Scholars urge FG to reverse language policy cancellation

Some scholars have called on the Federal Government to reverse the cancellation of the National Language Policy, describing the decision as a setback to the nation’s linguistic and educational development.

The scholars gathered for the University of Ibadan Senior Staff Club monthly discourse, titled “Education in the Mother Tongue in Nigeria: To Be or Not to Be?”

Last year, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, announced the cancellation of the national policy mandating the use of indigenous languages as the medium of instruction in Nigerian schools.

Alausa announced the cancellation at the 2025 Language in Education International Conference, organised by the British Council in Abuja.

The policy, approved in 2022 as the National Language Policy, stipulated that children from Early Childhood Education to Primary Six should be taught in their mother tongue or the language of the immediate community.

Egbokhare, who was the lead speaker at the event, demanded an immediate reversal of the cancellation, noting that this was the first time since independence that Nigeria would be operating without a clearly defined national language policy.

He lamented that English, while serving as the official language and medium of instruction, had become a threat to indigenous languages.

He maintained that the elimination of the mother tongue was a form of linguistic genocide, as children, who are the transmitters of language, are denied the right to use the language of their environment and society.

Egbokhare said, “Language is big business in the world today. Killing the languages means killing businesses, employment, and investment opportunities.”

He warned that Nigeria cannot afford “linguistic amnesia,” stressing that indigenous languages are essential tools for shaping a culturally coherent, technologically advanced, and globally competitive future.

“The time to act is now. To preserve, modernise, and leverage our linguistic diversity is to invest in Nigeria’s success and development. Anything less is negligence,” Egbokhare said.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the event, Prof. Durotoye Adeleke, expressed dismay over the decision by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, on February 6, 2025, to cancel the policy.

He wondered why Nigeria would discourage the use of indigenous languages in schools, whereas other countries encouraged their adoption.

He described the cancellation as serving the interests of the elite rather than the masses, and warned that it poses a danger to national development.

One of the discussants, Prof. Clement Kolawole, who is the Vice-Chancellor of Trinity University, cautioned that ignoring indigenous languages, described as vehicles through which people express their civilisation, will not help Nigeria grow as a nation.

He described the cancellation as a disservice to education, culture, and indigenous languages, and called for its immediate reversal.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary of the Oyo State Ministry of Education, Mrs Bamidele Oyinloye, described the cancellation of the policy as a grave threat to Nigeria’s continued existence as a cohesive nation.

She argued that the government should have embarked on educational reform rather than cancelling the policy.

Oyinloye urged parents and guardians to consistently speak local languages to their children and wards at home.

“Nigeria’s indigenous languages must not be allowed to die for the nation not to lose its identity,” she said.