The proposal for the institution of a College of Languages, being thought-about by the Home of Representatives, is a misdirected means of addressing an existential drawback of the fast fading of native Nigerian languages. The truth that many Nigerian languages are on the verge of extinction on account of a number of components, together with abandonment by the indigenous audio system, makes any transfer for the promotion and deepening of the mom tongues a welcome improvement any day. Nonetheless, establishing a brand new educational establishment of Nigerian Languages for that function is pointless, as it might compound the issues of insufficient funding of current universities; in addition to enhance authorities’s forms and monetary burden. The nation doesn’t have sources for it. Relatively, there’s a want for a extra ingenious means of encouraging the sustainability of native languages, probably making use of all instructional establishments throughout the nation. The proposal ought to be dropped.
There are extra burning nationwide points and challenges comparable to escalating insecurity that has claimed hundreds of lives of harmless residents, unprecedented financial hardship, seemingly intractable corruption in excessive locations, excessive price of governance, gross underfunding of the college system, crude oil theft to which the nation has to this point misplaced trillions of naira, perennial fall within the worth of the native forex, and incapability to supply steady and reasonably priced electrical energy provide for socio-economic improvement. How you can successfully sort out all these which can be retarding nationwide progress and threatening the company existence of the nation ought to occupy the thoughts of the Nationwide Meeting members, not establishing new universities the purpose of which may be achieved by means of the already current ones. Already, the nation is infamous for poor funding of its universities, one of many causes the establishments of studying haven’t been capable of successfully ship on their mandate, significantly within the space of offering options to socio-economic and political challenges. Moreover the priority that the proposed college will undergo the identical lamentable destiny as the present ones, lots of which now function groggily, its institution will quantity to undue proliferation of universities within the nation. And in a society with over 200 indigenous languages, what number of of them will the brand new college be capable of train to college students? If there ought to be something to do about reviving and selling native languages, it ought to be to spice up the capability of the numerous current universities and faculties of schooling, significantly these that aren’t specialised in operation, to supply programs or extra programs in as most of the mom tongues as potential. A invoice sponsored by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, and eight others, aimed toward establishing a college for the promotion of the training of Nigerian languages has just lately been handed for first studying by the Home of Representatives. The establishment has even been given a reputation: Bola Ahmed Tinubu Federal College of Nigerian Languages. Part II half I of the invoice, as printed within the media, gives that the college when established, shall: “Encourage the development of studying and maintain out to all individuals with out distinction of race, creed, intercourse or political conviction, the chance of buying a better schooling in Nigerian languages and cultures.” It additionally goals to develop and supply educational {and professional} programmes resulting in the award of diplomas, first levels, postgraduate analysis and better levels with emphasis on planning, adaptive, developmental and productive abilities within the subject of Nigerian languages and cultures.
In accordance with Kalu and different sponsors of the invoice, the purpose is to supply socially mature individuals with the capability to speak, perceive and use Nigerian languages for nationwide improvement. The invoice is predicted to be listed for a second studying within the weeks forward in preparation for a public listening to to garner stakeholders’ enter. Language endangerment and extinction is a world problem. It’s on document that out of the world’s 7,168 dwelling languages, 3,078 are categorised as endangered. In accordance with consultants, what primarily drives the extinction of mom tongues is what they described as a language swap, which is the case when audio system swap from a local, usually indigenous tongue, to a different, significantly the one that’s typically spoken the place they sojourn or are resident outdoors their conventional communities. A language also can die out rapidly when small communities of audio system are worn out by catastrophe or warfare. As an illustration, in Salvador, audio system of the indigenous Lenca and Cacaopera had been mentioned to desert their languages to keep away from being recognized as Indians after a bloodbath in 1932 wherein Salvadoran troops killed hundreds of largely indigenous peasants to suppress an rebellion, in response to a report by Noah Tesch- printed in Britannica.
In Nigeria, like many different colonised African international locations, some individuals have argued that the worst legacy the colonial masters left is their language, which is ignorantly thought-about the most effective as a result of they’ve helped Nigerians to know themselves, particularly individuals whose languages are totally different. Since then, Nigerians have allowed native languages to die step by step, to the detriment of the inherent advantages of talking the mom tongue, not only for the audio system however the nation. The concept of stopping Nigerian languages from dying is certainly one, however there isn’t any want for a particular college to be established for that function. The nation doesn’t have the sources to do this, judging by the shortcoming of the identical authorities to adequately fund the present universities. Even the Nationwide Universities Fee (NUC) has craved the pressing want to enhance budgetary allocations and subventions to handle the persistent underfunding of the colleges. The Deputy Government Secretary accountable for Teachers, Dr Noel Biodun Saliu, in a paper titled ‘The Nigeria College System and its many challenges: The best way ahead’ which he delivered on the seventh Annual Registry Lecture of the Elizade College, Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State, harassed that inadequate funding remained a important barrier to the efficient progress and improvement of the nation’s greater instructional system. The purpose is that the targets of the proposed college may be achieved extra broadly and successfully by means of the present universities if they’re adequately funded. The best way to go is to strengthen the colleges which can be already educating or providing programs within the native languages to increase and admit extra college students for the programs. Apart from the patently specialised universities and faculties of schooling, each different college may be directed to ascertain or increase their departments or schools of native languages. The non-public universities within the nation may also be inspired to begin providing programs in native languages within the nationwide curiosity of saving the mom tongues. Lawmakers ought to tackle the extra important concern of using teeming younger graduates, together with these of Nigerian languages. The proliferation of universities ought to cease.
