogundeji,

    Akure, Ondo State.

  • Language, terrorism, and global peace

    AN observation by a devout Muslim friend on the latest Manchester bombing after a youth concert that left 22 innocent people dead and 50 others wounded, provides the essence of today’s rumination on the above topic. Whilst condemning the horrible bombing and noting rightly that radical Islamists had penetrated British and Western society, he concluded loudly that Britain has not seen anything yet to which I asked him if he was celebrating the bombing.

    He flew into a rage and closed the conversation which somehow I am resuming here to day. The basis of that resumption of the closed argument is to show that the use of language matters in any discussion and undertaking. This is especially so in any discussion on suicide bombing and terrorism and strategies aimed at combatting and deterring both, if we must make the world safe for our peace of mind and the pursuit of prosperity, which is necessary for our collective welfare in the very shrunken global village we now live in.

    To say that the British have not seen anything yet implies in that context that they are getting what they deserve or reaping what they have sown. Which is not only unfair but is a merciless, cold blooded judgement of a nation reeling from mindless murder which happened in Manchester this week.

    That makes the question of whether the speaker was enjoying the spectacle pertinent even if deemed offensive or mischievous to the speaker. More directly today, however, we look at how various world leaders aside from my friend have reacted to terrorist bombings, killings and mayhem in recent times including of course the latest bombing incident in Manchester, UK. We shall look first then and again at Barak Obama’s speech in 2009 at Al Azhar University in Cairo and compare that with that of his successor Donald Trump in 2017 this week, to an audience of leaders, kings, and sheikhs of over 50 majority Muslim nations in Saudi Arabia. At home, we look at how the Lagos state Governor has made Lagos safe for road users and those doing business in Lagos by a decision stop daily road ‘terrorism’ on Lagos roads this week and its immediate effect. Let me say clearly at the beginning that I do not question the attitude of those who feel good in showing a brave face and doing business as usual after the gruesome killing of innocent people by terrorists.

    Indeed I appreciate their goal of not being seen as afraid of the terrorists or making the terrorists feel fulfilled that it has stopped their way of life or tarnished their values. Which really is the way of thinking in Europe and the US nowadays and which is distinctly different from the reaction of the Middle East nations including Saudi Arabia which is ‘an eye for an eye’ or in modern parlance, immediate and commensurate retaliation.

    Ironically, both the passive other cheek turning in Europe and the US as well as the retaliatory approach of the Arab states, home states of Islamic state terrorists, have not deterred both terrorists and suicide bombers. I must say here that I hold suicide bombers on a higher pedestal of terror from other terrorists because a person ready to die in the process of killing others is a far more dangerous prospect for humanity than a whole army fighting to overcome any opposing force. Let us now go back to both Barak Obama and Donald Trump and their speeches in the Middle East on terrorism and Islamic militancy eight years apart and their import on global peace.

    Barak Obama spoke at the beginning of his presidency in June 2009 just as Donald Trump is doing at the beginning of his in May 2017. Obama told his Arab audience in Cairo that the US and Islam are not in competition and that Islamic scholars have contributed historically to human knowledge through Algebra, the discovery of the magnetic compass and other sciences well before the Renaissance and Enlightenment in Europe. He admitted that he is a Christian, born of a Muslim father in Kenya, who attended mosques in Indonesia with his step father and knows that Islam and Christianity preach peace and that the Middle East should embrace peace and condemn violence by fundamentalists. Obama’s speech earned him the Nobel Peace prize for peace even before any reaction to it in the Middle East.

    When the reaction came eventually it was the Arab Spring of which removed dictatorships in Tunisia, and the whole of North Africa ending with the removal of Gaddafi in Libya and the toppling of Housni Mubarak in Egypt from the ensuing Tahrir Square of uprising. Obama‘s speech in 2009 galvanized a momentum for change to democracy in the Middle East and French President Sarkozy and the British PM then, David Cameron paid solidarity visits to the area to support demonstrators aiming to uproot dictators based on Obama’s Cairo speech. At the end of Obama’s two – term presidency however the Army had returned to power in Egypt and Islamic state terrorists had taken over Libya after fleeing the war in Syria and Obama was to lament that removing Gaddafi without making provision for the aftermath was the greatest failure of his administration.

    Which was similar to the removal of the Saddam Hussein regime by the Bush Administration and British PM Tony Blair without making an arrangement to replace him with a strong man. Instead Bush wanted to build a democratic state in a power vacuum and played into the hand of Iran whose Shia Muslim came to power in a democratic game of numbers only to be violently and fatally resisted till today by the minority Sunni minority with huge military skills and experience under the long Saddam Hussein regime. The result was the sectarian violence from the Middle East spreading all over the world during the Obama presidency to raise Boko Haram in Nigeria and the rise of a leader like Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential elections. Now what did Donald Trump say to 50 majority Muslim nations in the Holy Land of Islam? He called on them to do business with America and asked them to condemn Islamic Radicalisation by driving out extremists in their midst and funding a learning centre that teaches how to fight jihadism and radicalization.

