Stakeholders express worry over mother languages, cultural practices going into extinction
A former Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Mr. Friday Itulah, has called on the Federal and state ministries of education to develop curricula that will ensure indigenous Nigerian languages are part of the medium of instruction in the nation’s educational institutions at least up to secondary school level.
Itulah, a two time member of the House of Representatives, who spoke in Benin at a conference organised by the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), lamented that with the advent of western civilisation, the nation’s numerous languages and other cultural practices have become endangered and may go into extinction.
The ex-lawmaker said: “It’s only then that the youths and succeeding generation will appreciate and sustain our cultural heritage. This is more so since with the western civilisation, our languages and other cultural practices have become endangered and may go into extinction.”
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) top leader called on the legislature and the executives to continuously appropriate funds in the form of zonal intervention bail out to revive the nation’s cultural heritage, which is fast eroding.
Looking back, the former lawmaker said zonal intervention projects have contributed in no small measure to bringing about fast development in infrastructure to every part of the country, noting that the initiative has helped in calming nerves and minds of the people, as they have a great sense of identify and impact on government practice.
Executive Secretary, NICO, Mr. Ado Muhammed Yahuza, said research findings indicated that societies that have culture and made it the cornerstone of their developmental efforts have made progress and advancement in all indices of life.
“On the other hand, the neglect and non-recognition of culture as the roadmap and pillar of sustainable development has put many nations in dire straits.
A deeper understanding of the place of culture to our national development is therefore imperative in our quest for meaningful progress and sustainable socio-political and economic development of our nation.”
