As the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) embarks on the 2012 edition of the Nigerian Indigenous Language Programme across Nigeria, the Executive Secretary, Dr. Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, has called for conscious learning of two or more Nigerian languages as effective measures to manage and control inter-tribal conflicts in the country.
Dr. Ayakoroma, who noted in his welcome address during the opening ceremony of the 6th edition of indigenous language programme in NICO Lagos, that most conflict situations are aggravated by poor or misunderstanding of actual messages conveyed due to language problem and narrated a true life story of an avoidable conflict in a village setting because a harmless statement was interpreted out of the intended language context.
He said a lot needs to be done to save Nigerian indigenous languages from becoming extinct, and therefore appealed to parents, private and public organisations, to appreciate and support the language revitalization efforts of NICO by participating in the Nigerian language study programme, taking place in Abuja, Lagos, Katsina, Akure, Yenagoa, Yola, Owerri, and Ilorin.
The Nigerian Indigenous Language Programme (NILP) is an annual language study programme organized by NICO in all its offices across Nigeria in order to encourage Nigerians to harness the effectiveness of indigenous languages for promotion of the Nigerian identity, social cohesion, and national development.
Anthony Okafor
Corporate Affairs
NICO Training School, Lagos