.

By Adesina Wahab

Experts in the field of linguistics and literature have said that the people of the West African subregion can use the different languages they speak to tackle the menace of corruption, rather than seeing themselves as ethnic loyalists.

This is also as they said different aspects of literature, such as drama, poems, novels among others can also be used to drive home the evil effects of corruption on the society at large.

They spoke yesterday at the opening of the 2021 conference of the West African Languages Congress (WALCS) and the Linguistic Association of Nigeria, (LAN) held at the Lagos State University, LASU, Ojo, Lagos.

The conference has the theme “Language, Literature and the Challenges of Instability and Corruption in West Africa.”

Declaring the conference open, the Acting Vice-Chancellor of LASU, Prof. Oyedamola Oke, described instability and corruption as twin evils besetting the region.

” We have identity problem and language that should bring us together has instead fuelled the discord. Language and literature provide insight into the society that produces them. Whatever culture and tradition we want to leave for the coming generation resides in language,” he said.

Oke called for a language policy that would promote free movement and the socio-economic development of the region.

The President of LAN, Prof. Harrison Adeniyi, noted that the West African subregion is not finding it easy to manage differences among the nations.

He submitted that language had a crucial role to play in minimising conflicts among states.

The President of WALCS, Prof. Firmin Ahoua, called for more cooperation and synergy among linguists in the region.

The keynote speaker, Prof. Adams Bodomo, of the University of Vienna, Austria, said linguists should not continue to talk about corruption without addressing it and finding a solution to it given the terrible effects it has on society at large.

“We linguists and literary scholars can be part of the campaign and the fight against corruption. We can write about it in poems, novels, dramas among others to sensitise the people. We all, including governments at various levels, must realise that our very survival depends on combating it.

“Corruption can lead to instability and instability can create explosive situations in a country which may make a country even cease from existing. Fighting corruption is not limited to the justice system alone. It is an interdisciplinary thing and we must fight it in different ways,” he said.

Vanguard News Nigeria