Education: Ahmed advocates use of Nigerian language for instruction

The Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed, has called for the use of Nigerian languages as languages of instructions as part of strategies to correct poor performances in Nigerian schools.
Governor Ahmed said this on Wednesday when the national leadership of the Nigeria Academy of Letters paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
The Governor noted that most students perform poorly in school due largely to the use of English as language of instruction, which hinders their interpretation of materials of instruction.
Ahmed said: “Most of those who perform woefully in school are due to language problem.
“They can’t interpret questions.
“If these instructions were written in the languages they understand, they will interpret the question and do well in exams.”
The governor expressed concern that if concerted effort was not made, Nigerian languages will disappear, especially if they are not languages of commerce and instruction.
According to him: “A number of dialects are virtually gone and other languages may go unless conscious efforts are made to promote and sustain them through commerce and instruction.”
Ahmed charged members of the Nigeria Academy of Letters, as Professors in the humanities, to be in the vanguard for the promotion of Nigerian languages as languages of instruction and commerce.
The President of the Nigeria Academy of Letters, Prof. Olatunji Olahuntimehin, said the Academy of Letters as the highest body in the humanities leads the way in humanity studies for national development.