Nigeria’s New Language Policy Sparks Outcry: “A Step Backward for Education and Identity”

Nigeria’s newly announced language policy has drawn sharp criticism from education stakeholders, cultural advocates, and the private sector, with many describing it as a setback for national identity and learning outcomes.

Hon. Aminu Mohammed Danmaliki, President of the Bauchi Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (BACCIMA), addressed journalists in Bauchi, warning that the policy threatens the survival of indigenous languages and risks undermining children’s education.

“A people that abandons its language is abandoning its history, its worldview, its cultural memory and its sense of belonging,” Danmaliki said. The Federal Government’s new directive emphasizes English as the primary medium of instruction from the earliest levels of schooling. Critics argue this contradicts Nigeria’s National Policy on Education, which previously supported mother-tongue instruction in early childhood.

Agencies such as the National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN), the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), and the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) already exist to promote indigenous languages. Observers say the new policy undermines their mandates. Danmaliki pointed out that countries across Asia, Europe, and Latin America use their native languages in schools, while Africa remains the only continent where colonial languages dominate education. “Children learn best in the language they understand,” he said, citing UNESCO and World Bank research. “Early literacy in mother tongue improves later learning in other languages, including English.”

Critics warn that the policy could: Increase dropout rates among rural children. Accelerate the extinction of minority languages. Alienate communities from their cultural heritage. Weaken Nigeria’s innovation and national development. Danmaliki urged the Federal Ministry of Education, state governments, cultural institutions, and civil society to review the policy.

He proposed strengthening mother-tongue education, training more indigenous language teachers, expanding local-language broadcasting, and digitizing Nigerian languages for the digital age. Quoting Kenyan writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Danmaliki concluded:

“To starve a child of their mother tongue is to starve their soul.” He called for immediate reassessment of the policy “in the interest of national unity, social justice, and the future of Nigerian children.” End.