Language Policy in Nigeria: Problems, Prospects and Perspectives
Morakinyo Ogunmodimu

Abstract
The need for a national lingual franca that indexes the national identity of Nigeria is one that has been theorized and debated through different lenses under language policy with the conflicting themes being the asymmetric relationship between an exogenous language – English – and the local languages. The gap that has not been given the needed attention is the intra-indigenous language dichotomy that exists between minority languages and the major languages – Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba – in the formulation of a more inclusive language policy for Nigeria. This paper argues for a multilingual language policy that takes into account the different tiers of languages in Nigeria, particularly, languages with lesser number of speakers than the major languages.

Full Text: PDF