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Tag: languages

  • Why Nigerian languages deserve a place in modern technology

    Why Nigerian languages deserve a place in modern technology

    • By Olasubomi Sangonuga

    Sir: With over 520 different languages, Nigeria holds the third-highest number of spoken languages in the world. Four of these – Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, and Ijaw – are spoken by about 78 percent of the country’s population. Yet despite this richness, most Nigerian languages remain absent from the tools shaping the lives of Generation Z and Generation Alpha, the generations who embody the future of today.

    UNESCO warns that about 40 percent of the world’s 7,000 languages are at risk of extinction by 2025, with African and indigenous tongues disproportionately vulnerable. Over a hundred Nigerian languages are already considered endangered or close to extinction.

    Technology illustrates the urgency. In Natural Language Processing (NLP), which powers translation apps, voice assistants, and speech recognition, Nigerian languages are classified as low-resource. This means there is not enough digital text or audio for artificial intelligence systems to learn from. Without action, entire languages risk being digitally invisible.

    Read Also: Court fixes October 27 for Sowore’s arraignment over alleged cybercrime

    The Nigerian government has no structured plan to preserve or expand indigenous languages, especially in technology and research. Most languages lack basic resources such as text datasets, essential for NLP. Minority languages like Ibibio, Ijaw, and Kanuri, spoken by fewer than 10 million people each, have little or no digital representation. Even the so-called big three languages (Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba) struggle with limited and poor-quality resources.

    Apps exist for Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo, but hundreds of Nigerian languages remain excluded. Global technology firms are making tentative steps. In late 2024, Google expanded voice input and dictation support to Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba across Gboard, Voice Search, and Translate. Microsoft added the trio to Azure Translator earlier. Yet the depth and scale of resources for these languages remain far behind those of English, Chinese, or even Swahili.

    The Nigerian constitution has never been officially translated into local languages, aside from one private Yoruba effort. Government websites remain exclusively in English. Community-driven projects like Masakhane and NaijaVoices are working to build datasets, but the scale of their efforts is minuscule compared to the need.  If Nigerian languages are missing from keyboards, spell checkers, translation tools, and voice assistants, they will fade into silence.

    What Nigeria needs is a deliberate digital language strategy. Such a strategy must go beyond the major three and extend to endangered and minority tongues. Crucially, it should position languages as infrastructure, gateways through which citizens access healthcare, education, commerce, and culture.

    Policymakers must prioritize indigenous languages in technology and education. Researchers and entrepreneurs must collaborate to build open resources. Global technology firms must be challenged to support more Nigerian languages. And citizens must demand a future where their mother tongues are not just spoken but coded into the fabric of modern life.

    •Olasubomi Sangonuga,

     Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State.

  • Full List: Top 10 most spoken languages in the world in 2025

    Full List: Top 10 most spoken languages in the world in 2025

    As of 2025, the world is home to more than 7,000 spoken languages, reflecting the incredible diversity of human culture and communication. Yet despite this vast number, only a small fraction of these languages dominate on the global stage. These dominant tongues carry influence not only within their native regions but also across borders, shaping international business, education, and culture.

    What sets these leading languages apart is their reach beyond native speakers. While some boast hundreds of millions who speak them from birth, their true power lies in how widely they are adopted as second languages. From classrooms to workplaces, people across continents rely on these languages as bridges for connection, trade, and diplomacy.

    In 2025, the ranking of the world’s most spoken languages reflects both native and second-language speakers. Together, they reveal which languages hold the greatest sway in global communication today. 

    Below, we break down the top ten, highlighting the remarkable balance between cultural heritage and international adoption.

    1. English — 1.5 billion speakers (390 million native, 1.1 billion second language)
    English remains the undisputed global lingua franca, spoken in 186 countries and serving as an official language in 67 nations. Only 25% of its 1.5 billion speakers are native, while the vast majority, over a billion people, use it as a second language. Its dominance is tied to global trade, technology, science, and culture.

