The National Institute for Cultural Orientation, NICO, has trained over one thousand Nigerians on its August edition of free Nigerian Indigenous Language Programme, NILP.
Speaking during the closing ceremony of the programme in Abuja, the Executive Secretary of NICO, Mr Ado Mohammed Yahuza said the programme was carried out in Abuja, Lagos and all the six geopolitical zonal offices of NICO.
Mr Yahuza who was represented by the Director, Orientation and Cultural Affairs in NICO, Mr Segun Adegbaju stated that the programme introduced in reaction to the unhealthy situation of languages globally.
“Our Indigenous languages is therefore designed to create awareness on the need to speak our Indigenous languages and promote Nigeria ‘s cultural diplomacy objectives” He stated
According to him, several languages are facing extinction at an alarming rate globally and there is also the fear that by the next century, more than half of the world’s estimated 6,900 languages will go into extinction and the Nigeria situation is not different.
“Already, experts are of the opinion that with the rising rate at which Nigerian languages are steadily endangered, most Indigenous languages will be extinct in the next three decades while about 90 percent of languages are estimated to be replaced by dominant languages by the turn of the century ” the Executive Secretary stressed
Mr Yahuza pointed out that language play pivotal role in the promotion, preservation and propagation of culture and is also the vehicle for the transmission of Nigeria’s tangible cultural heritage.
“In the light of this and in furtherance of its statutory responsibility, NICO has since added the weekend indigenous language programme as well as the language in the barracks programme to foster the presentation of our Indigenous language and the sustenance of our rich cultural heritage and while we are proud of our modest achievements in the last couple of years, we acknowledge the fact that a lot still needs to be done to save our languages from extinction ” He emphasized
The Executive Secretary of NICO therefore appealed to all stakeholders to support language revitalization programmes while Government at all levels should as a matter of deliberate policy encourage the use of Nigerian Indigenous languages in the education and media industry.
“Parents also have a critical role to play in ensuring that their children speak our local languages since children are key to the sustenance of our Indigenous languages and we we therefore advised parents to send their children to any of our training centres across the country for the long vacation programme and by so doing, we would not only be saving our languages from extinction but also promoting our rich cultural heritage ” Mr Yahuza added
Some of the participants commended NICO for the free Indigenous language programme noting that the move would go a long way to promote national unity and cohesion.
Highlights of the closing ceremony was the presentation of certificates to the participants.