…. GRACE NINLAN MATRICULATION

The Executive Director of the National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN), Aba, Professor Ogbonna Onuoha; the acting Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Professor Carol Arinze-Umeobi; and the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Professor Paulinus Okwelle, have called on relevant authorities and stakeholders in Nigerian languages to support and encourage NINLAN in its efforts to develop and promote the study of Nigeria’s indigenous languages. They made this appeal in their separate addresses at the matriculation ceremony for students of First Degree, Postgraduate Diploma, Diploma, and Certificate programmes at NINLAN. The event took place at the Institute’s permanent site in Aba. They urged that NINLAN be given all necessary financial, administrative, and moral support to help it successfully pursue its mandate as the apex institution for teaching, studying, and researching Nigerian languages.

Professor Onuoha, the host, believes that Nigeria’s state governors have a crucial role to play in developing the indigenous languages of their states by collaborating with the Aba-based language institute. He said:

“Let me appeal to all state governors and stakeholders to seize the opportunity offered by NINLAN to patriotically develop Nigerian indigenous languages spoken in their states. They can do this by granting scholarships to their citizens to study their mother tongues through refresher, improvement, acculturation, conversion, development, and research trainings at NINLAN. The Federal Government has established NINLAN; now let the state governors, in whose states and regions these languages are spoken, water NINLAN and benefit from it for the educational, social, political, economic, and cultural development of their states, peoples, and the nation at large.”

The Executive Director believes that if speakers of various Nigerian languages are sponsored by their state governments to study those languages at NINLAN, it would not take long to reverse the widespread decline and low level of indigenous language proficiency across different language areas. He urged state governors to show patriotism by embracing this proposal.

Professor Onuoha also used the opportunity to list some achievements and ongoing projects of his administration:

“In my tenure as Executive Director, NINLAN has continued to witness transformation in both academic and infrastructural areas. To address the grave security concerns posed by our expansive 209.5-hectare unfenced campus, we have commenced the installation of solar-powered street lights at strategic locations to enhance visibility and safety for staff and students, especially at night. In line with our mandate to serve all parts of the country equitably, the Institute has restructured its faculty formations to reflect the six geopolitical zones of Nigerian languages under our care. We are equally championing technological innovations by developing specialized computer keyboards with indigenous language characters, in partnership with a Chinese technical firm, to support reading, writing, and digital content creation in some Nigerian languages.”

Other achievements announced by the Executive Director include:

• Pioneering text-to-speech and speech-to-text applications powered by natural language processing algorithms.
• The NINLAN Nigerian Languages Online (NNLO) programme, which delivers Certificate and Diploma programmes virtually, both locally and internationally.
• The establishment of Acculturation and Language Acquisition Centres (ALAC) in several of Nigeria’s geopolitical zones to serve as hubs for learning and internalising indigenous languages in their natural environments.
• Redesigning the Acculturation Programme to include demonstration schools, thereby equipping them to examine students in Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba.

The Executive Director expressed profound appreciation to President Bola Tinubu; the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa; the Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti; the 6th Governing Council; and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, whom he described as “a true benefactor and friend of NINLAN who has adopted the Institute as his pet project.”

On her part, the UNIZIK Vice-Chancellor, represented by Professor George Onwudiwe, emphasised the strategic relevance of NINLAN in the development of Nigerian languages. She said:

“There are many Nigerian universities offering degree programmes in various Nigerian languages. This notwithstanding, the Federal Government thought it fit to establish, in 1993, the National Institute for Nigerian Languages as the foremost institution for teaching, research, documentation, and coordination of studies in the numerous Nigerian languages. Its mission is to equip its graduates with the knowledge, skill, and competence to successfully pursue careers as Nigerian language teachers, translators, media and communication experts, and researchers.”

In his address, the Executive Secretary of the NCCE, represented by Dr. Titus Ezeme, commended the NINLAN Executive Director for holding the matriculation ceremony and for the various other achievements of his administration.

The NCCE boss said:

“The National Institute for Nigerian Languages occupies a strategic place in our educational landscape. In a multilingual country like ours, the teaching and preservation of Nigerian languages are not just academic exercises but patriotic duties. By embarking on NCE programmes, NINLAN has placed itself at the heart of the teacher education mandate of the NCCE.”