The Nigerian government has approved a new National Language Policy that will mandate the use of local languages as a language of instruction for primary school pupils and remove English.
The policy was announced by Nigeria’s Minister of Education Adamu Adamu on Wednesday after it was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in a meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, local media reported.
“[T]he government has agreed now that, henceforth, instruction in primary schools; the first six years of learning will be in the mother tongue,” the minister was quoted as saying.
English is Nigeria’s official language. It is also the language of instruction in all levels of education.
The objective of the new policy is “to promote, and enhance the cultivation and use of all Nigerian languages,” Adamu said.
There are about 625 local languages in Nigeria, he said, and the policy would be applied nationally.
"Since the first six years of school should be in the mother tongue. Whereby the pupil is, the language of the host community is what will be used,” he explained.
Adamu said that after the exclusive use of local languages for the first six years of school, the mother tongue would then be combined with English at the junior secondary level.
While the new policy has officially taken effect, it is more in principle, the minister added, as full implementation will only happen once more preparatory work has been done.
“Theoretically, this policy starts from today, but the use of mother tongue is exclusive, but we need time to develop the material, get the teachers and so on,” he said on Wednesday.
Thursday, December 1, 2022
Junior schools in Nigeria to teach in local languages, not English
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
2 Stowaways from Nigeria on Ship's rudder to be deported from Spain
The third person, who suffered hypothermia and dehydration during the voyage, has not yet been released from hospital on Gran Canaria, a local government spokesperson said. Under Spanish law, any stowaway who does not seek asylum must be returned by the operator of the ship to the port where the journey originated, a police spokesman told Reuters.
In a photograph on Twitter by the Spanish coast guard on Monday, the three stowaways are shown hunkered on the rudder under the hull, just above the waterline of the Alithini II.
The 183-metre ship, sailing under a Maltese flag, arrived in Las Palmas in Gran Canaria after setting out from Lagos in Nigeria on Nov. 17 and navigating up the West African coast, according to Marine Traffic.
The ship's captain confirmed to the Red Cross that it had sailed from Nigeria 11 days earlier.
A Canary Islands police spokesperson said it was up to the ship's operator to take care of the stowaways, provide them with temporary accommodation and return them to their origin as soon as possible.
The migrants should, at the least, have been informed of their right to ask for political asylum and should have been questioned before being returned to the ship, said Helena Maleno, director of the migration non-governmental organisation, Walking Borders. "The conditions of the journey are already an indication that something very serious may be behind it because the photos are incredible. We have never seen conditions like this where they have arrived alive," Maleno said.
She added: "These people have to be in a state of shock. They need a couple of days to recover and from there they can explain what they were running from to have made that decision."
Alithini II, owned by Gardenia Shiptrade SA, is managed by Athens-based Astra Ship Management, according to public shipping database Equasis.
Astra Ship Management did not respond to multiple calls from Reuters seeking comment. The Spanish government's representative on the Canary Islands didn't immediately respond to a query on whether the migrants should have been informed of their rights.
The coast guard said the migrants were rescued by a coast guard vessel at about 7 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) on Monday.
The stowaways were treated for moderate dehydration and hypothermia, the Canary Islands emergency services and the Red Cross said. The third migrant, who was in a more serious state, had to be taken to a different hospital on the island.
The Spanish-owned Canary Islands are a popular but dangerous gateway for African migrants attempting to reach Europe. Since 2014, 2,976 migrants have died or are missing after attempting to cross from Africa to the archipelago by sea, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Reuters, by Emma Pinedo
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Video - UK returns stolen Benin Bronzes to Nigeria
A London museum is returning its collection of 72 Benin artefacts - the first institution in the UK to do so on such a scale. British soldiers stole thousands of artefacts in the late 19th century from the Kingdom of Benin, which is now in Nigeria. In recent years, museums in Germany, France and the US have repatriated artefacts looted during colonial wars.
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Nine hostages rescued in northern Nigeria
Nigerian troops have rescued nine people who were being held hostage by bandits in north Nigeria's Kaduna state, an official said Monday.
The rescue mission was carried out by Nigerian troops during a raid on a bandit camp in the Chikun area of the state on Monday, said Samuel Aruwan, the commissioner for internal security and home affairs in the state, in a brief statement.
Aruwan said all the rescued were safe and would be examined further before being reunited with their families.
"The bandits left their camp and ran into the forest after a fire exchange with the troops," he said.
There have been a number of gunmen attacks in Nigeria in recent months, resulting in deaths and kidnappings.
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Student in Nigeria Arrested After Calling President's Wife Fat on Twitter
Human rights groups have called for the release of a student who has been arrested for allegedly insulting Nigeria’s first lady, Aisha Buhari, in a tweet.
Aminu Adamu Muhammed was arrested on the 8th of November after reportedly tweeting in June that Buhari had gotten “fatter by eating the masses’ money.” The 23-year-old was picked up on the campus of the Federal University Dutse in the northern state of Jigawa. It is not clear what specific charges, if any, Aminu is being held under.
“Amnesty International strongly condemns the arrest of #Aminu,” Amnesty International tweeted. “His family and friends alleged that he was held incommunicado and subjected to severe beating, torture and other forms of ill-treatment. Since his arrest neither his family nor his lawyers have had access to him.”
“The Buhari administration must immediately and unconditionally release Aminu Muhammad,” SERAP, a nonprofit legal advocacy group said. “We'll see in court if he's not immediately released.
Aisha Buhari – who regularly faces criticism for appearing to live in Dubai despite her position as first lady – rarely makes public appearances but has been known to occasionally openly criticise members of her husband’s administration.
Aminu’s arrest comes just days after two TikTok creators in Nigeria were sentenced to be flogged for mocking a prominent politician. Mubarak Muhammad and Nazifi Muhammad published a skit criticising Abdullahi Ganduje, the governor of the northern state of Kano.
The pair were also ordered to pay a fine of 10,000 naira (around £17, $23) and clean the court premises for 30 days.
Vice, by Dipo Faloyin
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