The National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN), Aba, Abia State, was established by Decree 117 of October 1993 (now CAP number 50 laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004), as a degree-awarding institute.

With a strategic national mandate of developing Nigeria’s estimated 520 languages and making them powerful vehicles for mass literacy and education, advanced communication functions, homegrown scientific and technological revolution, cultural awakening and pride as well as national unity and cohesion.

NINLAN is mandated to provide world-class education to its students and prepare them for successful careers in their respective fields as Nigerian language-focused teachers, translators, media and communication experts, researchers, tradesmen, and women.

Celebration

The institute and need to give traction to Nigerian languages were on focus as personalities from different spheres gathered at a recent ceremony in honour of Professor Obiajulu Emejulu, who is the fourth Executive Director of NINLAN. He is bowing out from his position in the coming days having completed his tenure.

Professor Itoro Michael, Professor of Linguistics, University of Uyo, in his presentation on; National Summit of All Languages of Nigeria (NASALAN): A Preliminary Study, commended Emejulu and NINLAN for not sitting on the fence after the federal government in 2022 approved the National Language Policy (NLP), which states that the language of instruction will be in Mother Tongue (MT) or Language of the Immediate Community (LIC) for basic education.

She said that when the NLP was passed into law, Emejulu made moves and brought together all stakeholders of Nigerian languages to think of a way forward to bring all languages together for effective teaching.

A move she said led to the birth of the acronym; NASALAN (National Summit of All Languages of Nigeria), with a mission to make the NLP effective.

Human capacity

The linguistic lecturer stated, “The aim was to draft a National Action Plan for the implementation of National Language Policy.

The goal of NASALAN was to gather the stakeholders of the Nigerian languages for the building of human capacity, collaboration and partnership and to explore modalities for a successful implementation of the National Language Policy.

“It’s also aimed at providing opportunities for stakeholders to share their experiences, challenges, best practices and to build capacity for the promotion of indigenous languages.’’

She further said that before the coming of NASALAN, many researchers had done something on indigenous languages but had not in any way involved the grassroots, owners of the language, during those researches for robust and detailed understanding of the lan

guages. “The essence of NASALAN is to go to the grassroots to talk to them to know something about a particular language, and helping them.

To grow that language by training the teachers in producing learning materials (textbooks) in that language,” she added. She also explained that NASALAN is facing too many problems as a result of the multi-ethno-linguistic nature of Nigeria, as the majority of the languages are yet to have standard autography, a dictionary, which currently makes it hard for them to be used for effective teaching.

The Linguistics Professor explained that through the move by Emejulu, NASALAN has been able to get the number of languages in every 36 states of Nigeria, discovered those with standard autography, dictionary and are used in basic education.

However, Professor Michael expressed worries about many challenges as she stressed that the next step will be a mini-workshop at the zonal levels, adding that every state has been zoned according to several languages, with some having one zone while others have three.

“We give credit to the outgoing Executive Director of the National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN) Aba. One thing is for you to plan, another thing is for you to kick start.

Now that NASALAN has started, we need to see the real development of Nigerian languages. “For instance, the conversion programme has started, teachers are being trained to produce textbooks, there’s no way these teachers will sit and fold their arms.

They’ve started writing and I’m quite sure we’ll work with them and when we get to the field we’ll invite them to come to NASALAN when the workshop takes place.”

Impating reading skill

The Director of Summer Institute of Linguistics, (SIL) Jos, Dr Michael Rueck said that the importance of NINLAN and efforts of Emejulu towards the development of indigenous languages cannot be over emphasised, stressing that such efforts when properly implemented will help develop Nigeria.

He said that children do not learn fast when lessons are presented in the language they don’t understand, adding that teaching children in the language they understand improves their educational outlook and results.

He also stressed that the most fundamental academic skill that opens the doors for storage of knowledge is that of reading. Rueck said that since importing the skill of reading is a primary objective of basic education, it is easier to import this skill in a language they already speak.

He added that for children to learn to read in their mother tongue, that language must first be written down, with instructional and lesson materials written in that language, hence the importance of NASALAN.

