Preamble:
The role of language in any society could not be over-emphasized. Language is the cultural thing that binds people of a nation together. It is the springboard on which the resources of a Nation both human and material rest.
In the biblical Tower of Babel, problems started when the people were unable to share the same channel of communication because of the curse on them by God. Thus, the hitherto existing cooperation and mutual understanding they had was no longer possible. They therefore , left the tower they were trying to build to reach their Maker , uncompleted.
For a country to move ahead and to level up with other nations of the world , effective communication within and without is very vital politically, socially, economically and religiously.
In this piece, I will attempt to reframe the minds of Nigerians on the danger of relegating or serial assassination of our mother tongues be it Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Edo or Tiv to mention a few in preference to the foreign languages viz: English , French , German, or Russian.
Locally Fabricate Truck in Nigeria
I will also highlight some of the valuable contributions our indigenous languages have made , are making and could still make toward the progress of our country and offer some relevant suggestions.
The relation between a language and the people who speak it cannot be thought of apart. A language lives only, so long as there are people who speak it and use it as their mother tongues.
The English language which today is the language of the civil service in Nigeria was once at the same level of recognition as our indigenous languages viz-Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo that are regarded as ‘inferior’ today.
According to A.C. Baugh, ‘’the Norman conquest made English for two centuries the language mainly of the lower classes while the nobles and those associated with them used French on almost all occasions’’. Today, the English Language is widely used all over the world’.
Similarly, the erudite English Literary genius Geoffrey Chaucer wrote in English dialect not because of the inability to write fashionable and systematic language of the day viz- Latin, French and Greek but because of his inordinate ambition to promote his mother tongue despite the inconsistencies and frivolities in it. Why should ours be different?
The genesis of Nigerian languages is as old as Nigerian society itself. For example , the Yoruba language as one of the Nigerian languages has been in use since time immemorial and was reduced into writing around 1822.
It is interesting to note that foreigners were even more interested in Yoruba language then, to spread the religion Christianity among other motives. People like John C. Raban, ,(a German), C. A. Gollmer and a France –born M. DAVEZAC, to mention a few. Not long after, say, about 1844, the English Bible was translated to Yoruba by a Nigerian – born freed slave-Samuel Ajayi Crowther.
Today we have Britons that teach Yoruba language and other African Languages in our educational institutions both in Nigeria and in overseas.
Mention can be made here of Nigerians who have made,and still making tremendous impact in the literary circles. We have astute Yoruba writers like the late D.O. Fagunwa, late J.F. Odunjo, Akinwumi Isola, Afolabi Olabimtan,Prof. Wande Abimbola, Adeboye Babalola, Prof. Oladele Olajubu , Olu Alaba to mention a few.
In the Igbo circle, we have geniuses like F.F Ogbalu, N. Ugoma, L.N. Oraka and J. C. Madueke amongst others.
Similarly, in the Hausa context, names like Ibrahim, M.S. Dangogo, A. Kontagoras and Yahaya I.Y. and a host of others are worthy of mention. All these writers help in the development and exposition of their cultures in their environments and to the world in general. They are thus educating , correcting the ills in the society and updating their societal beliefs , norms and convections.
In the civil service , Nigerian language graduates have been contributing to the arts, cultural and Sociological development of our motherland. Some have served and still serving as teachers /educators, heads of institutions of learning in the country.
Politically, the history of Nigeria politics will not be complete without the mention of important names of versatile and articulate politicians such as the Ibadan man, Adelabu Adegoke ,a.k.a. ‘’Penkelemeesi’, S.L.A. Akintola, Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Michael Okpara, Tafawa Balewa , Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Bola Ige (all of blessed memory) who all had a very good command of their indigenous languages and fully utilized them in their political careers.
A good example was Chief Akintola who was reputed to have a very good command of the vocabulary of the three main Nigerian languages-Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba respectively. Same with the ‘Cicero of Esa-Oke’, Chief Bola Ige.
If we are to subscribe to Aristotle assertion in his politics that ‘’man is by nature a political animal’’, it portends therefore, that nature intends man to live in a (political ) society and it is only in a society that the gift of speech has any meaning and use; this is where our indigenous languages come in .
The majority of Nigerians are illiterates (you either believe it or leave it). Half of the Nigerian populace cannot make judicious use of the English language because of inability to get the right type of education they need . But he / she makes use of the mother languages which makes him feels belonging to his society without which he remains cut off from that society.
Our indigenous languages are pivotal to preach peace in our society. In the olden days, the Roman Catholic made use of Latin during their church services . Not long after independence, they discovered that it was unrealistic to bring converts into the fold without the use of our indigenous languages because 95 percent of the congregation could not understand the sermon in English or songs in Latin.
