Says the move threatens national identity, Children’s future and survival of the nation’s indigenous languages
By Suzan Edeh, Bauchi
The Bauchi State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture(BACCIMA) have opposed the recent Nigerian government decision to scrap the National Language Policy and revert to using English as the sole medium of instruction in schools, saying that the move threatens national identity, Children’s future and survival of the nation’s indigenous languages.
Recall that the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, had announced that English would now serve as the sole language of instruction in Nigerian schools, from the primary to tertiary level.
The development has generated reactions among stakeholders in the country where many protested against the Nigerian government’s reversal of its 2022 National Language Policy, which had mandated teaching in mother tongues from early childhood to Primary Six.
The President of BACCIMA, Hon Aminu Mohammed Danmaliki who was addressing Journalists over the development in Bauchi, said that since the announcement of the new language policy, it has generated confusion, controversy and public outcry, stressing that the policy is a step backward for education and Indentity.
According to him, the federal government already has agencies with clear mandates to strengthen and protect the nation’s indigenous languages, including the National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN) Aba, the Primary Agency Established specifically to teach, research, preserve, and promote Nigerian languages under the Federal Ministry of Education, Nigeria’s only specialized institution for training language teachers and translators.
He said that Countries like China, France, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, and Ethiopia prioritize the mother tongue as the foundation of national development, adding that Nigeria is now choosing the opposite path, despite the fact that the country is for decade a signatory to UNISCO and UN conventions.
Emphasising on why Mother Tongue matters, Danmaliki said that Research and global evidence (UNESCO, 2003; World Bank, 2021) showed that children learn best in the language they understand, pointing out that early literacy in the mother tongue improves later learning in other languages (including English).
‘Abandoning the mother tongue can lead to Cognitive disadvantages where children struggle to understand abstract concepts in an unfamiliar language. Cultural alienation, loss of connection with heritage and traditional wisdom. Increased inequality rural and poor children (who lack strong English exposure) fall behind urban elites”
“A people that abandons its language is abandoning its history, its worldview, cultural memory and sense of belonging as well as endangering Local Knowledge Systems.Indigenous knowledge in medicine, agriculture, governance, conflict resolution, and ethics is carried in our languages, hence abandoning the mother tongue weakens our intellectual heritage”
” English provides a neutral and unifying platform in Nigeria’s multiethnic context, making it the exclusive medium of education especially at foundational levels is pedagogically unsound and socioculturally harmful”.
“A balanced approach would be that for early education (Primary 1-3), mother tongue or community language for teaching should be used, while introducing English gradually. At Upper levels (Primary 4 onward), there should be a transition to bilingual or English-dominant instruction once the child’s conceptual foundation is solid. This model is used successfully in countries like Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Finland, where local languages form the base of national literacy and innovation” he said.
Danmaliki called on the Federal Ministry of Education, NINLAN and NERDC experts, State Ministries of Education, Traditional institutions and cultural bodies, Civil society and the media to urgently review the policy in order to ensure that Nigeria’s linguistic and cultural sovereignty is not compromised.