    2. Mandarin Chinese — 1.18 billion speakers (990 million native, 194 million second language)
    Mandarin is the most spoken language by native speakers, with nearly a billion people in China and beyond. While it has about 200 million second-language learners, its global spread is far less than English due to its complexity. Mandarin relies on tones to differentiate meaning and a logographic writing system, making it one of the hardest languages to master. Yet, it’s essential for engaging with China, the world’s second-largest economy.

    3. Hindi — 609 million speakers (345 million native, 264 million second language)
    Hindi is spoken by over half of India’s population and serves as one of the country’s two official languages alongside English. Beyond communication, Hindi is a gateway into India’s fast-growing economy and vibrant culture, from Bollywood cinema to literature.

    4. Spanish — 558 million speakers (484 million native, 74 million second language)
    Spanish is the second-most spoken native language in the world, with 484 million mother-tongue speakers. It is official in 21 countries, primarily across Latin America, Spain, and parts of Africa. The U.S. also has one of the world’s largest Spanish-speaking populations. Spanish continues to grow in global influence, making it one of the easiest and most practical languages to learn.

    5. Standard Arabic — 335 million speakers (all second language)
    Unlike most languages, Standard Arabic has no native speakers. Instead, it serves as a formal, unifying version of the language across 24 countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Standard Arabic is rooted in the language of the Quran; its cultural and spiritual significance make it central to the Arab world.

    6. French — 312 million speakers (74 million native, 238 million second language)
    French, once considered the world’s diplomatic language, remains a global force with 312 million speakers across 29 countries. Interestingly, over half of French speakers live in Africa, a result of colonial history and its role as a cross-border lingua franca. French is one of the official UN languages and is used in many global

    7. Bengali — 284 million speakers (242 million native, 43 million second language)
    Bengali is the official language of Bangladesh and the second most spoken language in India, particularly in West Bengal. With 242 million native speakers, it ranks among the largest mother-tongue languages.

    8. Portuguese — 267 million speakers (250 million native, 17 million second language)

    Portuguese spans 9 countries across 4 continents, but most of its speakers, nearly 80%, live in Brazil. While Portugal accounts for just 5% of the total, Portuguese has spread globally due to colonial history.

    9. Russian — 253 million speakers (145 million native, 108 million second language)
    Russian is the most spoken Slavic language and has the highest number of native speakers in Europe. It is official in 4 countries and widely used across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Caucasus, thanks to historical Soviet influence.

    10. Indonesian — 252 million speakers (75 million native, 177 million second language)

    Indonesian, based on Bahasa Indonesia, is the official language of the world’s fourth most populous nation. While only 75 million speak it natively, an additional 177 million use it as a second language, making it a unifying force across the country’s 17,000 islands and hundreds of local dialects.

  • PDP must avoid hate languages in 2019, says Makarfi

    PDP must avoid hate languages in 2019, says Makarfi

    •’Party confident of victory next year’

    Former Acting Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Caretaker Committee Chairman Senator Ahmed Makarfi has advised the party not to repeat the mistakes it made in the build-up to the 2015 general elections, if it is to dislodge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC ) in 2019 election.

    Makarfi linked some of the reasons why the PDP lost the presidency to the use of hate languages against opponents in the build-up to the election.

    This, he said, caused dissatisfaction among the party members that came from the section of the country against which the hate speeches were directed.

    Makarfi, who is a former Kaduna State governor, spoke in Lagos at the weekend, where he met selected print media reporters.

    He said: “The language used by the PDP handlers was not polite during the campaign. The manner with which some of our members campaigned during the 2015 general elections maligned the opposition candidate. You know a section of the country felt foul languages were being used on them. People, who are members of the party from the region felt let down and they became indifferent.”

    The PDP chieftain said former President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign handlers sidelined the party structure during the electioneering.

    Rather than engage party members across the states, Makarfi said Jonathan’s campaign floated Transformation Agenda of Nigeria (TAN) to run the campaign independent of the party structure.

