Why our children should speak, read, write local languages — Esiri, ZODML boss

Co-Founder of Zaccheus Onumba Dibiaezue Memorial Libraries, ZODML, Mrs Ifeoma Esiri, has said it is important that children are able to speak, read and write their local languages, so that the culture of the society will be preserved.

This is just as she urged the government to ensure that policies that will encourage this are put in place.

She stated this during the celebration of this year's International Literacy Day at the National Library Annex, Lagos.

The event was organized in conjunction with the National Library of Nigeria, NLN.

"The day was on September 8, but it fell during the holiday period and we felt it would not be proper to celebrate such without students in attendance and we moved it forward. It is a pity that a lot of our children cannot speak their native language fluently, some can't speak it at all. This is not good. Language is a vital aspect of culture and when a people lose their language, what is left of their culture?

" When our children cannot speak our tongues, how would they be able to even speak in proverbs? Speaking in proverbs is a clever method that our elders use in communicating and passing great messages. That was why I asked students here to tell me a proverb in their native tongue and you would marvel at the proverb given by one of them.

"Government must have a policy in place that must encourage our children to be able to speak, read and write in their native tongues. Parents too have a role to play here. They too must converse with their children in their language. 

That won't stop them from being proficient in any other language," she said.

Esiri also called for the establishment of literacy centres in communities across the country.

Also speaking, the National Librarian, Prof. Veronica Chinwe, put Nigeria's literacy level at 62 percent.

"Literacy is a tool for creating a more just, peaceful and sustainable society. It is a ladder to prosperity and making use of potential. The Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, have literacy tied to them. Policy makers should do what will engender literacy and establish libraries for life long learning and development. Those who are in government should not leave the governed in the dark," she stated.

Chinwe said UNESCO declared 2022-2032 a decade of the promotion of indigenous languages because of the importance mother tongues play in the overall development of any society.

As part of the event, Chief Newton Jibunoh, who crossed the Sahara Desert four times, addressed the students on the need to be focused in life.

Students and pupils from primary and secondary schools in the Yaba area of Lagos attended the event.