Institute Harps On Importance Of Language To National Identity

The executive secretary/CEO, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Otunba Biodun Ajiboye has stressed the importance of indigenous languages to Nigeria‘s development, saying it is a veritable tool for national identity.

Otunba Ajiboye who stated this at the closing ceremony of the Institute‘s August edition of Nigerian Indigenous Language Programme (NILP) in Abuja, said language remains a vehicle for transmission of culture without which culture cannot be propagated or protected and should be taken seriously, especially by parents in order to ensure their children learn and speak their indigenous languages.

Ajiboye said the programme is a platform for people to learn Nigerian basic languages as well as facilitate the teaching and process of learning, particularly those languages that are considered as major languages in Nigeria; Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo.

He said, “The purpose for the language training exercise is to ensure that one of the elements of culture which is language is robustly supported and sincerely take this higher from this point to a much higher pedestal. The institute has a major responsibility to protect and propagate culture and one of the key elements of culture is indigenous language.

A man who doesn‘t speak his language does not have an identity and for those of us raising children who can‘t speak their native language, we must know that it is failure on our part”.

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“Language is a veritable tool for national identity, interaction, business transactions and daily communication which is the basic reason why the Institute takes the issue of language very seriously and I hope you have learnt a few things in the languages learnt. We intend to make next year‘s edition more elaborate and more beneficial”.

One of the participants at this year‘s indigenous language training, Mr. Martins Mbaji, a staff of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), lauded NICO for the opportunity to learn languages other than his mother tongue.

While commending the Institute for the initiative, Martins said it had been a wonderful experience and therefore called for the sustenance of the programme as well as the inclusion of more Nigerian Indigenous languages. He, however, suggested that increased publicity for the language programme will attract more participation, stressing that a lot of people are out there who would have loved to be part of the training if they had adequate information about it.

Another participant, Mrs. Runke Oluwatimileyin who is a staff of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) equally thanked NICO for the opportunity to learn Nigerian languages, saying „I picked interest in Hausa because I have been in Abuja for some years and have not been able to communicate very well in Hausa but now I have improved as a result of the training I have received. I can now interact with a Hausa person when I see one“.

She also indicated interest to enrol at the Institute‘s Academy for Cultural Studies, where Nigerian languages and culture generally is taught at an advanced level, saying it will give her the opportunity to learn more.