Africa. The Nigerian government has stirred widespread debate by abolishing the policy of using national languages in education and reinstating English as the official language of instruction at all educational levels.
In a statement, Minister of Education Tunji Alausa said:
“The adoption of national languages has not achieved the desired results after three years of implementation. English will once again be Nigeria’s language of instruction.”
Nigeria is not alone in taking this path; several other countries have done the same. Yet, the use of English in education is not merely a linguistic decision — it carries deep cultural, civilizational, and sovereign implications. It touches the national identity, determines the future of education, and defines the parameters of cognitive sovereignty, making it a strategic choice that reaches beyond classrooms to the very core of the nation’s cultural existence.
Language as the Root of Identity and a Tool of National Cohesion
Language has never been merely a means of communication; it is a repository of collective memory, a vessel of values, and a tool of thought and understanding. Nigeria is a country rich in local languages. Since the majority of its people are Muslim, Arabic plays a visible role in worship and Qur’anic education, forming part of the nation’s spiritual fabric.
However, Hausa, along with Igbo and Yoruba, dominates the linguistic scene — these languages embody Nigeria’s oral traditions, moral codes, and aesthetic heritage.
English entered Nigeria through British colonial rule, which imposed it as the official state and educational language — reinforcing cultural dependency and psychological colonization. By making English the language of instruction, colonial policy deprived generations of children of their natural right to learn in their mother tongue, alienating them from their own cultural and intellectual environment.
African and global experiences show that excluding national languages from education leads to their gradual extinction — a slow cultural death. Nations that abandoned their native tongues lost invaluable parts of their heritage, a civilizational loss that is often irreversible.
Hausa, in particular, is not just a Nigerian language — it is a pan-African lingua franca, extending from Nigeria to Niger, Mali, Cameroon, and other parts of Central, Western, and Northern Africa. It is used in education, media, trade, and by Sufi brotherhoods such as the Tijaniyya order for spiritual dissemination.
With such reach, Hausa represents a civilizational space within Africa. Excluding it from education undermines its potential as a pillar of national identity and as a vehicle for regional integration, similar to what Swahili achieved in Tanzania or Amharic in Ethiopia.
Language as the Foundation of Learning and Cognition
Commenting on the government’s decision, former Minister of Education Adamu Adamu said:
“Children grasp concepts more easily when taught in their own language. Using the mother tongue ensures greater learning effectiveness. Three years is not enough to judge such an experiment a failure.”
Other educators criticized the decision as hasty, ignoring UN-supported research on the importance of native-language instruction in early childhood education. Social affairs analyst Habu Dawuda noted that three years is too short to assess such a major transition, urging the government to invest more in local-language education rather than abandon it.
Language is the foundation of cognitive development in early life. It shapes comprehension, reduces dropout rates, and enhances educational equity between urban and rural communities.
According to UN studies, children learn, think, and reason more deeply in their mother tongue. Early education in a foreign language leads to surface-level understanding, weakening the acquisition of core knowledge.
The failure of the local-language education program in Nigeria stemmed not from the idea itself but from poor implementation — lack of funding, insufficient teacher training, and limited learning materials. Reverting to English will widen the gap between cities and rural areas: urban children are more exposed to English, while rural children are not — deepening educational inequality.
Moreover, imposing a foreign language before children have mastered their native one can undermine analytical reading, writing, and expression, eroding the foundations of knowledge acquisition.
Linguistic Security and Cultural Sovereignty
Language policy expresses a nation’s identity and sovereignty and is an essential component of national security. Language defines the identity of knowledge, the language of institutions, and the nature of a state’s engagement with the world. It is not merely cultural; it is a source of power and independence.
Governments and societies must recognize that:
– Dominance of English produces intellectual dependency. When English becomes the primary medium of knowledge production based on Western paradigms, it undermines epistemic independence.
– A unified national language strengthens national security and enables a country to articulate a cohesive vision — as seen in Ethiopia (Amharic) and Tanzania (Swahili).
– The absence of a strong local language leaves national culture vulnerable to the homogenizing influence of globalization. In contrast, adopting Hausa as a national language can enhance Nigeria’s regional leadership in West and Central Africa, given its cross-border reach and cultural influence.
Therefore, Nigeria could designate Hausa as its primary national language, alongside Arabic and English as co-official languages. Such a policy would:
– Promote linguistic unity
– Safeguard other local languages
– Strengthen cultural identity
– Expand Nigeria’s regional influence
Hausa today possesses a vast body of oral literature, poetry, music, and Islamic scholarship, equipping it for a significant intellectual and cultural role.
By contrast, English remains a language of the elite, inaccessible to many and reinforcing social divides.
Conclusion
Nigeria’s true challenge lies in fortifying national identity and protecting cultural sovereignty — both linguistically and intellectually. Building a regional and global role rooted in its own language and heritage would allow the country to assert itself as a leading African model of cultural self-determination and linguistic revival in an increasingly globalized world.