They thereby adjusted to English and later the indigenous languages took over. Yoruba language dominates preaching among the Yoruba while Hausa and Igbo follow suit in their domains respectively and with good interpreters.
Although , Latin ,is at times employed in-between sermons today among the Roman Catholics but sermons are not entirely conducted in Latin as it was in the past.
Education Policy Somersaults
Nigerian government (past and present ) is responsible for the slow pace of technological development in the country. Pupils in primary and Nursery schools who are supposed to be exposed earlier to technological jargons or vocabulary in their mother tongues are deprived of this.
Our educational policy is not stable. One man comes, the next minute he lives, abandon the previous government policy . A case in point was the 6,3,3, 4 system of education introduced by previous government in Nigeria which made it compulsory (theoretically) to instruct or teach these pupils in their mother tongues.
Parents /Teachers Deliberately Not Allowing Their Children /Pupils Communicate In Mother Languages
Some parents do not even help matter too. They force their children to speak English at the detriment of their mother tongues as if English is their mother tongue-L1. They confuse these children at a early stage of life.
A cousin of mine came from London some years back with her seven years old boy. As we were discussing in the car, the boy, surprisingly was crying , saying, ’’Mummy , what are you saying , I don’t understand your language again , speak English!
We quickly switched to English language because of his predicament and later, I told the mother of her fault in not to have been speaking her language to the poor boy where they stayed in London. From that very moment, the boy began to learn how to speak her mother’s language and eventually love to communicate with it.
Of what meaning is ‘snow’ to a primary or secondary school pupil in Nigeria who has never been to Europe or America; all these vocabulary or names of things in their literary works or poems forced to memorize in schools are not strange to their American counterparts because it is what they see and feel most of the seasons.
Advanced Countries Make Use of Mother Languages For Tech. Development
In Japan, for anybody to study in that country, it is extremely important that such foreign student must have adequate knowledge of Japanese language. Many foreign students study the language in Japan for 6-12 months before applying to universities for admission. This is simply because in principle, educational institutions in Japan hold all their lessons in Japanese . The same in Germany, Russia and China.
Indigenous Vehicle Manufacturing Product
These countries adore their indigenous languages and are more advanced technologically than us. Japan was once the world’s most technologically advanced country. Now China has taken the trophy.
In the outcry of Professor Chukwuemeka Ike in the ‘Daily Champion ‘ of May 18th 1990 page 9, he said:’’One of the first questions flung at the African writer when he visits Europe or America is, ’’in what language do you write?’’ Yet, no sane person would ask an English , German , French or American writer such a question’’.
Critically observed, it means relegating our mother tongues or indigenous languages to the background in preference for foreign languages and culture is signaling a death knell to our languages.
Everybody all over the world thinks in his own language. Mathematics which is the backbone of technology could be taught better for effective comprehension in our indigenous languages from the elementary schools to the secondary schools.
In one of the National Dailies of recent, the headline captioned: ’’Students still shun the Sciences’’. Language barrier is one of the problems responsible for this. If instructions in the classrooms are done in their indigenous languages, students would develop interest and understand the subject better. This does not mean they will not be taught in other subjects in English or whatever . But majorly , science and technical subjects could be taught effectively in the mother tongues.
Today, being the International Mother Language Day, I want to commend the international body who recognizes a day as Mother Language day. This is because mother tongues are vital as the first language a child comes in contact after birth and thinks with the mother tongue until other languages are introduced to him.
To Do
In Nigeria, I want both the Federal and State governments to identify with the world body of International Mother Day and dovetail in giving incentives to Nigerian language teachers. Let these teachers be adequately employed and not allowed to divert their interest somewhere else
Sometimes ago, there was a loud cry of a provost of College of Education Ekiadolor-Benin, that ‘’more than 68 graduates of the college who studied Edo language were yet to be offered appointment. This trend should be reversed as studying Nigerian Languages is not inferior to other languages. In fact, the University Matriculation Examination prescribes same requirements for all languages.
The France would never compromise their language for English or the German to the detriment of their languages, so also Japan and China. I think and believe that Nigerian situation should not be different if really we want to develop in all facets of technologies.
Conclusion
‘’Ile ni a ti nko eso r’ode” ( Charity begins from home ). Nigerians should teach their Children and wards their mother tongues just as they cram their brains with other foreign languages. Those that we imitate in the West do not abandon their languages for others but use them to build their countries technologically and in all strata of life. All our children need to know is the equivalent of mother tongues vocabulary in English and other foreign languages . Understanding how to speak our mother tongue does not belittle us but rather makes us proud of our existence as a people.
Happy International Mother Language Day.
By Idowu Tunde
Publisher/ Editor-in-Chief
The Interviews Nigeria