The National Institute for Cultural Orientation has organised a four weeks indigenous language sessions for youth Corps members serving across the country.
NICO also seek the establishment of language clubs at various Community Development Service, (CDS).
The programme is part of the efforts to preserve the indigenous languages from going into extinction.
Addressing the Corps members at the 3rd edition of the programme on Thursday Juky 4 2024 at the Abuja camp located at Kubwa, NICO Executive Secretary, Otunba Biodun Ajiboye said the idea is to arrest the decline in knowledge and use of the indigenous languages in the country.
Ajiboye said: “The Nigerian Indigenous Language Programme is a flagship programme of the Institute, which was conceptualized in 2007 due to the rapid decline in the knowledge and use of our indigenous languages especially among our teeming youths.
“The Institute has over the years successfully organized three editions of the Language Programme; August edition, the Weekend edition, and the Barracks editions – created for men & Officers of Military & Para-Military Organizations.”
He said the editions were held simultaneously across fifteen locations nationwide; Abuja, Lagos, seven state Offices & six offices in the geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
He disclosed that the first and second editions of the program which took place during the Batch “A”, stream 1 and stream 2 orientation exercises recorded tremendous success.
He added, “However, we are however hopeful that the NYSC Management will further approve the establishment of NICO Indigenous Language Clubs for continuity at Community Development Service (CDS) levels which shall serve as a platform to broaden Corps members knowledge of the languages already being taught. ”
Ajiboye also Commended the Director General, National Youth Service Corps, Brig. Gen. Yusua Ahmed and his Management team for accepting to partner with NICO to promote the teaching of the Nigerian Indigenous languages, and to restore interest in the knowledge and speaking of indigenous languages as well as safeguard them from going into extinction.
He therefore charged the corps members, saying “It is our desire that this sensitization will further help you develop interest in learning the indigenous languages.
“We are elated to inform you that the Institute has carefully lined up professionally qualified resource persons to teach Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba online via the WhatsApp and WPS platforms. It is our expectation that at the end of this programme, participants will be equipped with basic communication knowledge in the languages they have chosen to learn.
A Google form will be created for feedback purpose at the end of the 4-week training program.
“Meanwhile, I urge you all to fill the forms being distributed in order to indicate your language(s) of interest and return them with your phone numbers and emails clearly written for further communication. Corps members can choose a maximum of two (2) languages to learn.”
Also, FCT NYSC State Coordinator, Winifred Shokpeke said most youth don’t speak their languages again.
Shokpeke said “We have things like language lecture because we discovered that most Nigerians youth don’t speak their language maybe because of inter tribal marriages many young people they don’t speak our language anymore so in NYSC we have language classes just to ensure even the little greeting and bargain in the market because once you meet someone for the first and the person can communicate with you even if it just felicitation there’s a feeling of oneness and all of u will role
“At the end of the day we want them to be better people they should take the training very seriously and whatever they learn here they should take it out and teache younger ones
“We have skills acquisition that the can learn and be boss for them self we are training them to dream and materialize their dreams.”
Some of the Corps members were eager to learn languages, saying it will help them communicate better with natives.
One of the corps member, Sophie Okoye, a graduate of University of Nigeria, Nnsuka, who said she speaks her dialect, Igbo fluently, however said would like to learn Hausa.
