‘Recovering the Original’: The National Language Question in Nigeria Revisited
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At the heart of Sustainable Development is the need for all nations to harness the potential of their citizens towards maximally exploiting the natural resources subsisting within that nation’s territory. As citizens develop their own potential in education and related human endeavours, their capacity to contribute to this national agenda grows. Ideally, local languages should play a pivotal role in this development paradigm – but they do not in countries such as Nigeria. Instead, a so-called official language is foisted upon the nation, and it becomes a burden with irredeemable features and irrecoverable antecedent. This article seeks to revisit the national language debate in the light of the very slow pace of development in Nigeria. It is argued that the love affair with the English Language requires new forms of engagement, in which local languages are given greater prominence in national life. Increasing the number of official domains in which, for example, the three major Nigerian languages are recognised will undoubtedly propel the country to greater heights of development in the shortest time. Vernacular Education, Literacy Development and Value Orientation are all means of ‘recovering the original’ within the context of sustainable development for rapid growth. All of these variables are examined, with the specific instances of their utility highlighted and evaluated.
Abstract
At the heart of Sustainable Development is the need for all nations to harness the potential of their citizens towards maximally exploiting the natural resources subsisting within that nation’s territory. As citizens develop their own potential in education and related human endeavours, their capacity to contribute to this national agenda grows. Ideally, local languages should play a pivotal role in this development paradigm – but they do not in countries such as Nigeria. Instead, a so-called official language is foisted upon the nation, and it becomes a burden with irredeemable features and irrecoverable antecedent. This article seeks to revisit the national language debate in the light of the very slow pace of development in Nigeria. It is argued that the love affair with the English Language requires new forms of engagement, in which local languages are given greater prominence in national life. Increasing the number of official domains in which, for example, the three major Nigerian languages are recognised will undoubtedly propel the country to greater heights of development in the shortest time. Vernacular Education, Literacy Development and Value Orientation are all means of ‘recovering the original’ within the context of sustainable development for rapid growth. All of these variables are examined, with the specific instances of their utility highlighted and evaluated.
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