    He said: “Another reason the party failed was that, our structure from the national down the line was not used for the campaign. Rather, an ad hoc arrangement in the name of TAN was used for the presidential campaign. And TAN was just a body promoted by some people to impress those in power. It was not something structured; but PDP is structured from national to the ward level.

    “To abandon that asset (party structure) and use something superficial, there will naturally be problems, because you discouraged people from participating and people became nonchalant and uninterested. Some governors were not even aware of how campaign was going on. Coordinators were appointed in their states without even knowing. No governor was in the campaign council. The Chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum was not in the presidential campaign council.”

    Makarfi said he was confident that the PDP would return to power in 2019, saying the “lackluster performance” of President Muhammadu Buhari had made it easy for the PDP to return to power and give the country the required leadership.

    The PDP leader also said there was no deliberate effort by party leadership to marginalise its members from the Southwest during its national congress last December, saying lack of consensus among the members from the region led to their misfortunes after the congress.

    “Nobody directed the North to meet and maintained what they had zoned. As the chairman then, I didn’t ask them. It was not in my position to say so and nobody also stopped the South from meeting to agree. Failure to agree was what made the contest to be thrown open. Southwest was divided during the congress; they campaigned against each other. In politics, when you are campaigning against each other, you don’t expect the rest to give you leadership,” Makarfi said.

  • Battle to save dying languages gains ground

    Battle to save dying languages gains ground

    The battle is on to save Igbo language, considered to be on the verge of extinction because it is not spoken enough by indigenous speakers. From time to time organisations and individuals sound the alarm or sponsor an event to turn attention back to the language. Not too long ago, a university in Ebonyi State set up a culture day event at which, among other things, Igbo was the language spoken.

    The Institute for Teaching and Learning of Nigerian Languages (NINLAN) located at Akpaa, Ovom community in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State is broadening the battle to save all threatened tongues. The institute hosted educationists, language experts and other stakeholders in a bid promote and sustain Nigeria’s indigenous languages.

    The institute, apart from marking UNESCO’s mother tongue’s day and the annual acculturation day celebration, has embarked on various programmes and campaigns towards the teaching and learning of Nigeria’s dying indigenous languages.

    And this time, the institute assembled communication experts, teachers and promoters of various indigenous languages across the 36 states of the federation to brainstorm how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) could be sustained through Nigerian languages.

    Some of the speakers at the event included Prof. Imelda Udoh of the Department of Linguistics and Nigerian Languages, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State (lead Paper Presenter), Prof. Andrew Haruna, Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Gashua, Yobe State (Keynote Speaker), Prof. Grace C. Offorma of the Department of Arts Education University of Nigeria Nsukka (Lead Paper Presenter), Dr. Goke Alamu  of Department of Linguistics and Nigerian Languages, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti (Lead Paper Presenter)… and for five days, they denied themselves the comfort of their homes and cozy offices to stay back at the institute robbing minds together on how to ensure that local languages in the country do not go into oblivion in 2050 as reportedly predicted by UNESCO.

    In his keynote speech, Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Gashua, Yobe State, Professor Andrew Haruna stated that Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 global goals with 169 targets which are spearheaded by the United Nations and involved 193 members and the global civil society. The SDGs Prof Haruna further stated was contained in paragraph 54 of the UN Resolution A/RES/70/1 of September 25, 2015. He mentioned some of the SDGs to include end to poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, clean water and sanitation, gender equality among others.

    He said as a nation, Nigerian languages could contribute to the SDGs if it is used as media for communication in such a way it will significantly enhance the achievement of sustainable development particularly in the area of eradication of hunger and poverty.

    He gave an instance in the health sector where Professor Herbert Igboanusi of the University of Ibadan tried to eliminate stigmatisation and discrimination of persons living with HIV and AIDS by creating new names for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba.

    Prof Haruna said the effort was the outcome of a two year research titled; “A metalanguage for HIV/AIDS and Ebola discourses in Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba” which he said was sponsored by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

    Professor Grace Chibiko Offorma of the Department of Arts Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka in her paper said that since language is a system of signs, symbols and rules and their applications to convey thoughts, feeling and information, it could be deployed effectively in so many ways to achieve sustainable development which is a cardinal pillar of achieving the SDGs.

