NAN-H-56
Language
By Mohammed Lawal
Zaria (Kaduna State), Nov. 29, 2016 (NAN) The former Vice-Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Prof. Ango Abdullahi and that of Bayero University Kano (BUK), Prof. Dandatti AbdulKadir, on Tuesday advocated for the adoption of indigenous languages in schools.
According o them, it will facilitate complete students’ understanding of their subjects and enhance rapid national growth and development.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that they made the assertion at a colloquium organised by the Department of African Languages and Cultures, ABU, at the main campus, Samaru, Zaria, Kaduna State.
Ango, also Chairman of the occasion, said that teaching students in foreign language (English) had deterred the progress which Nigeria would have recorded in sciences and technology if indigenous languages were used in schools.
“The use of English as a formal language came when the colonial masters came to Nigeria and found that each region predominantly spoke its own local language – Hausa in the North, Yoruba in South-West and Igbo in South-East.
“In an effort to get what they want, the white men introduced English as only acceptable language of communication. This is with a view to ease evacuation of our resources to their country,’’ he said.
According to him, knowledge had no language, but language is just a medium of communication through which the knowledge is acquired, hence, the need for Nigerians to rethink and adopt indigenous languages.
He challenged Hausa scholars to endeavour to translate academic books into Hausa to inculcate knowledge in Hausa instead of English.
Ango said that currently, Hausa language was being spoken in about 11 countries across Africa.
Earlier, the former Vice-Chancellor, Bayero University Kano (BUK), Prof. Dandatti Abdulqadir, described Hausa as a language that borrow from other languages to become more enriched.
Dandatti, who is one of the pioneer Hausa scholars not only in Nigeria but in Africa, said there was the need for Northerners to borrow a leaf from Yoruba.
“Yoruba gave a time frame for a shift from teaching primary school pupils and secondary school students in English to their native language.
“Efforts are on the way to translate academic books into Hausa to enable our young ones to learn all fields in their mother tongue to facilitate understanding and contribute to national growth,’’ he said.
While describing Hausa as an international language, Dandatti said it was spoken in major global radio stations like BBC London, Voice of America, Radio Germany, Radio France and Radio Iran.
He said that Hausa was the most widely spoken language not only in Nigeria but in the West African sub-region.
Earlier, the Head of African Languages and Cultures Department, Dr Salisu Garba-Kargi, said that the programme was one of the community services to the nation in general and to Hausa in particular.
Garba-Kargi said the goal of the colloquium was to ensure that Hausa took its rightful place as the official language in Nigeria.
“In view of this, the department wishes to take a pioneering role in achieving the set goal.
“As such, we earnestly request that a Centre of Excellence on Hausa Translation and Cultural Studies be established.
“This centre should be saddled with the responsibility of translating the versed scientific, technical, historical, educational, library and cultural terminologies domiciled in foreign languages into Hausa,’’ he said.
He identified some achievements of the department to include championing Hausa-cikin-Hausa project (teaching of Hausa in Hausa) as initiated by Prof. Dalhatu Muhammad in 1973.
Another one is the translation of technical terms across the programmes of the university as part of final year project, he said.
Garba-Kargi explained that the staff of the department partnered with publishers in the production of instructional materials for primary and secondary schools in Nigeria. (NAN)
KLM/GOM/PDE
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(Edited by Gregory Mmaduakolam/Peter Ejiofor)