THE NIGERIAN DIALECT

                                                          THE NIGERIAN DIALECT

I have identified language as a major aspect of culture although dressing gives us first impression yet not all individuals can identify their cultural dress patterns; this is because some cultural groups dress almost very similar if not the same way. This is unlike language.

Presently in Nigeria there is civil unrest, terrorism and rebels are moving against the government and these are a function of cultural disputes in the country. I had also noticed that since Nigeria is a multi ethnic society there is lack of respect for other cultural values .I also observed that the maiming and killing of citizens and destruction of properties are religiously engineered which has it bed rock on cultural heritage.

The northerners have a popular terror group called the bokoharam, which have every thing against western education. The eastern parts have the Movement for Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB). The southern parts have the Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND). The common characteristic of these militia groups is that they are of different cultural values. They speak different languages. The north speak Hausa, the east speak Igbo while the southerners although are made up of different languages they are from the same cultural origin.

I also noticed that cultural groups that speak the same or closely related languages are usually mutually attracted towards each other. I tried this practically in my class .we are 176 in the class and almost half of the class are Ibos, hence these persons are usually found together and when discussing they speak their dialect; you are automatically integrated into their midst if you can speak their language. Then I concluded that language has a special bond with which it binds ONLY those who knows how to speak them.

This is a huge problem for a country like Nigeria having almost 300 dialects. After psychologically thinking about this, I found out that for peace to reign we should develop a National dialect. This should not be the language of our colonial masters because it would grieve the northerners since they have always oppose any innovations from the west, also it should not be any dialect from the north this is because the other parts of the country would not appreciate it. When language barrier is broken then more than half of the nation’s problem is solved. This is because terrorism, corruption and injustice all have their pivot in tribalism in which language is a pillar.

Hence I thought that if this dialect were to be discovered and becomes functional it should be something that would be accepted and learned without difficulty. It should make us united. It should go a long way to stopping tribalism. When we all speak one language it would discourage segregation.

My first point of thought went to the Nigerian pidgin. This is widely accepted because it has its origin from most of the dialects in the country and from the English language. All regions of the country speak it. I have also noticed that it is more fluent than the various dialects in the country. If widely accepted it will be more fluent than the English language, this is because unlike English language that is a borrowed language the Nigerian pidgin is indigenous. It should be integrated into the educational system just as the English language. It should be an official language for the Nigerian people.

This national dialect if accepted would metamorphose into a national culture where other aspect of culture would be integrated into it. A new Nigeria would be discovered. This is not saying that the various ethnic groups would no longer exist; of course they would; but the power and significance they wield in causing social and economic divide would be reduced to a ceremonial level, which is what is needful for Nigerians to remain united. If we have a Nigeria of one language then invariably that language is The Nigerian dialect.