A Director in the Federal Ministry of Education, Chinyere Nwokorie, has advised parents to insist that their children communicate with them regularly in their mother tongues.
Nwokorie gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday in Lagos.
She expressed worry that some local languages might go into extinction due to inability of some children to speak and understand their mother tongues.
The director said that some children and even parents wrongly feel that expressing one’s self in one’s mother tongue is primitive.
“They would rather want to relate with anybody in English; this is not good,” she said.
According to her, children should be acquainted with their origin, language and culture right from home.
Nwokorie said: “It is important for mothers and fathers to be relating with their children in their native languages at the early years of their children so that they will grow knowing it and not struggle to learn it as adults.
“English, we all know, is a common language, which is applied in teaching in schools.
“This is unlike diverse languages according to tribes in Nigeria.”
The Director said that children had greater chances to know foods, dressing and the general culture of their tribes, if properly brought up in their mother tongues.
Nwokorie added that such a step would give children a sense of belonging to their tribes and make them to be proud to speak their languages.
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