Teach your children to speak local languages, VC urges parents

Teach your children to speak local languages, VC urges parents

From Ifeanyichukwu Simon, Yenagoa

Language experts and university dons have warned that the failure of parents to speak indigenous languages to their children poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s cultural heritage.
They called for deliberate efforts to promote local languages at homes, schools and through digital platforms.
They made the call at the second annual conference of the Language Teachers Association of Nigeria (LANTAN), hosted by the Faculty of Humanities, Federal University Otuoke (FUO), Bayelsa State.
The conference, held yesterday at the School of Postgraduate Studies Auditorium had as its theme, “Recalibrating Language Education in a Digital Age.”
The Vice-Chancellor of FUO, Prof. Promise Mebine, who declared the conference open, described language as a fundamental tool of human interaction.
Mebine noted that several inventions and communication equipment, including light, sound, symbols, projectors, microphones and mobile phones, were products of human linguistic and intellectual abilities.
Mebine, the university’s fourth substantive Vice-Chancellor, said every discipline had its peculiar language for communicating ideas and sharing knowledge.
He urged parents and language teachers to pay greater attention to the languages used in educating children, stressing the need to deploy appropriate language in teaching and nurturing the younger generation.
In his keynote address, Prof. Obiajulu Emejulu described language as a universal phenomenon that had existed from the beginning of creation.
He said the spoken word was central to creation and that human beings, created in God’s image, were endowed with the ability to communicate and create through language.
Emejulu explained that recalibrating language education in the digital age involved deploying technological tools and platforms to promote language teaching, learning and communication.
He identified computer software, digital platforms, computer languages, sign language and the translation of books, educational programmes and curricula into indigenous languages as important ways of making language education more accessible and relevant to contemporary society.
The keynote speaker said language plays critical roles in policy development, cognitive growth, instruction, cooperation and communication.
He added that it also helps people develop ideas, preserve cultural knowledge and drive social evolution.
Expressing concern over the gradual decline of indigenous languages, particularly among younger Nigerians, Emejulu said more than 530 languages are spoken in Nigeria but warned that many are at risk of extinction because parents increasingly fail to communicate with their children in their mother tongues.
He described the situation as a silent crisis in Nigerian homes, insisting that children need strong foundations in their indigenous languages to sustain their cultural identity and ensure the survival of the languages.
He also lamented the withdrawal of the National Language Policy passed by the Federal Government in 2004, describing the development as a setback to efforts to strengthen indigenous language education.
Earlier, the National President of LANTAN, Dr. Nnamdi Anumihe, said the association was established on February 16, 2025, at Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education, Owerri, during the tenure of Professor Aloysius Onyeka as Acting Vice-Chancellor.
He said the foundation of the association was laid by Professor Michael Olugbenga Ajileye, Dr. Nnamdi Anumihe, Professor Chris Onyema and Dr. Sandra Akueshi.
According to him, LANTAN was established to bring language teachers across educational institutions in Nigeria under one umbrella and promote programmes that would advance language education and professional development.
He urged language teachers and other interested stakeholders to register with the association to strengthen its capacity to achieve its objectives.
The Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee, Dr. Merosobo Lawson Ikuru, who is the Acting Head of the Department of English and Communication Studies and Linguistics at FUO, described the conference theme as timely and significant.
She said the digital promotion of indigenous languages would help preserve cultural values, strengthen identity and contribute to political and social development.
Ikuru expressed optimism that papers to be presented at the conference would help bridge the gap between academic research and society, particularly in the areas of language development, use and preservation.
She thanked the national leadership of LANTAN for choosing FUO to host the conference.
The Royal Father of the Day, His Royal Majesty, King Bubaraye Dakolo, Agadah IV, Chairman of the Bayelsa State Council of Traditional Rulers and Ebenanaowei of Ekpetiama Clan, thanked the organisers for inviting him and conferring on him an honorary fellowship of the association.
He urged language teachers to educate students on the importance of learning and speaking indigenous languages, stressing that greater attention must be paid to the incentives and practical benefits of language learning.
The monarch added that language remained a powerful tool for communication, cultural preservation and human development.
In a goodwill message, the General Manager, Corporate Communications Department of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, represented by the Assistant Manager, Branding, Mrs. Salamatu Ibrahim, said language remains central to communication among people from diverse cultural and social backgrounds.
He said the importance attached to language by the NCDMB informed several of its initiatives, including the National Annual Undergraduate Essay Competition for 100- and 200-level students in Nigerian universities, secondary school quiz competitions, language teachers’ training and book-reading programmes.
These initiatives, he said, are designed to promote language appreciation, literacy and effective communication.
Also speaking, a Permanent Secretary in the Bayelsa State Civil Service, Dr. Sokari Stanley, said speaking a language is an essential aspect of understanding and preserving it.
He commended the keynote speaker for setting the tone for meaningful discussions and urged participants to embrace the promotion of indigenous languages.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, FUO, and South-South Coordinator of LANTAN, Professor Chris Onyema, said the survival of indigenous languages depends largely on their everyday use.
He summarised the challenge with the expression, “Speak it or lose it,” arguing that languages could not survive merely through academic discussions or documentation without being spoken and passed on to younger generations.
Onyema also advocated making the learning and speaking of local languages a requirement for foreigners coming into Nigerian communities to live and work, citing China’s approach to language integration as an example.
The conference’s high point was the commissioning of the LANTAN online platform by Professor Mebine and the presentation of awards to distinguished personalities.
The award recipients included King Dakolo and Professor Mebine, who were conferred with honorary fellowships of LANTAN.
Others honoured were Dr. Nnamdi Anumihe, Professor Michael Olugbenga Ajileye and Professor Chris Onyema, who received fellowship awards.
The conference also featured plenary sessions, virtual presentations, interactive discussions and entertainment by students of the Department of Theatre and Film Studies, FUO.
—GN