    Talking of Islamic terrorists, especially Islamic state, he told his high profile Arab audience – drive them out of your communities, drive them out of your Holy Land, drive them out of this earth, drive them out. To me Trump spoke the correct language to the appropriate audience that can really call Islamic terrorists to order and what did he get in return?. First the approbation and approval of the Sunni Muslim world led by Saudi Arabia whose King Salman gave him the highest honor of Saudi Arabia. At home he got the derision and abuse of the US press which has not forgiven him for calling them fake news.

    To drive home the point of western and US media contempt for Trump, Obama was given a media award in Germany which he received on the same day that German Chancellor gave audience to the new US president during Trump’s trip to Europe. Of course a Nobel Prize proposal for Trump will be rubbished by the US media. Yet time will judge who really deserves this peace prize between the pacifist Obama who left more violence behind than he met, and a terrorist driving Trump who got a prize in the Islamic holy land by asking Muslim leaders to put their house in order first, in confronting and driving out the terror malcontents in their midst. We look next at the issue that I have branded road ‘terrorism’ in Lagos state which is not bloody like suicide bombing but is also as debilitating to those at the receiving end of it.

    The Lagos state Governor Akinwunmi Ambode stopped the state vehicle inspectors from stopping motorists in Lagos and the traffic flowed as if a blocked and cancerous artery has been pierced or removed from the human body bringing life – enhancing relief. The good Governor similarly asked the Federal Road Safety Corps to move to the surbubs and not stop motorists on the highways. This has prompted the FRSC boss to question the language of the Governor in asking the menace of FRSC staff to quit his legal domain of authority. But it is the FRSC boss who should mind his language and indeed keep quiet on the matter.

    This is because both the Vehicle Inspectors in their now hateful black and white attires and the FRSC in their brown and claret, have become at sight even from afar, dangerous signs of fear, disturbance and apprehension to Lagos road users who have learnt to have their vehicle particulars ready, but are not immune to the ‘go slow‘ traffic always created by these two group of vehicle inspectors who ambush Lagos motorists at areas which traffic go at its fastest, so they can create bottle necks and have their fill of vehicular inspection, for which offenders pay dearly into private pockets on a daily basis. It is therefore rather kind and responsive of the state governor in the overall public interest of road users and commuters who earn their living by moving on Lagos roads on a daily basis, to remove the ‘terror’ of the road which these two vehicle inspection outfits have made of themselves, to the chagrin and vexation of the Lagos road users and public transport commuters generally. Once again, long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

  • ‘Use mother tongue as language of instruction’

    House of Representatives member Oladipupo Adebutu, has advised the Federal Government to make a credit pass in any indigenous language a prerequisite for admission into tertiary institutions.

    The lawmaker representing Ikenne/Shagamu/ Remo North Federal Constituency also advocated the formulation of a comprehensive language policy, if the country must improve in its education index and be set on the path of technological advancement.

    Adebutu, who spoke with reporters in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital at the weekend shortly after being conferred with a honorary doctorate in Public Administration by the Ekiti State University (EKSU), condemned the relegation of local languages as a medium of teaching, especially in private schools.

    According to him, researches had proved that using mother tongue as a medium of instruction in schools in the early period remained the best means of transmitting knowledge and achieving wholesome cognitive development in children.

    He said what the country has are disparate policy pronouncements on language as contained in the 1999 Constitution and the National Policy on Education (NPE).

    He said: “It is tragic that some privately-owned primary and secondary schools in the Southwest zone do not offer Yoruba as a subject. In others, Yoruba is prohibited as a vernacular. This impairs their creative potential because they are forced early in life to think in a foreign language.

    “A template to showcase that mother tongue education is the best for a child’s cognitive development was given by a former minister of education, Prof Aliu Babatunde Fafunwa between 1970 and 1989, through the famous Ife Six-Year Primary Project. The government at all levels should go and dust up the report of that project and see to its implementation.’’

    Adebutu continued: “In the comprehensive language policy being canvassed, the Federal Government should meticulously assign greater roles to the indigenous languages than they currently enjoy. This will act as a catalyst for our national goal and aspiration of achieving technological development.

    “In addition, a credit pass in any indigenous language should be made compulsory for admission into any higher institution in the country. This will go a long way in changing the negative attitude of Nigerians towards the indigenous languages.  A credit pass in English for admission into post-secondary school as we currently have it is good.’’