    Prof Offorma said basic education must be improved upon which she stated in itself will inculcate in the child the spirit of inquiry and creativity through the exploration of nature by using practical things which will provide education that would imbibe in the learners, at the foundation stage, the tenets of sustainability.

    She further said that to achieve the goal, emphasis must not only be placed on child education, but that Nigeria needs a literate and environmentally informed citizenry and human capital to guide the government in implementing their sustainable plans.

  • A case for disappearing languages

    A case for disappearing languages

    Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara has urged relatively small ethnic groups to protect their languages to prevent them from being wiped out by bigger tribes.

    “A language that is not preserved may likely go into extinction and this will affect the unity of the people,” he said.

    “Some determined to build a tower that would reach to God and God scattered their language, thereby ending their project. And then when God sought to bring back His people and re-unite them, He restored the language. It therefore means that anyone who steals your language has stolen your unity. And you need unity to make progress. It was the lack of unity on the account of lack of common language that destroyed the Tower of Babel.

    “So, if the Tera language [spoken in parts of Gombe and Borno states] were to go into extinction, I tell you it will affect the foundation of the unity of the Tera people, which is, that God-given language,” he maintained

    Dogara was speaking at Lubo community in Yamaltu-Deba Local Government of Gombe State where he witnessed the dedication and launch of the New Testament of the Holy Bible translated into Tera Language. Also known as Mewar Alqawarang, the new translation is an instrument purposely fashioned to enhance a better understanding of the scripture and foster evangelism.

    Buttressing Dogara’s position, Gombe State Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr. Charles Iliya, described the Tera-speaking people’s efforts as a wakeup call for all to promote their indigenous languages with a view to preserving them.

    He said it is not enough for people to speak and write in their local languages. They should also ensure continuity because “If you can read and write in languages and your children cannot, then we have done nothing,” hence the need to take pragmatic steps like the Tera people have done. He said the translation and use of the New Testament Tera Bible was equally a means of spreading the culture of the Tera people.

    “And that’s what makes this occasion very important; important in the sense that, not only are you introducing to those, who before now would not be able to know the Word of God, you are also spreading culture,” Dr, Charles Iliya said.

    Chairman of the Tera Language Development and Bible Translation Projects, Mr. Kalagar Lubo said the project also aims to use the scripture in Tera Language to widen the readers’ vocabulary and fluency in reading and writing the language, and thereby promote its preservation.

    He said team would establish literary classes in each Tera villages to teach the language effectively and also liaise with Yamaltu-Deba Local Government Education Authority and the State Ministry of Education to facilitate the teaching of Tera language in the primary and secondary schools within the local government.

    He said the Projects would also be partnering with Yamaltu Forum, to speed up work on production of a Tera language dictionary.

    Lubo explained that they were currently working on the translation of the Old Testament of the Holy Bible; therefore the proceeds from the launch of the New Testament would be shared in halves between Tera literacy project and the Old Testament Translation project, the printing of which is expected to gulp N10million.

    His words: “The project will join hands with the Ministry of Education and Yamaltu-Deba Local Government to facilitate the teaching of Tera language in the Primary and Secondary Schools within the local government in line with the mother tongue policy of the federal government.

    “In pursuit of the above, the existing primas in Tera – Book 1 – 4 as well as the Reading and Writing Tera  produced by the project and published by Yamaltu-Froum will be adopted as first hand materials for this objective.

    “The project will join hands with Yamaltu-Forum, to speed up its outstanding work on production of a dictionary in Tera language under Auspices of the Tera Language Development and Standardization Council;

    “The Project intends by God’s grace to dedicate about 50% of the proceeds of this launching to special fund for printing of the Old Testament which will cost Ten Million Naira (N10, 000,000.00) while 50% will be shared between Tera literacy project and Old Testament Translation rigours.”

