SONTA calls for caution on cancellation of National Language Policy 2022

By Editor

THE Society of Nigeria Theatre Artists (SONTA) has expressed deep concern over the recent decision of the National Council on Education (NCE), taken at its convention in Akure, Ondo State (November 3 — 6, 2025), to cancel the National Language Policy (NLP 2022) and designate English as the sole medium of instruction at all levels of education in Nigeria. A statement by the Society of Nigeria theatre Artists (SONTA), signed by its President and professor of theatre and film studies at Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos, Tunji Azeez, on November 25, 2025, said the National Language Policy was designed to promote mother-tongue-based multilingual education, ensuring that children receive instruction in the language of their immediate environment during their first six years of basic education.

“Language is not merely a tool of communication, it is the vessel through which a people preserve identity, transmit values, and project their worldview,” the statement continued. “To dismiss this policy is to undermine the very foundation of Nigeria’s cultural and intellectual heritage. We remind the Ministry of Education and the NCE that the NLP is the product of over four decades of rigorous research and consultation across the educational sector. Its cancellation disregards the collective efforts of scholars, practitioners, and policymakers who worked to safeguard Nigeria’s linguistic diversity.

“The inability of children to communicate or excel academically in their mother tongue is not a justification for abandoning the policy; rather, it underscores the urgent need for its full implementation.”

The theatre scolars also berated the ministry for disregarding global researches that affirm the importance of the use of mother tongues for instructing young ones at their early learning years.

“Global research, including UNESCO guidelines, affirms that mother-tongue instruction enhances comprehension, cognitive development, and cultural confidence,” it further stated. “UNESCO’s proclamation of International Mother Language Day (21st February) further highlights the global consensus on the importance of indigenous languages in education and cultural preservation.

“As the umbrella body of scholars, teachers, and practitioners in theatre, arts, entertainment, and film, SONTA cannot stand by while indigenous languages are relegated to obscurity. Our theatre and film traditions are rooted in these languages, and Nollywood’s global success is inseparable from the cultural authenticity it provides. To erode this foundation is to weaken Nigeria’s creative industries and diminish our global cultural standing.”

The scholarly body also said the new policy poses a huge disservice to Nigeria’s indigenius languages, as it will accelerate the extinction threat facing many such languages, urging all stakeholders in the language spectrum to condemn the new policy and call for its withdrawal.

“The cancellation of the NLP risks accelerating the extinction of minority languages, stripping Nigeria of its rich cultural diversity,” the statement continued. “English remains a colonial language; to elevate it exclusively is to tether Nigeria to colonial legacies at a time when nations worldwide are asserting their cultural independence. SONTA therefore calls on stakeholders, including the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL), the Linguistic Association of Nigeria (LAN), the National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN), National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP), Nollywood guilds and associations, Civil Society Organizations, UNESCO, Nigerians in the diaspora, and all patriotic individuals, to prevail upon the Minister of Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, and the NCE to reverse this decision. Preserving the National Language Policy is essential to protecting Nigeria’s cultural heritage and securing the future of generations yet unborn. Nigeria must not become a laughing stock, clinging to colonial apron strings while the world advances toward cultural self-assertion and preservation.”

Prof. Tunji Azeez