NICO harps on importance of indigenous language, trains 2,000 Nigerians

The National Institute for Cultural Orientation, NICO, has trained about two thousand Nigerians in its free one-month Nigerian Indigenous Language Programme, NILP.

Speaking during the closing ceremony of the programme in Abuja, the Executive Secretary of NICO, Mr Ado Muhammed Yahuza, said the programme, which was conceptualized in 2007, was in response to the alarming rate at which languages were going into extinction and existing ones seriously endangered.

Mr Yahuza who described language as veritable to peace and unity stated that the annual programme was part of NICO’s avenue of promoting national cohesion and development in the country.

According to him, NICO’s decision to give priority attention to the Nigerian Indigenous Language Programme was also borne out of the Institute appreciation of the intrusive relationship between language, culture and national development.

Advertisement

“Language is the backbone and road map to culture And it is the instrument for the expression and transmission of culture and extinction of a language has very serious consequences for the culture of a people as according to UNESCO, the extinction of a language results in the irrecoverable loss of unique cultural knowledge embodied in the language for centuries,” Mr Yahuza explained.

The Executive Secretary of NICO therefore stressed the need for the promotion of Indigenous languagea at all levels of social interaction noting that the responsibility should not be left for the government alone.

“Parents, the media and relevant stakeholders must play their role to save our languages from extinction and I urged workers, offices and men of the military and para military agencies as well as the general public to take advantage of the various platforms designed by the Institute for the teaching of Nigerian Indigenous Languages in the six Geo political zones of Nigeria,” he added.

In his remarks, the Director General, National Commission for Museum and Monument, Prof. Abba Tijani commended NICO for the one-month free Intensive indigenous language programme, which has over the years added value to the nation’s cultural heritage.

The Executive Secretary of National Commission for Colleges of Education, Prof. Paul Chijioke, represented by the Director of Legal and Corporate Governance in the Commission, Dr Mainasa Umar, expressed the Commission’s readiness to collaborate with NICO towards promoting the teaching and learning of Nigerian Indigenous Languages.

Some of participants who called for more funding of NICO’s activities by the Federal Government, the participants said the programme would further enhance their productivity in their various forms of endeavours.

Highlights of the closing ceremony was the presentation of certificates to participants. (Platinum Post)