Written by SALAWU, B.A.
INTRODUCTION
The 2026 International Mother Language Day was commemorated on Saturday 21st February, 2026. National Library of Nigeria as usual joined the rest of the world in the celebration. The event was marked at the corporate headquarters and in all the branches of the establishment across the federation.
The annual global event underscores the importance of our individual Mother Language otherwise known as indigenous language/ native language and first language and the need for people of the world to uphold and cherish their various cultural heritages especially their linguistic heritage. This becomes imperative not only to safeguard them from extinction but also to sustain and enhance them towards the fulfillment of the UNESCO agenda: preservation and protection of all languages used by the people of the world towards achieving linguistic diversity in education so as to foster unity and understanding in the global village based on mutual understanding, tolerance and dialogue.
The 2026 theme: Youth Voices on Multilingual Education highlights the key role of the youth in defending, revitalizing and utilizing technology to promote linguistic diversity and ensuring that education systems incorporate learners Mother Tongue. The Mother Language Day aims to reaffirm the importance of linguistic cum cultural diversity and multilingualism in fostering dignity, peace and understanding. UNESCO is thus promoting multilingualism with active involvement of young people as powerful tool for inclusive education and meaningful global engagement. The foregoing pre-supposes that every mother language is important and should be preserved, sustained and enhanced to guide against extinction and linguistic slavery. Besides, it is also to encourage teachers to use student’s Mother Language since research has shown that education in mother language/native language is a key factor in inclusive education in primary schools.
It is against this backdrop that successive Nigerian Government has advocated the use of Mother Language as a medium of teaching in elementary/primary schools. This dates back to the tenure of Alhaji Babatunde Fafunwa as Minister of Education and Youth Development(1990 -1993). The proposition is, however, yet to see the light of the day due to inherent challenges in the implementation in Nigeria. The country is a multi-ethnic country with over two hundred and fifty languages. Besides, the nation has highly cosmopolitan cities with mingled ethnic groups which makes the adoption of the mother tongue for education difficult. Therefore, English language which is the official language has remained the language of instruction in schools more so it is an international language and a core subject in Nigeria that requires the mastery of all and sundry for global competitiveness. Nevertheless, Mother Language is not being neglected as a number of measures to promote indigenous language alongside English language are being implemented in accordance with educational policy which emphasizes proficiency in English language, the official language of Nigeria and enhanced literacy in a Mother Language. The onus lies with the Nigerians especially the youth to take advantage of the measures to enhance their various indigenous languages.
OBJECTIVES
- To prevent loss of racial and tribal identities since it signifies the end of a race.
- To preserve and promote cultural values and foster sense of belonging and patriotism in members of a community.
- To enhance linguistic diversity and multilingualism in education.
- To foster societal and national development since the knowledge of past history of a nation helps to shape the present and future of a society.
- To preserve and strengthen indigenous languages of the world and thus prevent their extinction under the influence of a dominant language.
- To encourage active involvement of youth in promotion of Mother Language
- and multilingualism in education.
- Language is means of identification and belongness to a particular group of people. The extinction of a language implies the end of a race. Quite a number of races and tribes have suffered this terrible fate. Therefore, everything must be done to preserve our individual languages as well as upgrading and advancing them through scholarship. Speakers of a language must have the ability to speak the language fluently, read and write the language effectively.
- Language is an impetus for preserving and sustaining cultural values. It therefore serves as a means to safeguard and strengthen cultural heritage.
- Language protects and prevents a race/tribe or society from going into extinction. It thus promotes national unity and drives national development
- It is a key factor in inclusive education and stimulate learning in children. Studies have shown that children pay more attention and understand better when they are taught in indigenous languages. This is so because it builds solid foundation for a child cognitive development.
- Mastery of the first language promotes cognitive development needed to learn a second language easily.
