The Linguistic Association of Nigeria (LAN) has urged the Federal Government to halt any move to reverse the 2022 National Language Policy, warning that such action would undermine the country’s educational progress and cultural identity.
This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the association’s 36th Annual Conference held at Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, and made available to journalists in Abuja.
The communiqué was signed by Prof. Gideon Omachonu, the association’s National President.
Omachonu described the proposed reversal as a major national setback that would negate decades of research, consultation, and international collaboration.
He explained that the 2022 policy, which mandates Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) at early childhood and primary levels, was designed to enhance learning outcomes and preserve Nigeria’s rich linguistic diversity.
According to him, the policy was developed through broad national consultation to implement a long-standing provision of the National Policy on Education, which stipulates that early instruction should be delivered in the language of the immediate environment.
“The policy is not an administrative preference but a pedagogical necessity and a moral obligation to Nigerian children,” Omachonu stated.
He warned that reversing the policy would devalue indigenous languages and weaken the credibility of ongoing national education reforms.
Omachonu further noted that the 2022 policy aligns with UNESCO’s framework on inclusive education, Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education), and Nigeria’s constitutional commitment to cultural preservation and social inclusion.
He cited extensive research, including the landmark Ife Six-Year Primary Project, as evidence that mother-tongue instruction significantly improves literacy, numeracy, and cognitive development among children.
The LAN president also expressed concern that elements of the proposed “Smarter Generation Curriculum” appeared to exclude “One Nigerian Language” from the list of core compulsory subjects.
He warned that such a move could marginalise hundreds of Nigerian languages, focusing attention only on a few dominant ones and effectively disregarding the 2022 National Language Policy.
“These actions run contrary to both national and international best practices. No nation can build a smarter generation by silencing the languages of its people.
Educational excellence begins with linguistic inclusion, not exclusion,” Omachonu said.
