How Religion Undermines Nigeria's Development

(By Okenyi Kenechi) – I have never seen a dilapidated church. I have seen hundreds of dilapidated schools.

In my home town, the schools are rotting away while church buildings are growing bigger. No industries, just churches.

I once told someone that if the churches in Port Harcourt were to be transformed into industries, unemployment will vanish within one year and crime will be brought to a screeching halt. He agreed. 

Truth is, if a politician asks a certain village what they will prefer to be built for them, chances that they will chose a church will be higher.

Doubt me? Gitto in a bid to show appreciation to former president Goodluck Jonathan, asked him to chose one thing they will build for his village people and he chose a church. I don't know if there are world class hospitals in Otuoke or standard schools but he chose a church.

Language and National Development

Indigenous Languages and Development in Nigeria

By A. H. Amfani

1. INTRODUCTION The present Institute for Nigerian Languages of the University of Nigeria is not a new institution.  It is the former National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN).  Indeed the function and the objectives are very much the same.  Essentially, the Institute is all out to cater for the development and sustenance of all Nigerian languages.  However, under the new administration of the Institute and especially under the stewardship of Professor Clara Ikekeonwu, and in line with the vogue around, and more so one initiated by women of caliber, we shall all expect a re-branding of the entire activities of the institute.  This public lecture is part of the re-branding.

I have been called upon, in my capacity as the President of the Linguistic Association of Nigeria, to talk on the topic Indigenous Languages and Development in Nigeria.  The topic sounds simple and straight forward, but on a close examination, it is elusive and controversial.  On one hand, it is not easy to say with some degree of precision, the number of indigenous languages available in Nigeria.  On the other hand, it is equally not easy to convince people that indigenous Nigerian languages have any significant role to play in the overall development of the Nigerian nation.  My task in this talk is to try and give a picture of the indigenous Nigerian languages with a view to sensitizing Nigerians on the need to appreciate their mother tongues.  Another task is to explain how indigenous Nigerian languages can play significant roles in various sheds of development.  It must be pointed out here and now that development is a very wide concept and subsumes quite a number of issues.