‘Why authors should write in native languages’

By Dalhatu Liman & Kabiru Yayo Ali  

A Nigerian writer, Dr. Bukar Usman, has said there is no justification for Nigerian authors to be writing books using ‘foreign languages.’

He said writing books in native languages is more effective than using foreign languages.

• 2023: Tinubu/Pam ticket will address religious, ethnic questions – Northern group
• Buhari will restore peace to Nigeria before leaving office – Malami

Dr. Bukar Usman, who was recently honoured with a prestigious award by the Pan African Writers Association (PAWA) in Ibadan, urged Nigerian and African writers to hold their native languages in high esteem just as writers in China and Germany had done, adding that this would help in bringing the native languages to global glare.

“I wrote some books in Hausa and English which have been translated into some languages and small pamphlets that I hired translators to translate into Igbo and Yoruba. I hope they’d complete the work before the end of the year,” he said. 

Dr Usman also advised prospective writers to master their local languages, “Young writers should strive to pick up Nigerian languages because it’s the only way we can achieve writing a book in one of our native languages in the future,” he said.

He however said lack of programming computer language with Nigerian languages could be a major hindrance towards attaining the goal, and therefore called on stakeholders in publishing to explore ways to put native letters/alphabets into computer programming to aid young writers to grow Nigerian languages. 

Speaking on the challenges of writers in Nigeria, he said, “In the olden days, it’s printing press companies that publish a manuscript written by the writer and then recover their expenses when the book is sold. Unfortunately, this is no longer obtainable; you must first settle everything before your manuscript is published.