Language and Governance in Nigeria: A Symbiotic Relationship (Published)
Language is one of those natural endowments bequeathed to man by nature to empower him and adequately position him to be the lord and master of his environment. Thus, it is unimaginable or even absurd to conceive of any human endeavour where language does not play a prominent role. But given the prevailing attitude in developing world, Africa in general and Nigeria in particular, it would appear much attention is not usually paid to language when the theme of discourse is governance. In fact, if the factors that enhance governance were to be highlighted, language may be the last or not even mentioned at all. In view of this erroneous attitude and impression, this paper sets out to establish that a symbiotic relationship exists between language and governance, that is to say that the two phenomena are unarguably intertwined that none can maximize its potentialities in the absence of the other. The paper further reviews the lapses noticed in the Nigerian language policies, which have retarded language development in Nigeria. The paper, therefore calls on the actors in the theatre of governance to come up with feasible language policy as well as language planning in order to create enabling environment for the development of the existing languages in Nigeria.
Keywords: Governance, Language, Nigeria, symbiotic relationship