Nigerians boast of her many and divers culture and languages, but steps are needed to be taken to preserve the most important cultural heritage of our various ethnic groups otherwise, we risk losing them forever. There is a long list of endangered language in Nigeria; how long will it be till YOUR own language is on this list? 20 years, 30years or 40…?
With fewer Nigerian children acquiring fluency in their native language, there is strong case of ‘linguicide’. Not only for the major languages, but the minority ones as well. Thus, a progressive and generational drift towards English language threatens the survival of indigenous Nigeria languages. It is ridiculous to see kids growing up without speaking their mother tongue while living in that culture.
Experts agitate that if a child can’t speak his or her mother tongue today, the child’s offspring, say in the next 20 – 25 years, will know little of or nothing about the language. After all, dad or mum cannot teach what he or she does not know little or nothing about. The implication is that in the next 50 years or so, the fate of Nigeria languages would have become so decayed that they would not be far from extinction. The situation seem worsen by the fact that the Ministry of Education, which are in the position that enforce the propagation of the languages, are not serious about doing so. This is evident in the recent policy of the Federal Ministry of Education which makes study of at least one of Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo language optional in the senior secondary school.
A British educationist, Robin Bruce, tried to warn Nigerian parent that abandoning their native language and preferring to communicating with their children in English language, they are simply killing the future and culture, saying that English and other foreign languages may adversely affect the educational development of children.
Bruce, who is the head chief of Abuja preparatory school, said that the research had shown that children who learn their mother tongue in their formative years perform better educationally, and are still able to grasp English language as they grow. He added that parent or guardian should stop forcing their children to learning English and other foreign language during their early years. According to him, Nigeria has always depended on oil resources, saying that oil wealth may not be forever, hence the need to prepare children to acquire skill, emotional intelligence and knowledge that place them on a competitive pedestal which can be genuinely achieve with the help of native language.
When you fail to teach the younger ones their own language, you diminish their identity. Preserving these languages from extinction is the responsibility of all.
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