A Professor of Applied Linguistic and Dean Faculty of Arts, Prof. Tajuden Opoola, has asked the Federal Government to consider the use of mother tongue as instructional language in primary school.
He also said linguistics and languages should new seen as scientific tools for nation building.
Opoola added that using “Nigerian languages will save the Nigerian-Child the rigour of first learning the foreign languages before mastering science and technological concepts.”
He called on the Federal Government to quickly fully implement the use of mother tongue as a medium of instruction in Nigeria’s primary schools, saying this would promote the Nigerian culture, languages and tradition.
The Professor of Applied Linguistics said this at the 7th Inaugural Lecture of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, titled “Linguistics and Languages as scientific tools for nation building: the Nigerian Perspective.”
The lecture was held on the university premises and had in attendance eminent scholars, captains of industries, royal fathers, politicians and giant academics from both in and outside the university.
The inaugural lecture was chaired by the University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abayomi Fasina.
Also in attendance were the university’s deputy Vice-Chancellors, Professors Jeremiah Shola Omotola and Olubunmi Shittu.
Others were Registrar of the university, Mr Mufutau Adesina Ibrahim, Mrs. Adebolanle Debo-Ajagunna (Bursar)and the University Librarian, Dr Isaac Busayo.
Opoola x-rayed the significance of linguistics and languages as scientific tools and as panacea for mirage of socio-economic and political problems bedeviling the country.
While other solutions to resolve Nigeria’s mirage of problems by the Federal Government may not have produced desired results, Opoola urged the Federal Government to embrace linguistics and languages as scientific tools to tackle them as this had become inevitable especially in the instant case.
Opoola said: “In the world at present, there exists about 6,000 languages of coping eyes while Nigeria as a nation has over 500 languages and exceedingly more than 250 ethnics/tribes with a population of close to 200 million people.
“Language moves like human beings and the movement usually results in language change, language shift, loss of linguistic items, borrowing, loaning and nativization of dictions(words).”
Opoola pushed for the use of mother tongue with a view to helping African child nay Nigeria to resolving mirage of problems confronting the country as “a good foundation in African traditional education prepares a well-brought-up in an African Child.”
He added, “African parents should complement strives of the education stakeholders in teaching African Children in his/her mother tongue. Many private nursery and primary schools in recent times teach French, Chinese and German languages to encourage patronage from African parents whose desire is to make a European, French, or German citizens out of their wards.
“This is a continental and national disgrace that deserves urgent attention.
“Also, the recent Federal Government compulsion of mother tongue as a medium of instruction in Nigerian primary schools should be appropriately implemented by the educational stakeholders particularly the teachers, education ministries’ officials and parents.
“This decision will promote the Nigerian culture, languages and tradition.
” In Nigeria, many indigenous languages are still unwritten and undeveloped.
“The establishment of NINLAN (National Institute of Nigerian Languages) should be justified.
“The orthographies of more Nigerian languages should be developed and standardized.
“The institute should design templates for effective monitoring of language policy implementation.
“Non-conformity with the dictates of the language aspect of the National Policy on Education must be addressed.”
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