February 21, (THEWILL) – A Linguist and Indigenous Language Advocate, Mr. Josiah Egbilika, has called on the Federal Government to establish a directorate for language matters from the national level to local governments to be responsible for the development and sustenance of indigenous languages in the country.
Mother’s Tongues Day is celebrated on February 21 of every year as a day set aside to create global sensitisation about indigenous languages to bridge the gap on language discrimination. This year’s theme focuses on Multilingual Education – A Pillar of Learning and Intergenerational Learning.
Speaking in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, on Wednesday, Mr. Egbilika while lamenting the gradual extinction of indigenous languages, said the establishment of Directorate for Language matters at the Federal, State and Local Governments will reactivate the development and sustenance of indigenous languages in the country.
Egbilika lamented that after one year and three months, the former Minister of Education announced a new language policy, making mother tongue a compulsory medium of instruction from Basic 1 to 6, there has been no implementation strategy or road map to actualise the policy.
The Linguist said there is a need for the government to call an emergency national conference to produce a proper framework to develop indigenous languages in the country.
Lamenting the extent to which indigenous languages are going into extinction, Egbilika urged the government to make the indigenous language of a geographical location a compulsory subject in the schools around that location.
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