TO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM IN NIGERIA, THE MOTHER TONGUE IS NOT IMPORTANT - Barr Lemuel Stephen

By Nnabugwu Chizoba 

Continuing with our self-imposed mandate of promoting literacy in mother tongue, Scoreline decided to engage one of the young people in town, a law graduate of the University of Jos, Barr. Lemuel Stephen. His interest in graphics design, a trade he cherishes so much and does very well is top notch, going by the quality of his works, number of patronage and the calibre of clients he services regularly. 

The choice of Lemuel Stephen to speak on the subject matter Tongue, though coincidental turned out a blessing, as he was inspiring in his responses. He spoke as if he waited for the opportunity to voice out some concerns he has, with regard to the issue of the mother tongue. This gives Scoreline the impression that many people are troubled that the mother tongue is dying in Nigeria but lack the courage to speak. 

A brief back grounding to the choice of Scoreline speaking to Lemuel surely would be of interest to the reader, hence the decision to present it. Meeting him by the crew of Scoreline that fateful day as already noted was coincidental, though not the first time, but the scenario was totally different. Apart from sighting of one another from a distance by the parties when they first met, there was no close shelf and therefore, no form of discussion. Speaking with him was informed by exigency, spotted and was taken advantage of by the Scoreline crew. 

The type and quality of work he does, and the clientele were the first attraction. The discussion Lemuel and his colleagues were having at the time of meeting, particularly the topic, the quality of contributions and of course grammatical constructions used to deliver each line of argument in the very enlightening and informative debate. 

As the Scoreline crew listened to the discussion, one thought dominated their mind. Can this young people converse or deliver their lines fluently in their mother tongue? This is obviously an indication that the mother tongue assignment of the crew was taking its toll on them. The urge to know what explanation Lemuel could possibly offer became increasingly the task before them. The crew subsequently succumbed and Mr Lemuel Stephen was informed of this development and he accepted without any form of hesitation.

The question of how literacy in mother tongue could be promoted in Nigeria, in view of the fact that the mother tongue is not commonly deployed in the education sector as an appropriate medium of communication in almost all the communities in Nigeria was posed to Lemuel. 

His response was direct and instructive: “Institutionalisation of our mother tongue is very important and I don’t think the relevant bodies and institutions in the country are doing very well in this regard. 

“When it comes to inculcating the mother tongue to the child, the family and school units, and all other relevant institutions of government involved in the affairs of the child in the country are not performing creditably. 

“Instead of Parents and other relatives involved in the life of a child playing their role of moving the child passionately to understand and speak the mother tongue fluently and confidently, most Parents prefer to engage their children more with the foreign tongue. The family unit must rise up if the speaking of the mother tongue by the new generation must go beyond the comatose level that it is presently. 

“To the school system in Nigeria, the Mother Tongue is not important. As far as the schools are concerned, it is not important to speak the mother tongue. If the schools as institutions of learning, supervised and controlled by the authorities, for whatever reason do not recognise or permit speaking of the mother tongue, the implication is clear, the mother tongue will die. If this happens, the schools have achieved their objective. It is a fact that the system discourages the speaking of Mother Tongue”.

Mr Lemuel identified two approaches he feels if adopted will increase literacy in the mother tongue and the number of those speaking the mother tongue in Nigeria. He identified as number one approach, what he referred to as the primary approach. This approach identifies the family as the major platform for the promotion of the mother tongue. According to Lemuel: “the family is vital, a very essential platform to begin, to practice consistently and to consolidate efforts targeted at ensuring that the Nigerian child speaks the mother tongue and other indigenous languages, even.” 

The second approach canvassed by Lemuel is institutionalising the mother tongue. He specifically identified the institutions of learning as having to play the lead in this regard, saying, “We have a lot of institutions of learning in our society, they should lead from the front in this matter”. 

Scoreline is lending its voice to the discussion, saying, the educational institutions in the land must have a way of making the mother tongue a serious component of their curriculum, as well as providing interesting and attractive methods of encouraging massive embrace of mother tongue and making it an inseparable part of the society. Similarly, the families must understand that they owe their wards and society a duty of promoting the mother tongue, bearing in mind essentially; that it is an organic and vital part of the society, being part of its identity.