Presenting the Map to the Honorable Ministers of Education Prof. Tahir Mamman (SAN) and the Minister State for Education Hon. Dr. Tanko Sununu, on Wednesday, 17th July, 2024 at the Minister’s Officer in Abuja, the National Librarian, Prof. Chinwe Veronica Anunobi stated that according to UNESCO, the period of 2022-2032 has been dedicated as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL2022-2032).
Based on this, the National Library of Nigeria has taken steps to preserve and indigenous Nigerian languages and culture through activities which include Commemorating International Mother Language Day since 2022; documenting family history in indigenous languages and has secured a grant from UNESCO, for the training of 60 Students, teachers, and young adults, and authors on documentation of their family history in the indigenous language. She added that the Map of Nigerian Languages is one such step aimed at preserving and promoting Nigerian languages. She concluded by praying to the Hon Ministers to support the National Library’s efforts in the preservation of our National Heritages. The National Librarian reminded the Hon. Ministers that she is the Lead Expert representing Nigeria in the Communication and Information (CI) 4 Commission of UNESCO and that UNESCO has dedicated the period of 2022-2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL2022- 2032).
In their responses, the Hon. Minister of Education applauded the efforts of the NLN for the laudable project. He emphasized that “the languages belong to the heart of what a person is and what a community stands for, it is a critical part of the culture”. The minister further emphasized how important this project is to the ministry and hoped that the compendium of alphabets and Numerals of Nigerian languages will be ready as quickly as possible to help the ministry in its strive to adopt mother languages for instruction in schools and other public uses. He stated that the mother tongue facilitates the transmission of knowledge and research. On his part, the Hon. Minister of State applauded the project but suggested areas that need minor corrections and fine-tuning.
The Map of Nigerian Languages is an initiative of the National Library of Nigeria, born out of concern for the existential threat to our indigenous languages. The map reflects all 36 states of the federation, as well as the FCT and the languages the people considered indigenous to those states and not transitory languages by sojourners. It is part of the local content creations of the National Library, and a reference material that has a Creative Commons license to be referred to by researchers worldwide.
The National Librarian Prof. Chinwe Veronica Anunobi was accompanied by the Director of the Collection Development and Technical Services Department, Mr. Abubakar Hambagda, the Head of the Public Services Department (PSD), Alhaja O. K. Olani, the Special Assistants on Administration and Professional matters, Mr. D. Aworinde and Mohammed Nma Baba respectively as well as the Head of the Public Relations Division, Vershima Orvell-Diô,