  • Stop using these words to stop sounding foolish at work

    Stop using these words to stop sounding foolish at work

    You work in an environment where everyone seems to be well educated and smart, and so you feel the need to impress with your command of the English language (and impressive sounding words). So you throw them around in meetings, e-mails and important documents (such as resumes and client proposals), and they land, like fingernails across a chalkboard, on everyone who has to hear or read them.

    No matter how talented you are or what you’ve accomplished, using words incorrectly can change the way people see you and forever cast you in a negative light. You may not think it’s a big deal, but if your language is driving people out of their minds you need to do something about it.

    More often than not, it’s the words that we think we’re using correctly that wreak the most havoc, because we don’t even realize how poorly we’re coming across. After all, Talent Smart has tested the emotional intelligence of more than a million people and found that self-awareness is the area where most people score the lowest.

    We’re all guilty of this from time to time, myself included. Some writers hire editors to review their articles before posting them online. It’s bad enough to have a roomful of people witness your mistakes, and something else entirely to stumble in front of 100,000 people!

    Often, it’s the words we perceive as being more “correct” or sophisticated that catch us by surprise when they don’t really mean what we think they do. These words have a tendency to make even really smart people stumble. Some examples;

    Ironic vs. Coincidental 

    A lot of people get this wrong. If you break your leg the day before going on vacation, that’s not ironic , it’s coincidental (and bad luck). Ironic has several meanings, all of which include some type of reversal of what was expected. Verbal irony is when a person says one thing but clearly means another. Situational irony is when a result is the opposite of what was expected.

    1. Henry, master of situational irony in “The Gift of the Magi,” Jim sells his watch to buy combs for his wife’s hair, and she sells her hair to buy a chain for Jim’s watch. Each character sold something precious to buy a gift for the other, but those gifts were intended for what the other person sold. That is true irony.

    Affect vs. Effect

    To make these words even more confusing than they already are, both can be used as either a noun or a verb.

    Let’s start with the verbs. Affect means to influence something or someone; effect means to accomplish something. “Your job was affected by the organizational restructuring” but “These changes will be effected on Monday.”

    As a noun, an effect is the result of something: “The sunny weather had a huge effect on sales.” It’s almost always the right choice because the noun affect refers to an emotional state and is rarely used outside of psychological circles: “The patient’s affect was flat.”

    Lie vs. Lay

    We’re all pretty clear on the lie that means an untruth. It’s the other usage that confuses most of us. Lie also means to recline: “Why don’t you lie down and rest?” Lay requires an object: “Lay the book on the table.” Lie is something you can do by yourself, but you need an object to lay.

    It’s more confusing in the past tense. The past tense of lie is — you guessed it — lay: “I lay down for an hour last night.” And the past tense of lay is laid: “I laid the book on the table.”

    Accept vs. Except

    These two words sound similar but have very different meanings. Accept means to receive something willingly: “His mom accepted his explanation” or “She accepted the gift graciously.” Except signifies exclusion: “I can attend every meeting except the one next week.”

    To help you remember, note that both except and exclusion begin with ex.

    Bring vs. Take

    Bring and take both describe moving something or someone from one place to another, but the correct usage depends on the speaker’s point of view. Somebody brings something to you, but you take it to somewhere else: “Bring me the mail, then take your shoes to your room.”

    Just remember, if the movement is toward you, use bring; if the movement is away from you, use take.

    In conclusion

    English grammar can be tricky, and, a lot of times, the words that sound right are actually wrong. With words such as those above, you just have to memorize the rules so that when you are about to use them, you’ll catch yourself in the act and know for certain that you’ve written or said the right one.

  • Educationist canvasses resources for indigenous language teaching

    Proprietress, Goszamheights Schools, Akowonjo, Lagos, Mrs Stella Okonkwo has called for the provision of literary resources required to promote  teaching and learning of indigenous languages in schools. She lamented that the lack of literature on varying topics poses difficulty in complying with the National Policy on Education which requires elementary schools to educate pupils in the language of the immediate environment.

    According to the sociologist who spoke at the school’s maiden Christmas Carol, the idea was laudable to boost cultural heritage but availability of materials has limited its effectiveness.

    “We have not got to that stage,” Said Okonkwo, “I think it’s challenging because you must have the materials, literature and resources. For instance, if I have the literature that can teach children new words in Yoruba. you can walk into a bookshop and buy it.

    “What we have is Yoruba as a subject, we don’t use Yoruba to teach Home Economics or Social Studies. But the truth about the language is that it helps your confidence and boldness as a person.

    ” I don’t think in Nigeria we are lacking in the area of policies, what we are lacking is in implementing those policies. I schooled in Lagos and I remember this book by J. Olayemi, ‘Karo O Jire’. I speak Yoruba, I read Yoruba, that’s how good I am in Yoruba but I’m Igbo,” she said.