GLOBAL SITUATION
All languages are primarily mother languages, whether official, lingual franca , creole, national or dominant. However the adoption or emergence of a language as official or lingual franca in a country or society has implication for other languages. This is because such language is given more prominence at the expense of others. This is the global situation especially Africa and Nigeria in particular. The trend needs to be checked to avoid extinction of many languages and races. All countries must key into this UNESCO agenda.
It is important to take cue from other countries of the world which came under colonialism with its concomitant westernization but never compromised their individual indigenous languages but have continued to advance them up to the point of global visibility and recognition. Cases in point are countries of Asia such as China, India and Japan, North and South Korea, Japan. Countries of Middle East and Africa i.e. Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Kenya etc. For instance, Mandara remains the main language of China with about fifty different languages. The remaining languages are not neglected.
Yet China remains one of the greatest nations of the world. India has continued to maintain its original racial identity and language . Arabic remains the official and national language of Arabic speaking countries with Arab and Islamic life style.
The mediums of teaching in this afore- mentioned countries have been their mother languages without any setback; they are instead forging ahead. The preservation of their cultural heritage especially the indigenous languages may have contributed immensely to their progress. Reports have it that China supports the fifty-five languages of the country and even pay to have newspapers translated into the various languages while India awards yearly prizes to writers in other native languages of the country. Information is thus fully accessible to the masses with resultant deep sense of identity and patriotism. These countries are forging ahead with giant strides in all facets of life. South Africa’s language policy recognizes twelve official languages including Sign language with equitable treatment
Furthermore, some countries in the western world which are themselves colonial powers are doing everything possible to preserve, protect and promote their mother languages which are equally international languages by not allowing English to undermine them. Countries like France, Germany, Russia, Spain, Portugal and Italy, though bi-lingual, use their respective languages as official and primary languages as well as mediums of communication in schools and institutions. It is important to note that foreigners including Nigerians who intend to study in the said countries will be expected to have some knowledge and proficiency in the indigenous languages in other to enhance their academic programmes. Even during international programmes, these countries speak their mother tongues which are then translated into English Language .
This shows the extent to which these nations cherish their linguistic heritage. This is worthy of emulation by Nigeria. In Africa, Swahili or Kiswahil, the indigenous language spoken in Kenya Tanzania and Tangayika has gained prominence all over the world. The language is now spoken in many countries in Africa and beyond, and has caught the attention of UNESCO which has declared 7th of July every year as Iswahili Day, thus becoming the first African language to be honored.
Nigeria
It has been observed that many languages in Nigeria are endangered and are on the verge of extinction. This is as a result of the onslaught of the three dominant languages on the one hand and foreign influence especially westernization that is undermining Nigerian local languages as a result of which many have lost touch with them. The situation is worsened by Japa syndrome which is a term used to describe the influx of Nigerians seeking greener pastures overseas especially in United Kingdom and United States of America
The implication is that in the course of time they will become so much acculturated and will loose touch with home, and this will result in continuous brain drain for Nigeria since the best brains who could have stayed back in Nigeria and develop the country are being lost to foreign countries. The situation portends danger for Nigerian languages, a challenge that must be overcome.
Some Yoruba wrongly write their names in such a way that they think will make them acceptable to the western world by anglicizing them Somebody who bears Olalekan wrongly writes it as Horlalekan, Oladipupo as Horladipupo, Adebayo as Adebayor. Some still write their names and words in archaic manner e.g Taiye instead of Taye , Jaiyesimi Instead of Jayesimi, Eiye instead of Eye. This shows the level to which many Nigerians have condescended
Religious influence is another factor as many Christians/Muslims have come to associate some cultural norms with fetish practices. Some are even dropping their original indigenous names and adopting new ones which they consider holier.
It is however interesting to note that Nigerian linguistic heritage is gaining global recognition. So many Nigerian cultural expressions have entered Oxford dictionary e.g. Japa, Jand, Adire, Eba, Amala, Biko etc. This contribution to world civilization is indeed a plus for Nigeria.
MEASURES EMBARKED UPON TO PRESERVE AND PROMOTE MOTHER LANGUAGE BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA
Successive Nigerian Government have come up with policies and programmes to protect and enhance Nigerian cultural heritage including indigenous languages.
