Prof. urges Nigerians to embrace local languages

A former Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Prof. Modupe Adelabu, has said the use of Nigeria’s indigenous languages is necessary to have a more literate and sustainable society.

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She urged Nigerians to embrace the use of local languages in education and literacy.

Prof. Adelabu spoke during the inauguration of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and investiture of members of the Non-Governmental Association for Literacy Support Services (NOGALSS) in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

The former deputy governor, who is also the association’s National, said: “I am an advocate of the mother tongue. I have done a lot on it. I pilot-studied the mother tongue study with the World Bank. If you learn in your own language, in your own mother tongue, you will understand better; and it does not stop you from learning English as a second language.

“When we are talking of literacy, it doesn’t have to be in English. It can be in your mother tongue. Our old people can learn and understand better using their mother tongue.”

She said the association would work to depopulate the number of Nigerian illiterates.

According to the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education (NMEC), about 60 million Nigerians are illiterate.

Adelabu said: “I am looking forward to doing my best to depopulate illiteracy in our communities and country and to give back to the public what I have gotten.”

Also, a NOGALSS BoT member Chief Adewale Omojuwa said the association would work to reduce the number of uneducated Nigerians.

Omojuwa, who is also the Adetolugbo of Ugbo land in Ondo State, said NOGALSS would collaborate with NMEC to ensure that Nigerians are educated, either in the formal or informal way.

Education Minister Adamu Adamu said youth and adult illiteracy was among the social issues on the path of development of the country.

To address this, the minister advocated for adult education awareness as a necessary tool to enlighten every part of the country.

NOGALSS was established in 1993 by the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education (NMEC).

The association is tasked with the responsibilities to complement government efforts in the eradication of illiteracy in Nigeria. 

(TheNation)