Thank you Ayotunde Bewaji for deciphering the message by looking at the messenger. In Nigeria, English was imposed on us as the official language of communication. In the name of justice, those who imposed English on us as the official language ought to have given all Nigerians access to schools where they should learn how to read, write and speak the official language, English. English language is not spoken at home in Nigeria but indigenous languages depending from which part of the country one comes from. As Samuel Zalanga has rightly pointed out, English is the language of the elites in Nigeria.
Being educated in Nigeria implies fluency in, or mastery of, spoken and written English language and nothing more. That was why after independence in October 1960 when the British officials departed Nigeria, Nigerians stepped in to fill their jobs, play their roles, inherit their salaries and privileges, and assume their attitudes in regarding the non-English speaking masses of Nigeria as inferior people doomed by God. "Stepping into jobs left behind by the British" Chinua Achebe wrote, "Members of my generation also moved into the homes in the former British quarters previously occupied by members of the European senior civil service. These homes often came with servants - chauffeurs, maids, cooks, gardeners, stewards - whom the British had organized meticulously to 'ease their colonial sojourn.' Now following the departure of the Europeans, many domestic staff (Nigerians) stayed in the same positions and were only too grateful to continue their designated salaried roles in post-independent Nigeria. Their masters were no longer European but (Nigerians) their brothers and sisters. This bequest (on Europeanised Nigerians) continued in the form of new club memberships and access to previously all-white areas of towns, restaurants, and theatres (p.49, There Was a Country)." Just because Achebe and people like him were certified English speakers and writers they were licensed to live like Europeans over the masses as appointed British slave overseers in Nigeria. By 1964, more Nigerians acquired academic degrees in English language and they demanded the same standard of living as the one enjoyed by Chinua Achebe and his cohorts. Since Federal government was not able to absorb all English degree holders into the civils service or parastatals, ethnicity and nepotism became major means of competing for senior service positions in Nigeria.
In the beginning, it was thought that knowledge in English language would enable Nigerians to acquire skills in Science, Medicine and Engineering for the development of verse mineral and forest resources of Nigeria and for the benefit of all Nigerians. However, acquisition of degrees in science, medicine and technology by Nigerians have had the same effect as degrees in English language or any other subject on Nigeria's industrial and economic developments. By 1964, people were appointed to, or employed into, positions that were unrelated to their professional degrees. Thus, Dr. Okechukwu Ikejiani, a medical practitioner was appointed a full-time Chairman of the Nigerian Railway Corporation and when he left by 1965, he was appointed Chairman of the Nigerian Coal Corporation. This trend continued after the civil war till date. The current President of Senate was born in London and received his education as a medical doctor there, but from day one when he entered the Nigerian shore, he has never practised medicine. He was employed as a Bank Executive and when he ran the bank into bankruptcy, he joined politics to become Governor of Kwara State for eight years from where he progressed to be current Senate President. Similarly, the former Governors of Rivers, Delta and Ondo states, Drs Peter Odili, Oduaghan and Olusegun Mimiko are Physicians by profession but they have never served the nation as medical practitioners. If the socio-political, economic and industrial development of Nigeria are considered, professors of English, Economics, Law, Science and Engineering are inseparable from Alhajis, Imams, Bishops, Reverends and Pastors. They all live beyond their legitimate incomes and they steal appropriated developmental funds with impunity.
Samuel Salanga made very important observation when he wrote, "The money that was used to subsidize the acquisition of western education could have been used to provide rural clinics or healthy drinking water etc., to ruralites, but it was appropriately thought that investing in higher education would help in nation building. Unfortunately, in many cases, the money was used to subsidize the education of people who now acquired an elite status in the country based on their western education and acquisition of the language. And they used their knowledge and positions to marginalize the ordinary people who never received the opportunity to be educated." The last sentence above could have stated that those whose education have been subsidized in Nigeria have used their acquired knowledge in English language and positions in the society to exploit and impoverish ordinary Nigerians who were denied access to schools for education in English language. Professor Malami Buba had asked rhetorically, ".... what's the whole point about pointing out errors in Nigerian English?" In order to answer that question we need to ask, how many spoken and written English grammars make - a cup of Gari or rice?; a kilogram of yam?; a watt of electricity?; a litre of potable water?; a litre of refined crude oil?; and a kilogram of beef? etc. Since the equivalent of spoken and written English grammars in Nigeria to the aforementioned products on which Nigerians depend for their daily living are zero, pointing out errors in Nigerian English is a useless mental gymnastic. It is valueless. Knowledge of English in Nigeria is nothing but ego-boosting personal chauvinism and those in command of the English language are parasites living on the labours of non-English educated working masses. That is why, a parasitic English Professor could shamelessly declare, "I write my language columns (in the Daily Trust) because I am paid well to do so (Forum's thread, 29 October 2016)." On March 14, 2017, he marketed the sale of his abstract knowledge on this list serve thus, "I am out. Gotta go teach 'native English speakers' some English to pay the bills." During Babangida dictatorship in Nigeria in 1986, academic degrees were called meal tickets whereby possessors of abstract knowledge lived luxuriously without productive work.
