By Ugochukwu Alaribe

UMUAHIA-Chairman of the Governing Council of the National institute for Nigerian Languages, NINLAN, Aba, Abia State, Prof. Francis Egbokhare, has described Nigeria’s more than 500 languages as an asset and not liability for the nation.

Egbokhare,who spoke at the 27th Regular Meeting of the NINLAN Governing Council, in Aba, disagreed with people who see Nigeria’s multiple languages as a liability and urged Nigerians to look at the potentials of language itself and see it as a vehicle which holds the nation’s diversities together.

His words; “The truth is that language is an asset; what you have to know is how to use diversity to your advantage. It is not language that is the problem; it is the management of language; it is the politics, the political process that is the problem. It is the policy framework that makes diversity an asset or a problem. For us as Nigerians, I think we have to take advantage of this diversity. Nigerians should look at the potentials of language itself and see it as a vehicle through which all things hold together.”

The University of Ibadan Linguist, who is also the immediate past President of the Nigerian Academy of Letters, lamented that Nigerians had focused on the negative side of multilingualism.

“We are redirecting energy to look at the potentials and benefits of language. We are moving away from the old logic. We are moving toward a new logic of language and development by integrating and interweaving language with every aspect of human life and then looking at the Nigerian needs and seeing exactly how language can integrate with business, safety and security and also expose the wide potentials of Nigerian languages in catalyzing development.”

On NINLAN’s demand to be funded by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, Egbokhare said there must be a window of opportunity for TETFund to provide some interventionist funding to the Institute.

He assured that the Governing Council has been working on having NINLAN exercise its statutory mandate to award degrees on Nigerian languages.

He said; “What we need to do is to find a creative partnership that will allow us to benefit from some of TETFund’s funding .And we are working on those things. The Governing Council is working to have NINLAN exercise its statutory mandate to award degrees on Nigerian languages.”

Highlights of the 27th regular meeting, was the elevation of three academic staff to the rank of full Professorship by the Governing Council.

This brings to four the number of full Professors appointed by the Institute, the first was in 2006.

Other high level promotions by the Governing Council were two Senior Deputy Registrars; two Senior Lecturers; two Deputy Registrars and one Principal Assistant Registrar.