This is as he disclosed, “Furthermore, teachers who are fluent in that language must know how to implore these materials in teaching children to read and must be held accountable to do so.

“To develop fluency in reading, there must be a significant amount of relevant and interesting literature to read in that language. The development of orthographies and educational materials in indigenous languages is the way towards effective implementation of National Language Policy.”

Rueck, however, warned that NLP will not be sustainably implementable until Nigeria’s ethno-linguistic communities themselves believe in their values.

According to him, “Majority of Nigerian languages have not been developed. A lot of speakers of the Nigerian minority languages don’t believe that their language is worth developing.

They think negatively about their languages saying, ‘Where will it take us, why should our children learn to read in our language? What will it offer them in the future? No, they should learn to read in English.’

“Reading in English is good, it opens many opportunities, but if you try to read in English before you know how to speak English, you’ll be very frustrated. You’ll not learn to read well.

Even if you grow, and still learn to read English well, you would have been far better by learning to read in your own language. Numerous studies have said this.

“Until the owners of many Nigerian languages understand the efforts to seek basic education in their language and buy ideas to develop those languages for basic education, they’ll continue to resist mother tongue education as an attempt to move them backward rather than forward.

They’ll even refuse to send their children to such schools where indigenous languages are used for basic education. “Each community’s decision about their mother tongue is key to the success of this policy.

Professor Emejulu has called for NASALAN to bring together language groups, language literature education enthusiasts, development agencies and significantly, community leaders to celebrate and promote the rich linguistic diversity of the nation.

“SIL, which is a non-profit organisation that works with local communities around the world to develop language solutions, is very happy to partner with NINLAN and other like-minded organisations to facilitate NASALAN.”

Non-inclusion in TETFUND

Addressing journalists in a farewell media interaction, Emejulu said he is happy with some of his achievements, however, he frowned at the level at which higher institutions are not been supported except those under the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) for proper development.

“It’s difficult to embark on capital projects in tertiary institutions today. NINLAN unfortunately has not been able to break into TETFUND.

The act establishing TETFUND unfortunately shut us out of TETFUND. We’ve depended solely on the annual capital grant from the federal government that gives us only one project a year and that project could be funded three to four times before it’s completed, so it’s been very slow.

“Most of what we’ve achieved is done by approaching some government agencies to come and intervene here. The roads, the ICT facilities (Internet) and the ecological fund project that controlled the massive gully erosion here were all gotten through what I just said.

I’m happy we’ve done some things, put smiles on the faces of workers and generally improved the state of the institute. “Our Degree and NCE programmes have brought a full complement of academic programmes on board.

Although we desire to run our own degree programmes. Achieving our degree programmes is the most important achievement I must confess although not fully autonomous.

Degree-awarding institution

“I am very pleased to announce to you that NINLAN is now a degreeawarding Institution. The National Universities Commission, in a letter dated 20th May, 2024, signed by its Director of Academic Planning for the Executive Secretary, approved for the Institute to run full-time degree programmes on the following courses: B. Ed. Early Education; B. Ed.

Business Education; B. Library and Information Science (B.LIS); B. A. Igbo and Community Studies; B.A. Ed. Igbo Language; B.A. Linguistics, and- B. Sc. Mass Communication.

“The Institute got the approval to run the degree courses in affiliation with the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, with effect from the 2024/2025 academic session.

The NUC approval followed a high powered Resource Verification Visit by a team of senior academics and administrators sent to the Institute by the NUC, in March 2024, on whose recommendations the Commission based the approval.

“Of course, discussions between my administration and UNIZIK on the affiliation had been ongoing for two years culminating in the NUC final go-ahead.

I am glad that I am exiting as the Executive Director of NINLAN, leaving the Institute as a degree-awarding Institution, something that had eluded it for more than three decades, despite many efforts.

“Also on the academic front, this administration was able to get the approval of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) to run NCE programmes and award the certificate, something that was not there before.

“We began NCE courses in October 2019, and have graduated three sets. We also hosted the NCCE for a serious Accreditation Visit last year, and the Commission has announced the outcome of its visit: Its decision is full accreditation for all the courses offered by the Institute.