    Chairman of the Tera Language Development and Bible Translation Projects, Mr. Kalagar Lubo said the task before them is not just a complete translation of the Bible, but to also teach people how to use the translated word at home and the community, for evangelism, spiritual growth through discipleship and impact in the community.

    Based on their tradition and legend, the Tera people also known as the Nyimatli, are today located in the North Eastern part of Nigeria and predominantly in Yamaltu-Deba Local Government Area of Gombe State. They originated and migrated from Yemen in the Middle East to their present locations.

  • In Aba, a plea for dying languages

    In Aba, a plea for dying languages

    At the World Indigenous Language Day in Aba, Abia State, stakeholders made a case for saving Nigeria’s dying tongues. SUNNY NWANKWO reports

    In order to prevent some native tongues from dying, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) ratified February 21 as the International Language Day. Some stakeholders who gathered in Aba, the commercial nerve of the Abia State, to mark the day have suggested ways to keep Nigerian languages from going into extinction.

    The event was held at the National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN).

    Over 500 Nigerian languages may die out because people who speak are getting fewer and fewer. Parents are blamed for accelerating the decline of those languages because they raise their children in other tongues rather than their native ones.

    The theme of this year’s event was, “Towards Sustainable Future through Multi-Lingual Education”.

    Stakeholders called on the Federal Government and the Federal Ministry of Education to make the teaching and learning of Nigerian languages compulsory in both government and private schools in the country.

    The Executive Director of NINLAN, Prof. Chinyere Ohiri Aniche, represented by the deputy, Prof. Obiajulu Emejulu said the institute decided to celebrate the day in order to push for the sustenance of indigenous languages and cultural values.

    Emejulu said children should be taught in their mother tongue in their first nine years, noting that children who were taught first in their mother tongue do better than their contemporaries who were first introduced to a second language (L2).

    “When a language dies, humanity loses a lot of wealth of knowledge and the case of Igbo language, I guess, is the most pathetic in terms of language endangerment/decline because by population, the Igbos are one of the most populous linguistic groups. We run into millions of people who are indigenous to the Igbo language and therefore, our language shouldn’t be in trouble at all. But unfortunately, UNESCO had classified Igbo language as an endangered  language with a number of reasons that the middle class parents don’t transfer the language to their children and so, there is a gap where in the next 15 years, we are going to have a generation of Igbo people who don’t speak the language.

    “Some of them who can’t speak the language because they don’t even understand cannot also transfer it to their own children and so, if nothing serious was done, we are going to face serious catastrophe for the Igbo language. I am afraid that we may not be able to reproduce the generation of the Achebes, Wole Soyinkas and others who were steeped in their mother tongue and when they were introduced to the English Language were very quick to grasp all the nuances of the English Language, and they did extremely well. We have nothing to lose in exposing our children to our mother tongues, but we have a lot to lose if our children grow up, not being able to speak our mother tongues fluently, they will become hybrid human beings.”

    Speaking further, Emejulu said, “It is apt because research has shown that children will thrive in a multi-lingual society as it exposes children to different languages and as they are growing up, they can pick these languages and as such enhance their communication even amongst people that are not of the same tribe with them.

    Emejulu while calling for proper funding of the institute in order to achieve the purpose for which it was meant, also called for a review of the education policies of the federal government on the teaching and learning and teaching of mother tongues in various schools and institutions in the country by mass producing teachers with degrees that will be employed in schools to help teach the dying indigenous languages.

    HRH Eze Young Nwangwa, the Oko I of Ehere autonomous community, HRH Eze Okey Ananaba, Okahia I of Okahia autonomous community and Eze Onwunali Wilson from Akumaimo Ancient Kingdom regretted the drastic drop in the teaching and learning of mother tongues in schools nowadays.

    Eze Okey Ananaba said he and his royal counterparts left their palaces to support the activities of the mother tongue day as a sign of support for what NINLAN is doing to create consciousness amongst the people of the need to promote and speak their respective dialects.