These include among others:
- Permission to use mother tongue in the state assemblies as circumstances warrant
- Translation of Nigeria constitution into three major Nigeria languages i.e. Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo
- Diaspora Programme through which Nigerian in diaspora are made to stay connected with home and are involved in national development.
- Inclusion of a Nigerian Language to be taught in primary schools.
- Declaration of Mother Language as medium of communication in elementary schools. Note that this measure has however been reversed recently owing to the Nigerian complex ethnic diversity
ROLE OF NATIONAL LIBRARY OF NIGERIA
Some of the activities carried out by the foremost library of the nation include:
- Performance of outreach programmes during International Mother Language Day and other global events with various sensitization programmes such as lectures, radio talk show, quiz competition, exhibition etc.
- Preservation of acquired indigenous books in digital format for wider access and utilization.
- Establishment of literacy centres in some hard to reach communities across the country with emphasis on mother tongue
- Involvement in language development in Taraba state
- Development of Nigerian Language map showing all languages spoken in every state of the federation with their orthographies and numerals
- Provision of virtual library services for seamless access to the rich cultural heritage of Nigeria. A lot of cultural resources are being digitized for preservation for posterity as well as global access. The project will definitely impact positively on Nigeria. There is also prospect of global visibility for Nigeria intellectual and cultural resource.
OBSTACLES TO PROMOTION OF MOTHER LANGUAGE IN NIGERIA
- Loss of self-confidence resulting from inferiority complex engendered by westernization and globalization. Many parents especially scholars, teachers and university dons prefer to speak English to their children based on the wrong assumption that the use of mother language will have negative impact on their Education. Many parents therefore do not speak their mother tongues to their children in the family which is the first environment where a child can acquire basic knowledge of language.
- Only few Nigerian languages are taught in schools aside Hausa ,Igbo and Yoruba. Closely linked to this is insufficient teachers to teach local languages.
- There is perceived lack of Job Opportunities for graduate of native languages. Hence, people especially youth prefer to study ``hot cake `` courses with prospects of employment.
- People pay more attention to English language which is Nigeria`s official language and a core subject which every student must pass in order to proceed to tertiary institutions.
STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE MOTHER LANGUAGE
- Aggressive sensitization of the populace on the importance of Mother Language. National Library of Nigeria has been doing this consistently. The sensitization should be extended to mosques and churches.
- Limited prospects of employment as a result of which many Nigerians are discouraged from pursuing a degree in indigenous language should be addressed. With employment opportunities, the lukewarm attitude will change
- Award of scholarships and prizes to pupils and students with keen interest in indigenous language
- Acquisition of books in indigenous languages by libraries and creating awareness of their availability .
- Technology utilization
NATIONAL LIBRARY MARKS THE 2026 INTERNATIONAL MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY
The National Library of Nigeria marked the International Mother Language Day with pomp and pageantry. The occasion took place across the federation. At the corporate headquarters. The Management led by the National Librarian, Prof. (Mrs) Chinwe Veronica Anunobi, and all members of staff gorgeously dressed in their respective traditional attires to celebrate the occasion which featured various cultural activities such as traditional dance, recitation of alphabets and numerals, folklores/folktales, poems, riddles and rhythms in their various native languages. It was a very colourful occasion with various cultural displays. The event was witnessed by a UNESCO Representative in Nigeria.
At the state branches, the annual event was marked with various cultural and sensitization activities such as lectures, traditional dance, recitation of poems, alphabets and numerals, visit to public places and schools for sensitization on the importance of Mother Language.
CONCLUSION
The Mother Language Day celebrated annually is intended to sustain all languages of the world and promote multilingualism in education. Most importantly, to prevent the dominant languages from completely undermining the minor ones. It is therefore imperative for all hands to be on deck towards realization of the global agenda particularly the youths who have the key role to play in shaping the future of their respective countries. All impediments to promotion of Mother Language in Nigeria as highlighted above must be tackled head on