The author of a lingua franca dictionary aimed at solving the problem of communication in the West African subregion, Prof Alex G. Igbineweka, has appealed to the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) to deliver the book.
The appeal is coming 29 years after NERDC took the contract to publish the book but failed to deliver.
In a document made available to The Nation, Prof Alex G. Igbineweka, an expert in West Africa indigenous zonal lingua franca, said he wrote The Complete Dictionary of Guosa Language, which NERDC ‘’offered to assist him’’ publish and launch. This was on July 8, 1992. It ‘’offered and agreed to fund the printing of the first batch of 750 copies of the dict at N25 per copy, a total of N18,750’’, the author stated.
Enthused by the agency’s offer, Igbineweka went to fulfil his part of the deal – payment of N36,250 to print 2,500 copies of the book – which he paid in five instalments of N8,000 and a balance of N4,500. Thereafter, a contract was duly signed by both parties. It was stated that inflation would not affect the agreed price.
Igbineweka said in fairness to NERDC, the agency got cracking at its Printing Press at Jibowu, Yaba, Lagos under one Mr Abiodun but “at a snail speed’ from early 1993.
On the cause of the delay, Igbineweka got an explanation from Dr. O. Adeniyi in a letter. dated September 16, 1993, assuring him that all would be well
The don said, perhaps, to fast-track the delivering, NERDC sublet the job to a printing firm. Happily, the latter completed the draft work in less than two months, a copy of which was sent to Igbineweka for proofreading, which the author also returned in time, to NERDC for onward transmission to the firm.
But, if Igbineweka thought his book would soon be ready, he was wrong as events turned out to be. Three years later, the final printing was yet to be completed. By August of the same year, the author’s plan to address a world conference on the new ‘’Guoza language’’, which he was due to speak on at UC Berkeley and University of Stanford in California, United States failed as the book was not yet to be on his shelf.
“Ï was given an apology that the book was not ready’’ and was assured that soon his fears would be over. This was not to be as “days, weeks and years crept by like the grains of sands’’ without news from NERDC or its partner.
Tired of waiting in 1998, Igbineweka, now based in the United States, wrote to NERDC to find out the cause of the undue delay.On July 28 of the same year, he got a letter from NERDC, promising to deliver ‘’in a few months’’, which it failed to do again.
Igbineweka, now retired, is unhappy that his dream to unite the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) states with one language is vanishing into thin air. His years of burning the midnight candles to write the book are becoming wasted, expectedly, putting the blame at the footsteps of the NERDC and Federal Ministry of Education.
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He said the ministry had, in a letter dated January 23, 1986, apparently happy with the book project then, had asked him to partner universities’ departments of linguistics and Nigerian languages to achieve the best. Yet, they never showed more interest thereafter.
Igbineweka, however, wants NERDC to live up to its pledge to: publish and launch the Revised Edition of the Guosa language dictionary, and send copies of the book to President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Education minister and Culture and Tourism counterpart, the president’s Political Adviser, National Universities Commission (NUC), National Assembly; and ECOWAS or,better still, return his money with interests.
The don recalled with nostalgia how the late Special Adviser to President Shehu Shagari, Dr Chuba Okadigbo, later Senate President, and National Security Adviser (NSA), Alhaji Muhammadu Gambo had shown interest in the book and encouraged him to complete it, but which could not materialise.
But, the Zonal Head of NERDC Office, Southwest, Mr Tope Oloruntoba, who said he never knew about the case until Igbineweka called him, said some of those involved in the project had either resigned or retired, adding that some were on their way out of service when he joined.
Noting that government’s work is continuum, he advised the don to write to the NERDC’s Executive Secretary, Prof. Salisu Shehu, through him, attaching the necessary documents to enable them to review the case, promising to keep a tab on it. Thereafter, he would be invited for discussions, he said.
He was optimistic that Igbineweka’s plight would get the deserved attention, especially as they were something on languages at the moment.
“I know they developed some languages recently, and Guosa language might just be one of them, I don’t know,’’ Oloruntoba added.
