Annoyingly, Onyiza could not act to the instructions. This scenario is a common occurrence in many homes as there are many Onyizas who cannot speak and understand their mother tongue. The only language they understand is English because that is what they have been exposed to right from birth and as they grow, it becomes really difficult for this type of children to understand and speak their mother tongue. Many of such children grow into adulthood with such embarrassing defect deficiency, while others struggle along the line to pick one or two slangs. Even at that it is really embarrassing as the parents of Onyiza came to realise. One of the problems causing this situation is when the mother and father do not come from the same tribe; this is not to say inter-ethnic marriages are not welcome. Also, in the name of so-called civilisation or modernity or ego, many parents become realy passive, not minding to teach their offsprings their mother tongue and in no time, an Onyiza is produced. Some parents are really proud of that; the only moment of regret is when the Onyiza scenario plays itself.
Native language: Onyiza as a metaphor
Nigeria has over 500 ethnic languages and as it is this growing negative trend in our society is highly threatening to extinct a sizeable number of these languages..
The question of preserving our language is one that needs urgent national attention. It may sound like an over exaggeration given the above scenario with Onyiza, it can never be an over statement. For the Chinese, they cannot just even give non-Chinese names to their new babies. It is an offence that goes with punishment. This is backed by law. That is the extent that the country has gone to protect one of its unique cultural identities. And talking of unique cultural identities, one’s distinct native language plays a defining role in giving one a unique identity. It therefore means that if as an individual, one cannot undertsand and speak one mother tongue, the fellow may as well be a lone wanderer among his kith and kin.
Bayo Akin says, “language is an integral part of our history and culture. Retaining our language gives us the feeling that we have not totally lost our identity to colonialism and slave trade. It is really a serious matter, because I know of some people who would do anything to make sure that their kids speak nothing less than English. Then, I ask them how many times have they gone abroad and seen it that it was made compulsory for any of them to speak any African language not to talk of our Nigerian indigenous languages.”
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It is not any different for Vincent Chukwu, an Igboman from a tribe that is noted for mixing every sentence in Igbo with Enlish word, who says, “whenever I think of it, I feel sorry for our country because when we go to countries like France, you have to learn how to speak french before you can properly integrate into that society. But the situation is different here they come here and they are already integrated into the society. We are not saying that English is not good but we have to first preserve our own culture and heritage. Without our language, we are like an amputated man who depends on a wheel chair to move around and the government has to really do something about this ugly situation. We should be proud to be Nigerians.”
Some are also of the view that not just our native languages, also our culture is gradually going extinct and surprisingly, most people think it is as a result of being modern. Maryam Tanko says, “take a good look at South Africa and other African countries and you will find out that they are very proud of their local languages and that is one of the reasons the western countries respect them for who they are and what they stand for. The case is different in Nigeria because we feel that if we are not like them (whites), then we are nothing yet. In the past, we had many books written in our local languages, but today, all that are gone as we are trying to be westernised. All these problems we are having today if we had local newspapers to reach out to the grassroots, we would not be having all these problems. So, where do all these leave us. Our indigenous language is dying while English is gaining more grounds which only promotes inferiority complex in the society.”
“To be sincere with you, it is just our kids I pity in this situation because they have to struggle to learn English in school, Arabic at Islamiyas and the native languages at home, whereas their mates in the western country only have to learn English and they are off. But here, they have to understand all these before they start learning the basics of the real learning process. Look at most second world countries, they have been able to attain a reasonable level of development not because they made English their lingua franca but because used their local languages to educate and impact the necessary knowledge to their people; and from there, they can adjust to any language, they are proud of their identities and would defend them at any time,” says Muhammed Abdullahi.
“There is dignity and pride in every culture and tradition. Our language is the only stronghold we have to our heritage,” this is what Amarachi Azuka is saying. “We fail to understand that for every language we lose we are fast losing grip of our culture and identity and anyone who does not have an identity has nothing to live for. I wonder at most times why we are never proud of our culture and identity. I am not from the north but I was told that the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, addresses any visitor in Hausa and I think he is setting a good example so that we also pass a message that we have an identity also. It is not that the royal father is not learned, but he is maki8ng a statement. I respect the Hausaman for one thing, no matter the situation, he makes sure his kids speak the language no matter what. Even when they are abroad they speak it with all flair and pride.”
In 2006 a one-day workshop was held in Enugu on “Best Practices to Safeguard Endangered Nigerian Languages”. The workshop’s communiqué , among others, resolved that our oral and intangible cultural heritage should be promoted and safe guarded by relevant government, non-governmental agencies and the general public also.
Also, agencies such as UNESCO, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, NGOs and Ministry of Education should help set publishing houses that carter for minority languages as long term benefits are unquantifiable. Existing major publishers should be made to publish texts in two or more minor languages. Language specialists and local communities should cooperate in language preservation, especially in the face of the electronic age challenge and the threat of globalization.
UNESCO, after assessing the use of native language in teaching, said it will yield better results and recommended the approach. It is not any different from what the late Professor Aliyu Babatunde Fafunwa used to say that mathematics and sciences can be taught in our local languages and it will impact better knowledge and understanding on these kids.
With the Lagos State House of Assembly adopting Yoruba as its official language in conducting proceedings every Thursday, this is expected to, in a way, revive the indigenous language.
Children must be made to understand that our local languages are not in any way inferior to English and that there is pride in having, understanding and speaking native languages so that there would be no Onyiza scenarios in our homes.
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