Abstract

This study is an incisive overview of issues bordering on language policy and planning in multi-lingual Nigeria. British rule in Nigeria marked the beginning of doom for Nigerian languages. This was because English was entrenched constitutionally in sensitive and significant spheres of nation-building: education, administration, politics and international diplomacy. Language policy in Nigeria was partly aimed at assigning roles to the major languages (Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba) so as to curb the excess dominance of English over them. No significant attention was given to the numerous minority languages. In this study, Nigeria’s ethnography is not only discussed, but its implications on forward-looking language policy for Nigeria is examined. The study concludes that language problems in Nigeria linger because apart from not being clearly articulated, language policies in post-colonial Nigeria are not implemented with truism and tenacity.