The Gombe State Office of National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), on Monday, 18th August 2014, commenced the 2nd edition of its Nigerian Indigenous Languages Programme (NILP) in Gombe, featuring Fulfulde, Tangale, Yoruba and Igbo languages at Government Science Secondary School, Gombe, a venue that was given by the Gombe State Ministry of Education.
The language programme, which is aimed at reawakening the interest of Nigerians on the imperative of speaking their mother tongue so as to preserve them for posterity, and to avail Nigerians the opportunity to learn languages other than their own, received a boost as both Federal and State Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) responded by nominating participants, who thronged the venue of the programme to register and start attending classes on their languages of interest.
Addressing the participants at the venue of the programme, the Head of NICO Gombe State Office, Mr. Yahaya Mohammed Sanda, urged them to make the best use of the opportunity available to them to learn languages other than their own, as this could effectively aid their integration into their places of residence.
He further enjoined them to also register their wards, who are currently on holidays, to register and start attending the language classes to develop their intellectual capabilities instead of their being idle at home.
Participants expressed optimism that the language programme will not only dismantle the language barriers they were so often faced with when interacting with people of other ethnic groups resident in Gombe State, but will also encourage inter-tribal marriages as understanding a language makes one fall in love with people of that extraction, just as it is one sure way of preserving indigenous languages for posterity.
Thomas Anongu
NICO Gombe State Office