    Eze Ananaba said it is good that parents from the cradle introduce foreign language to their kids against the use of their mother tongue at the early stage of their childhood, stressing that it is better to use the mother tongue to raise a child so that when he or she grows, he will not forget the language even when the person learns another language that’s outside the mother tongue.

    He said parents should speak their indigenous languages to their childen and inculcate in them the cultural values for which their communities were noted.

     

  • Group seeks use of local languages in primary schools

    A group, the Civil Society and Government Partnership (CSGP), has urged the Kwara State House of Assembly to enact laws that will support use of local languages in primary schools in the state.

    The group addressed reporters in Ilorin, the state capital on the outcome of its research on “The Preferred Language of Instruction in Schools and Uneven Distribution/Redeployment of Teachers.”

    It also canvassed the employment of qualified teachers who are indigenes of rural communities where schools are located.

    Spokesperson for the group, Hajia Nimat Labaika, explained that many children across sampled schools were not learning much because of the language barrier between them and their teachers, hence the need to enact language policies that will take account of local language learning especially from primary 1 to 3.

    “It is a practice that leads to limited or non-existent-learning and acquisition of knowledge and skills, alienating experiences and high drop-out and repetition rates,” said Labaika, who is Kwara State and North-central Coordinator for the Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA).

    Forty-two communities in 12 local government areas were covered by the study.  It included 382 community members who are not members of School Based Management Committee (SBMC), 232 SBMC members, 262 school children and 184 teachers.

    She said: “From the result gathered, 78 percent of interviewed children and 78 percent of teachers said that the use of local language would  boost children’s academic performance. Some of the teachers who preferred to stick to English Language as the language of instruction also acknowledged that the use of local language will improve performance.

    “This position supports the notion that teachers preference for English is largely due to personal reasons and not reflection of what they think is best for pupils. However, 81 percent of parents believe that the use of local language will not improve children academic performance. The parents’ opinion is anchored on the limited knowledge of the technicalities attached to the teaching and learning and thereby affecting their opinion on how the process can be best improved.

    “Surprisingly, finding s show that some Fulani communities also chose Yoruba because they were born there and the only language they understand is Yoruba. They do not understand their original language (Fulfude). Only 15 percent of the respondents chose Fulfulde and these are parents who live in nomadic Fulani communities.”

    The group asked the state government to ensure that one teacher who could speak the local language be posted to each nomadic school in the state, and that teachers employed by the SBMC or Parent Teachers Association (PTA) who possesses relevant qualification in rural schools be absorbed to fill the existing gaps in the system.

    The group also recommended an upward review of the rural allowance for teachers posted to rural schools from the current rate of N200 per month to at least N5, 000 per month and that the existing policy which makes it mandatory for newly recruited teachers to stay for a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years in any school they are posted to should be strictly followed.

    Although she acknowledged great improvement in the state of schools in the state with the injection of about N390 million by SBMC and others over a four year period, Labiaka said more still needed to be done by the government in dealing with the deplorable condition of primary schools in rural areas.

  • Lalong urges ethnic groups to preserve languages

    Lalong urges ethnic groups to preserve languages

    Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau has urged ethnic groups in the country to preserve their languages and save them from extinction.

    Lalong made the call on Saturday at the 2015 Gamai Cultural Festival in Shendam Local Government Area of the state, where he hails from.

    He said that languages were vital tools for interacting and expressing ideas, emotions, knowledge, memories and values.

    “Languages are also primary vehicles of cultural expressions and intangible cultural heritage, essential to the identity of individuals and groups.

    “Safeguarding endangered languages is thus, a crucial task in maintaining cultural diversity, worldwide.

    “The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO’s) recent reports on endangered languages shows that half of the 6,700 languages spoken all over the world are in danger of disappearing before the century ends.

    “Already, 417 languages are almost out of use; 47 of them are in Africa and 15 are from Nigeria,” the governor said.

    He also said that language remained a weapon of cultural empowerment and should not be allowed to die like many extant languages of the world.

