Lingua-franca: The Battle Between Continents.

 
I think it's high time to address the issue of ethnic-erosion in Nigeria. Ever since the umbilical cord of colonialism has been severed more than 50years ago, things have never really been the same. With the adoption of English Language as our lingua-france, things got pretty bad. In schools, English Language is used to teach the pupils. Even outside the classroom,it's purely English. A survey carried out a year ago, showed that students understand better when taught in their indigenous language which is embedded, programmed and installed in them than when taught in a foreign language. Professors of English and Nobel laureates have attested to this fact. To make matters worse, some parents forbid their children from speaking their indigenous language with the erroneous belief that speaking Yoruba, Ibo, Hausa or any other indigenous language would affect their study of the Queen's English. English is not just a lingua-franca in Nigeria. It has become a second mother-tongue. If our languages are our trademark; a sign that we come from a particular country, what happens when we are ashamed of our identity and even forbidden to flaunt our Africaness? If the next three generations are forbidden from speaking their ethnic language, wouldn't we have an England in Africa? Isn't that what people call pseudo-imperialism? What then is the benefit of being an independent country if you aren't free to speak your language?