Linguists estimate that if current non-transmission trends persist, many of Nigeria’s more than 500 indigenous languages could face severe endangerment or extinction within 50 to 70 years.
Children, parents and experts said urban lifestyles had reduced children’s exposure to indigenous languages and weakened intergenerational transmission.
Maimuna Egigogo, 12, a resident of Kubwa, said that she understood Nupe but could not speak it because her parents communicated with her mainly in English.
She said she frequently interacted with her grandparents, aunt and uncle before moving from Bida, Niger, to Abuja three years ago.
“But since I came to Abuja, everyone around me, including my parents, speaks only English, so I think that is why I cannot speak my dialect,” she explained.
Amina Bello, a mother of three, said she did not speak Ebira with her children because she believed English would give them educational and social advantages.
Benjamin Mitu, from Plateau, said he and his wife adopted English at home because they spoke different indigenous languages and feared confusing their children.
“I do not want a situation where I speak my indigenous language while my wife speaks hers and the children end up learning neither language well,” he said.
Stephen Adeniyi, another child, said he spoke only English because his parents worked long hours, leaving him mostly with school and domestic staff who communicated in English.
“My parents do not have the time to teach me our indigenous language because of work, so I do not really blame them,” he said.
Rebecca Ibrahim said preserving her indigenous language was a deliberate family policy, adding that she spoke her local dialect with her children at home.
She said she also encouraged her children to visit their grandparents during holidays to strengthen their understanding and use of their indigenous language.
“My parents taught me our indigenous language and they are still helping me to teach my children,” Ibrahim said.
Emmanuel David, an Itsekiri, said he would struggle to converse with his parents if they stopped speaking English and switched completely to their indigenous language.
Michael Peter recalled growing up where indigenous-language use, was compulsory, while folktales, songs, proverbs and regular visits to ancestral communities strengthened cultural knowledge.
Peter urged parents to become more intentional about preserving cultural identity by encouraging regular use of indigenous languages and passing traditions to younger generations.
Prof. Chinwe Anunobi, Chief Executive Officer of the National Library of Nigeria, expressed concern over the global decline of indigenous languages during the 2026 International Mother Tongue Day event.
Anunobi warned that many indigenous languages faced extinction because of neglect and reduced intergenerational transmission, threatening cultural identity, traditional knowledge and community diversity.
She advocated education in indigenous languages, saying it could improve literacy, comprehension and academic performance while helping children maintain connections with their cultural heritage.
Educationist Funmi Soyoye dismissed concerns that teaching children indigenous languages could undermine English proficiency, saying multilingual exposure could strengthen communication and language-learning abilities.
“The brain is not a bucket. Learning a second language does not push out the first. The brain is like a muscle,” Soyoye said.
She said children could transfer sentence construction, storytelling and vocabulary skills acquired in indigenous languages to English, especially when encouraged to read and communicate bilingually.
“When a child learns how to build a sentence, tell a story or use a proverb in Igbo, they transfer that skill to English,” she said.
Soyoye said that children needed exposure to quality English and indigenous languages, warning that poor use of both languages, rather than bilingualism, could affect effective communication.
Vanguard News
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