The Kano State Office of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) recently concluded its maiden edition of the one-month-long Nigerian Indigenous Language Programme (NILP) which kick-started on August 1, 2023.
At the closing ceremony of the programme which held at Government College Rumfa, Kano State, the Executive Secretary/CEO of NICO, Ado Muhammed Yahuza while stating the rationale behind the language programme, said it was in a bid to actualize the statutory mandate of NICO as the apex cultural training institute in the country.
Represented by the Head, Kano State office, Usman Ibrahim Galadima, the Executive Secretary reiterated that the programme is also in line with the Institute’s objectives of harnessing Nigeria’s cultural resources for national unity and development.
According to him, the programme is designed to avail Nigerians and non-Nigerians from different ethnic backgrounds, the opportunity to learn additional indigenous languages other than their mother tongues with the aim of promoting unity in diversity.
He therefore encouraged participants at the programme to continue to be good ambassadors of NICO by speaking the languages they learnt with those who already have knowledge of the languages and can speak them in order to improve their fluency and efficiency.
The Principal of the host school, Alhaji Sufiyanu Na’abba in his remarks, thanked the Management of the Institute for initiating such a laudable programme, saying language is a symbol of identity and the knowledge of a language outside one’s mother tongue can go a long way to promote positive cultural exchanges among Nigerians.
He therefore urged parents to encourage their wards to fully participate in the programme and pledged to provide every possible assistance to the Institute whenever such a need arises.
The event climaxed with the presentation of certificates to participants who also took their turns to demonstrate and showcase their proficiency in the languages learnt during the programme. The display turnout to be the most exciting moment, as most of them performed excellently good having acquired some level of competence to communicate in languages of their choice.
Corporate Affairs Unit
NICO Kano State Office