Kayode Olabanji, Okitipupa
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The General Cordinator of Ejule-Nen 93.7 Fm, a local radio station in Okitipupa, Mr. Oluwole Fasalejo has called on the Federal Government to help in promoting the country’s rich cultural heritage through indigenous languages of ethnic groups.
Fasalejo, told newsmen in Okitipupa, that the country’s indigenous languages were fast going into extinction.
Most children in recent times could no longer speak their dialects which they termed “vernacular, he said.
He therefore, urged the Federal Government to give more licenses for indigenous radio stations to spring up in order to promote indigeneous languages in the country.
He added that children who no longer understand their dialects would benefit immensely through information, news and programmes emanating from the local radio stations and in turn promote the cultural norms and values.
The media practitioner said the country’s lingua franca was English language but must be careful not to make it erode its own various dialects which forms the basis of Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage.
Fasalejo, appealed to parents to ensure they also teach their children their dialects and ensure they understand it better before teaching them the foreign languages, saying “charity begins at home”.
He, however, urged the Federal Government to enforce Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa languages in schoos’l curricular as compulsory subjects which students must pass before gaining admissions into higher institutions to further promote the languages.