Mrs Victoria Overo, the Head of Lagos Operations, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), on Saturday urged Nigerians to promote their indigenous languages, and prevent them from going into extinction.
Overo made the appeal during the presentation of certificates to participants in the three months maiden indigenous language course held at the NICO premises in Lagos.
She said it was unfortunate that many Nigerians preferred their children to speak foreign languages than their mother tongue.
“Nigerian languages are going into extinction and this ought not to be so, as it is a powerful tool of fostering unity among the various tribes and culture in Nigeria.
“ Language is the bedrock of our culture in Nigeria. It is an identity, and helps identify and differentiate people from one another.
“Through culture, you can identify our language, dressing and lifestyle.
“I particularly want to appeal to parents to speak their mother tongue to their children. Children are versatile; as they grow, they have the capacity to learn four or five different languages,’’ Overo said.
She said that the indigenous language programme was started by NICO primarily for children who could not speak their mother tongue years back, in Lagos.
According to the NICO official, the programme was slated for schools during their summer holidays.
She said as time went by, they discovered that adults were showing interest in the course, which resulted in their planning a course in languages specifically for adults four months ago.
The facilitator of Yoruba language in the course, Mr Nurudeen Olayiwola, said language is a vital tool in developing an economy.
“China used their indigenous language to develop their economy, why can Nigeria not tap into that same ideology that indigenous languages are very useful?
“Indigenous language was used as a means of communication in promoting the tie and dye local business among the Yorubas.
“I particularly want to encourage use of indigenous language during political campaigns by politicians in their different regions,’’ Olayiwola said.
He urged the participants to use the language skills they learned to create awareness, further their businesses or careers, trade, relationships and situations.
A participant in the Hausa class, Mr Babatunde Aderinola , a staff with the News Agency of Nigeria, said he loved multi-cultural ideas and interaction.
Aderinola said that as a Yoruba man, he loved to speak different languages and eat food from other cultures.
He lauded the NICO indigenous language course, which was conducted at no cost to the participants.
“I chose to attend to learn Hausa language. With my proficiency in Hausa language, I can speak and communicate with Hausa traders in the market, I can greet and interact.
“I urge all Nigerians to learn from other cultures to promote oneness and love in the country,” he said.
Another participant, Mrs Emme Akande, said that the Igbo language and culture she had learnt would assist her in communicating with her Igbo colleagues at home, in the office or in church.
Akande said that she is from Cross River State but married to a Yoruba man.
She advocated intercultural languages among Nigerians to curb violence, religious differences, promote love and peaceful co-existence.
Akande urged the organisers to use the mass media like radio and television as a way to reach out to a larger audience.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 31 participants in the three-month course had the opportunity of choosing one of the three main indigenous Nigerian languages to learn. (NAN)