    Lalong assured that the state government, through the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality and cultural associations, would ensure the streamlining of cultural festivals and boost the rich cultural heritage of the state.

    He urged the Gamai to use the festival with its theme: ‘’Unity and Peace’’ to ensure peaceful coexistence among the different groups in the state.

    Mr Thomas Shialsuk, President, Gamai Unity and Development Organization (GUDO), said the festival was to foster understanding between the Gamai nation and its neighbours as well as residents of Gamai land.

    Shialsuk thanked Plateau people for electing their son as the governor of the state.

    The Chairman of the occasion and Elder Statesman, Alhaji Yahaya Kwande, urged Gamai people to support the govenor to succeed.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor was honoured at the festival with a traditional attire and there was also display of cultural dances and a book launch.

  • Heralding Save Nigerian Indigenous Languages

    Heralding Save Nigerian Indigenous Languages

    At the moment, a group of people called Save Our Indigenous Languages in Nigeria are organising a reality show in different indigenous languages to debate a way forward for the preservation and promotion of endangered languages in Nigeria.  Edozie Udeze encountered the organiser by name Greg Ugboaja, who explained the concept and ideals of the show

    For some time now, some individuals and institutions both in Nigeria and across the globe have been organising programmes and workshops to encourage people to continue to speak and communicate in their mother tongue.  A few years ago, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) notified and warned the world about some endangered languages of the world.  The body has made it clear that if care is not taken by 2060 more local languages of the world will go extinct.

    What this means is that more people; more communities would have lost touch with their origin and where they are coming from.  The consequent result would make more people grope uncertainly in the world without knowing what to do with their lives, without knowing the language to speak except the foreign one they already know.

    But a young man called Greg Ugboaja who is now organizing a show to sensitise Nigerians on the need to push on with their various mother tongues opined that if constant attention is paid in this regard, a lot will be achieved.  He has a foundation called Save Our Indigenous Languages in Nigeria (SOLN).  In the past few days, he and his colleagues in the group have been putting up what he described as a contest for young people to discuss national issues in Nigeria.

    “We believe we’ve talked to the governments both at the states and federal levels in the English Language, and they’ve not been listening.  Now, let us try to do it in our individual local tongues to see how it works.  These languages are the languages that touch the hearts.  Our mother tongues know how to do the magic; how to appeal to the inner-recesses of both those who speak them and those who listen.”

    Ugboaja who is not only an artiste, but also the owner of Mmilioma, a production company that encourages the art to thrive, explains why the one week programme which held at the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) Iganmu, Lagos, was being recorded for the television audience.  “Yes, it is like a reality show.  However, this is the pilot show, the first edition of it.  What we are doing is that we are recording the pilot for TV.  It is being supported by National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Living Tongue Institute for Endangered Languages from USA, and Bond FM.  This is for us all to ensure we are not allowing our indigenous languages to die.”

    So, how would government now begin to understand the problems of the people when spoken in local languages?  “Yes Nelson Mandela said if you speak to a man in the language he understands, it goes into his head.  But if you speak to him in his mother’s tongue it goes into his heart.  So we feel that our governments will listen to us more when we apply this approach and method.

    “When we speak to them in the language that is their own, they will know that we are serious.  The English Language is no man’s Language as far as we are concerned.  For this edition, therefore, we are featuring 6 languages.  They include Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Idoma, Bini and Ibiobio.  What we do is that we swop the languages every season.  Once we are done with these, we will focus attention on more.  We have over 250 languages in Nigeria and that means we have a lot to do.”

    Describing it as an on-going project, Ugboaja insisted that those who participated must appear in their local attire with all the mannerisms that make the people who they are.  This is to make the show a total local issue where even attendees and participants would be encouraged to respect one another’s cultural tendencies.  “The project would have gone round the whole length and breadth of the country by the time we do it constantly for a while.  We have to do it step by step, stage by stage, to make sure we pay enough attention to as many indigenous languages as we can.”

