Language can bring about the much-needed change in our nation, because it can improve our level of interaction as a people and break the barriers that separate us. This was stated by the Executive Secretary of National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Dr. Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, in an interview with Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).
Dr. Ayakoroma said that recent studies have shown that of the about five hundred and ten (510) indigenous languages in Nigeria, about nine (9) have gone extinct, adding that NICO’s Nigerian Indigenous Language Programme (NILP) is designed to enable Nigerians learn languages other than their mother tongue, thus, preserving our rich cultural heritage.
According to him, the yearly one-month intensive Indigenous Language Programme, which was initially designed to occupy children during the long vacation, has gone beyond that level to accommodate adults, and that it will soon become a weekend study programme, to give workers an opportunity to participate.
He also stressed the need to make the study of our indigenous languages compulsory from primary school to the tertiary level of education, maintaining that this was a sure way to help the future generation learn our indigenous languages.
Ibrahim Sule Malgwi
Corporate Affairs