Nobody is advocating that English should be abolished as a language in Nigeria. What is being said is that the English language has deprived Nigerian children of their original thoughts in science and technology as dictated and experienced in their geographical environments which are quite different from that of Europe and America. Today because of English language, Nigerians are mentally and technologically dependent on Europe and America for the development of Nigeria. But, Europe and America would rather give fishes to some Nigerians serving their interests in Nigeria instead of allowing Nigerians to become fishermen. As Mao Tse-Sung rightly postulated, if you give a person a fish, he will eat fish only for a day, but if you teach him how to fish, he will eat fish everyday. One of the first thing the Englishmen did when they colonized Nigeria was to steal our technologies and destroy their foundations. A typical case was that of common salt narrated by Professor Kenneth Onwuka Dike in his book, Trade & Politics In The Niger Delta (1830 - 1885). He wrote, "Consul H.H. Johnston noted in 1888: A native salt industry of old standing continues. The salt is made extensively by Jakrymen from the leaves of a willow-like tree not unlike the mangrove; which are burnt; the ashes are soaked and washed, then evaporated; the residue represents native salt, which is even now preferred for many uses to introduced salt (p.22)." This was how the Itsekirimen, wrongly spelled Jakrymen, produced commonsalt in 1888 before their production of salt was destroyed and Nigeria became a market for British salt. Can any Itsekiriman in Nigeria today produce salt today? My guess is that he would probably be able to tell the chemical formula of salt in English which is sodium chloride (NaCl) but he will not be able to produce salt. A relevant case nowadays is that, Nigeria is a major exporter of crude oil and has four crude oil refineries manned by Nigerians whose brains are boiling with sophisticated formulae in English about petro-chemical Engineering and oil refinery but they are incapable of refining crude oil for Nigerians even though they are highly remunerated and they get all kinds of fringe bensfits, including concubine allowances. All ministries, departments and agencies in Nigeria, designed to solve the nation's social, political, economic and industrial problems are manned by Nigerians who speak and write Buckingham Palace English, but none of the problems for which they are employed or elected has been solved. Rather, and for instance, the cause of darkness of darkness, for Nigerians is the cause of the shinning light in the bank accounts of Nigerian officials at home and abroad. To the Professor of standard English, those who cannot generate electricity, pump potable water, refine crude oil, build motor-able roads and produce iron and steel, possess very high IQ, as long as they can speak and write standard English. If Nigeria is being ruled with any of the indigenous languages, it would not have been possible for the officials to engage in massive looting of the treasuries without facing citizens' anger and revolt. Tell Nigerians the real value of millions, billions and trillions of peoples' money stolen in indigenous languages Nigerians would massively and definitely react like the Islanders did to their Prime Minister, Daviõ Gunlaugsson, when it became public knowledge that he was engaged in tax evasion through a Panama brief case company. Fela once said, Your eyes e they red, e no fit light cigarette; and I say, your standard Buckingham Palace English e no fit bring water for drink, e no fit shine electricity for house, e no fit bring fujel from crude oiyele, your grammar e don turn hospitals for mortuaries and your grammar e don blow open all our roads wey e don become grave yards for vehicles and people. A beg, bring back my indigenous language.
S. Kadiri
Skickat: den 20 mars 2017 08:52
Till: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Ämne: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - "An advice, " "a good news": Errors of Pluralization in Nigerian English
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--Ken and others:For my own education:1. Can you supply a list of countries that have developed by primarily using the language of others?2. The Hausa speaking people are more than Swedes, Afrikaners in South Africa, the population of Israel and several countries less than 10 million. Why do these other groups use their languages successfully ?
The source of the debate is that it is being framed as the use of Yoruba as a replacement to English. No.I need to be convinced that Farooq should not be allowed to submit a dissertation in a Nigerian language. What is wrong to write a PhD thesis in Hausa?TF
Sent from my iPhone--Toyin said:In terms of development generally, the reality is that English is the language of modernity. Take it or leave it, it makes no difference. The Asians etc are scrambling to learn English. Why? The 20th century onward is dominated by Anglo-American civilization, as demonstrated by the cultural sweep of this civilization, as suggested even by the origins of this medium in which we are communicating.
I think he sums up an indisputable argument, in the claims that English is the language of modernity.But that language that toyin identifies is really what Farooq has been calling standard English.That means, as I understand it, not the language of a specific culture, but rather, as toyin said, perfectly, the language of modernity.The language that airplane pilots all around the world have to master adequately to land a plane in an airport. Or for technicians to learn, or those whose livelihood depends on global traffic.Like kids learning what to say to tourists. Not the language of anglo-american civilization, toyin, as far as I can see. There is nothing whatever that is specific to a given culture. That's why the words that are culturally specific, like slip or underpants or shorts or vest—all those words that are different in given cultures—are not the words that really matter in standard English, unless you are selling them as commodities. But when it comes to something like barrels of oil, or dollars, or Chinese words for currency, etc., become universal.Words you need to know if you go to a hotel, or, more importantly, if you run the hotel; not words that are used in people's homes.Foreign words, flat words, professional words, words for those who are trained, not those who just grow up hearing the words.Words like thanks and goodbye; not like how much? Where?See ya'TataOr words that change, quickly, like slang, in contrast with words used by tv announcers whose broadcasts are seen around the word.By the way, what language is now being taught across the united states, not just increasingly in universities, but in high schools, middle schools—schools that advertise themselves as up to date, globally relevant? Chinese. mandarin Chinese. Meanwhile all those prestigious European tongues have practically disappeared: French, Italian, even german; while Spanish is managing to hang on, but, I recently learned, also struggling….kenKenneth HarrowDept of English and Film Studies
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