“So while the Institute ran neither degree programmes nor NCE before I came both levels of certificates are awarded today; NCE since October 2019 and bachelor’s degree effective next session.

“We have sustained and upgraded our older academic programmes, namely, Post-graduate: Diploma/ Postgraduate Diploma Conversion Programme; Sub-degree Diploma, and Diploma Programmes.

More and more Nigerian languages are now catered for in our programmes. We cover Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Efik/ Ibibio, Urhobo, Tiv, Fulfulde, Kanuri etc. Under my watch, the Institute now has more academic staff to manage the various programmes.

Speaking further on the development of indigenous Nigerian languages, the outgoing Executive Director of the Institute, said that judging by its Act, NINLAN is the apex establishment in the country in matters relating to research in, study and development of Nigerian languages and within the limits of its ability, it has made marks in the development of Nigerian languages.

According to him, “We are statutorily linked with the Linguistics Association of Nigeria (LAN), in so much that our Act provides for LAN to be represented in our Governing Council.

Languages Development App

“Just a few days ago, in our Conference Hall, we inaugurated a Nigerian Languages Development App, which we call; Omenka App or “Aapu Omenka” in Igbo.

The aim of the App is to enable Nigerians to learn our languages online from any part of the world. Equivalent Apps for other languages are coming up.”

Giving further details of his scorecard, Emejulu said that since inception, the Institute had not held any ceremony to formally celebrate its graduated students, but his administration changed the story when, on December 1, 2022, it organised the first-ever convocation ceremony in the Institute, where it formally celebrated and awarded relevant certificates to all its graduates from inception, the highest being the NCE.

He said that with the commencing of degree programmes later this year, such ceremonies will now include degree graduates.

Emejulu disclosed that another landmark achievement of his administration is the transformation of road infrastructure in the Institute, stressing that as of 2019, almost everyone coming into the school was driving on earth roads.

This is as he pointed out, “You have seen the change today as the Institute now has a network of asphalted roads from the gate, through the different academic areas and forming a ring road back to the major Opobo/ Azumini Road. Movement within the campus has become smooth and fast.

“The network of roads was made possible through funding by the federal Ministry of Works then under Mr. Babatunde Fashola; and Chimaobi Ebisike then honourable member representing Aba North/South Constituency in the House of Representatives, and the federal agency known as Ecological Funds Office.

This Institute remains immeasurably grateful to the trio. “Quite a number of other infrastructural projects, especially buildings, have been completed, initiated or reactivated in the Institute under this administration.

They include the Language Laboratory building; the Micro–teaching Laboratory building; a 250-bed capacity new Female Hostel Block (almost completed); extension and roofing Of the Multipurpose Auditorium, which project stalled for about 20 years.

“A two-storey new Academic Block project is going on. We have also given the Institute’s City Campus, which houses the staff schools new looks by repainting the school’s three-storey Main Classroom Block and others as well as equipping the Class One classrooms with new plastic seats, desks and boards.”

Failure to attract off-grid power electrification project

On the flip side, Emejulu said, “One thing I regret not achieving here is the off-grid power electrification project, which I tried to get done.

If that rural electrification project had crystalised, we wouldn’t be spending between N600, 000 and N700, 000 on diesel just to have light for four hours a day. Not to talk about what’s spent on petrol.If we had gotten that off-grid supply it would have saved us a lot.’’

Parting demand

As a parting gift, Emejulu’s wish is for; “the Federal Government to amend the Act regulating the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), to make its coverage include the four Inter-University Centres in the country, namely: NINLAN; the Nigerian French Language Village, Badagry; National Mathematical Centre, Abuja, and Arab Village, Ngala.

“Secondly, I urge the federal Ministry of Education to give NINLAN its due place and regard in the implementation of the recently approved Nigerian Language Policy, so the aims of the policy will be better realised.

“Finally, I urge both the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the National Assembly to speed up the review and amendment of the NINLAN Act to enable the Institute to award its degrees as stipulated in its Act, without affiliating with any University.