    Although it is a pre-recorded programme, Ugboaja encouraged those involved in it to apply online first.  From then on Bond FM took it up and began to hammer on it and let the people to see the need for the youths to be a part of it.  Now, through the social media, people who are passionate about local languages came out to associate with it.  “You can see how enthusiastic the participants are.  How they are eager to prove a point.  Let people go back to where they are coming from in terms of recognising that they have a language to speak.  It does not diminish your person or belittle your esteem when you speak your mother tongue.

    “So we are telling government that we need to rescue our languages.  Look at every single industrialised nation of the world.  None of them speaks in foreign language.  Even America that speaks English had to Americanise it to suit their taste.  India that was colonised by Britain still promotes Hindi far above the English Language.  There is no industrialised nation that is moving forward today that relies on a foreign language to make it.  And when you go to Europe, even very minor nations with the influence of England, still speak their local dialects.  Go to Italy, go to Malta or Spain, even when Britain has influenced them one way or the other, they do not forget who they are or where they are coming from.”

    There is indeed something deeply inherent in your language.  It conveys a message deeper than when you want to do it in a foreign one.  “You lose the total import, you lose some moral values, you lose the total original touch of an issue when you try to convey your feelings in a foreign language.  Local tongues bond people together.  There are some words you cannot completely translate from Igbo to English, no matter how hard you try, it will still lose its original meaning and content.”

    In order to achieve this aim, the programme centres its contents on topics, on issues and themes that bother the country at the moment.  Ugboaja said, “Yes we harmonise our stand by concentrating on topics like security, youth unemployment, this is a federation of different peoples, religious matters, education and so on.  So, we bring people to talk on these issues through a debate in local languages.  Our position is therefore presented to the government in the same languages they are made.

    “As government is listening to you in Ibibio, those who come from that area in the National Assembly will be able to grasp the essence of what we have said.  We are not promoting tribe per se, no.  We are promoting languages.  So even if you are from Akwa Ibom and you understand another local language it is an advantage.  Or if it is in Yoruba you want to talk to government, you are welcome.”

    In the end, these themes will be pushed to the front-burner with expectation that the governments concerned will listen and act.  Those involved in the show would have also learnt one or two lessons to help Nigeria move forward.

  • 152 local languages may die soon

    Head of Languages, Federal Ministry of Education, Rev Anota Ademola, has said that Nigeria may lose 152 local languages which are hardly spoken any more.

    He warned that more may disappear if greater attention is not paid to the estimated 400 languages spoken in Nigeria.

    Rev Ademola, spoke at the launch of a multimedia product created by Mrs Kofoworola Odeleye to teach indigenous languages to children at the Terra Kulture, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    He lamented that due to insufficient attention, the country’s estimated 400 indigenous languages have become greatly endangered. He added that the greater concern is that local languages are not being handed over to the children in their homes.

    “Some languages are already extinct, and about 152 are on the verge of extinction.  Numerous researches show that on the average 25 per cent of children below 11 years are unable to speak their indigenous language. If this trend is not checked and reversed, many Nigerian languages would have died out in two to three generations.  Everything necessary should be done to draw our youths to the face that their mother tongue is their identity,” he said.

    Ademola, who represented the Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, praised Mrs Odeleye and her team for promoting the development of Nigerian languages among young ones.

    The animated multimedia product, called the Anilingo series, is designed to make teaching and learning of Nigerian languages easy for the younger generation.

    Mrs Odeleye of Iyin Creative, said she was inspired to create animated content that teaches children Nigerian languages from a cartoon, Dora the Explorer, which taught her child to speak some Spanish language.

    She said the aim is to promote and preserve Nigeria’s cultural identity and diversity by using indigenous content to entertain and educate children at home or in the classroom.

    However, Kofo said the plan to produce the cartoons in all Nigerian languages could not be fulfilled for lack of funds.  So, she decided to stick with the three major languages.

    “We approached a number of state governments to help finance but they did not respond.  I applied for the Youwin women’s programme in 2013 where I won a grant of N7.5million, although my budget was N15 million. To complete the money, I organised an animated summer camp for children,” she said.