Languages in Nigerian education and the quest for national development

Abstract

Many linguists and scholars have bared their minds on the language situation in Nigeria and how the country can achieve greatness through the languages existing in the country. Some have advocated, for national development, the use of our indigenous languages in the Nigerian education system beginning from the lowest to the highest level in the education system, while some feel that the language in use is not what matters. As the country has been working hard towards national development, this paper highlights the
languages in Nigerian education and advocates the use of our indigenous languages if Nigeria will achieve greatness in her quest for national development. The researcher discovered that some hitherto underdeveloped countries that adopted languages other than
their indigenous languages shot to limelight in development on their adoption of their teaching all the school subjects in the indigenous language(s) in their educational system. Nigeria should borrow a leaf from them and implement an elaborate language policy where Nigerian children are taught in the indigenous languages to enhance their thought processes and creativity. This way, Nigeria will, in no distant future, achieve the development and technological greatness it has sought for years.