Academy inducts 46, demands mother tongue education

The Nigerian Academy of Letters inducted 46 new members, comprising a modern philosopher and senior pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Professor Oladele Balogun. In their 28th convocation, the academy also recognized 11 regular Fellows and two distinguished Nigerians as honorary Fellows during their induction ceremony in Lagos.

The academy's President, Prof Andrew Haruna, called for the promotion of indigenous languages and cultural expressions in Nigerian classrooms to protect national identity during the lecture titled "Mother Tongue Education Policy and the Path to Nation-Building". He emphasized that neglecting mother tongue education poses a significant threat to Nigeria's national identity, intellectual development, and nation-building efforts.

Haruna urged the federal and sub-national governments to prioritize indigenous languages, arguing that the country has been attempting to build a nation using foreign linguistic tools for decades. Professor Oladele Balogun, a member of the academy, warned that indigenous languages might become extinct if parents, scholars, and the government do not take proactive measures to promote their use among younger generations.

He stressed that the declining use of mother tongues is endangering the preservation of the country's culture and values.