Nigeria’s indigenous languages to face extinction within 70 years – Linguists

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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.

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Children, parents and experts said urban lifestyles had reduced children’s exposure to indigenous languages and weakened intergenerational transmission.

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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.

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She said she frequently interacted with her grandparents, aunt and uncle before moving from Bida, Niger, to Abuja three years ago.

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“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.

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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.

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Benjamin Mitu, from Plateau, said he and his wife adopted English at home because they spoke different indigenous languages and feared confusing their children.

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“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.

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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.

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“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.

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Rebecca Ibrahim said preserving her indigenous language was a deliberate family policy, adding that she spoke her local dialect with her children at home.

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She said she also encouraged her children to visit their grandparents during holidays to strengthen their understanding and use of their indigenous language.

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“My parents taught me our indigenous language and they are still helping me to teach my children,” Ibrahim said.

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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.

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Michael Peter recalled growing up where indigenous-language use, was compulsory, while folktales, songs, proverbs and regular visits to ancestral communities strengthened cultural knowledge.

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Peter urged parents to become more intentional about preserving cultural identity by encouraging regular use of indigenous languages and passing traditions to younger generations.

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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.

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Anunobi warned that many indigenous languages faced extinction because of neglect and reduced intergenerational transmission, threatening cultural identity, traditional knowledge and community diversity.

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She advocated education in indigenous languages, saying it could improve literacy, comprehension and academic performance while helping children maintain connections with their cultural heritage.

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Educationist Funmi Soyoye dismissed concerns that teaching children indigenous languages could undermine English proficiency, saying multilingual exposure could strengthen communication and language-learning abilities.

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“The brain is not a bucket. Learning a second language does not push out the first. The brain is like a muscle,” Soyoye said.

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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.

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“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.

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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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