Policy Without Action: Scholars Demand Urgent Enforcement of Indigenous Language Education Across Nigerian Schools

The Federal Government of Nigeria has been urged to immediately transition from statutory policy formulation to full enforcement of mother-tongue education across primary and secondary institutions nationwide. Educationalists and cultural custodians warn that failure to act urgently risks destroying the country’s linguistic heritage and impeding foundational cognitive growth among young learners.

This critical call to action was delivered during the 28th Convocation and investiture ceremony of the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL), convened at the J.F. Ade Ajayi Auditorium, University of Lagos. Speaking on the convocation theme, "Mother-Tongue Education Policy: And the Paths to Nation-Building," newly inducted NAL Fellow, Prof. Oladele Abiodun Balogun, stressed that indigenous languages represent far more than casual tools for speech—they serve as the bedrock of national integration, cultural preservation, and intellectual development.

Prof. Balogun, a renowned professor of philosophy whose academic career spans over three decades, heavily criticized the chronic enforcement deficit that continues to plaque Nigeria's public education framework. According to him, the nation's primary challenge lies not in a dearth of progressive legislation, but in an enduring failure of executive implementation.

"It is one thing to have a policy, but entirely another for that policy to be operationalized. The fundamental problem in Nigeria is not the absence of laws or structures, but the systemic neglect of implementation. We must move past empty rhetoric if we intend to build an inclusive, innovative, and unified society," Balogun declared.

Addressing academic administrators and curriculum planners, the scholar further demanded an immediate prohibition on describing Nigerian indigenous languages as "vernacular"—a colonial-era term he characterized as deeply stigmatizing and detrimental to the self-esteem of young students.