Nigeria’s Diverse Tongues, Asset for National Development, Says Expert

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

A language expert has said that the over 500 languages spoken in Nigeria is potentially a huge asset for national development and should be harnessed for that purpose.

Professor Francis Egbokhare, who is a renowned Professor of Linguistics and Chairman of the Governing Council of the National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN), expressed this view at 27th regular meeting of the Council in Aba, Abia State.

He said it was wrong for people to regard Nigeria’s multiplicity of languages as a liability.

“The truth is that language is an asset; what you have to know is how to use diversity to your advantage. It is not language that is the problem; it is the management of language; it is the politics – the political process that is the problem.

“It is the policy framework that makes diversity an asset or a problem. For us as Nigerians, I think we have to take advantage of this diversity,” he said.

According to the University of Ibadan linguist and immediate past President of the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL), Nigerians had hitherto focused on the negative side of multilingualism hence the perception

He therefore advised Nigerians to start looking at the potentials of language itself and see it as a vehicle through which all things hold together.

The NINLAN Governing Council Chairman said that the indigenous languages institute was determined to live up to its mandate of developing the indigenous languages and applying them to nation building and economic growth.

“We are redirecting energy to look at the potentials and benefits of language. We are moving away from the old logic, and we are moving toward a new logic of language and development by integrating and interweaving language with every aspect of human life,” he said.

Egbokhare added that NINLAN would apply language to specific needs of the nation and determine “exactly how language can integrate with business, safety and security and expose the wide potentials of Nigerian languages in catalysing development.”

He reaffirmed Council’s interest in having NINLAN exercise its statutory mandate to award degrees, saying that “We are approaching it strategically.”

On the Institute’s long-standing quest to access funding from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund),  Egbokhare said there must be a window of opportunity for TETFund to provide some interventionist funding to NINLAN.

To achieve this goal he stated that “what we need to do is, find a creative partnership that will allow us benefit from some of TETFund’s funding. And we are working on those things.”

The Council at its meeting raised three academic staff to the rank of full professorship, bringing to four the number of full professors so far appointed by the Institute since 2006 the first appointment was in 2006.

Other upper level promotions approved by Council include two senior deputy registrars, two senior lecturers; two deputy registrars and one principal assistant registrar.