Tongues of tomorrow: Reviving identity through indigenous language literacy in Nigeria

By Olufemi Timothy Ogunyejo

IN a city where culture cradles knowledge and tradition walks side by side with transformation, history was inked afresh on Monday, June 16, 2025, at the Mahogany Hotel, Jericho, Ibadan. The occasion was no ordinary gathering—it was the official flag-off of the Nigeria Literacy Book Adaptation Project. It has as theme ‘Promoting Early Grade Reading through Culturally Relevant Storybooks in Indigenous Languages.’ A collaboration between Room to Read, a globally celebrated nonprofit organisation, and Nigeria’s forward-thinking Accessible Publishers Ltd, this landmark initiative seeks to breathe new life into early-grade education by weaving Nigeria’s indigenous languages—Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba—into the fabric of children’s literature.

Amid this atmosphere of cultural renaissance, Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Oyo State, Dr. Wasiu Adewale Olatunbosun, delivered a stirring goodwill message that echoed like a talking drum across the hall, calling hearts and minds to attention.

With ‘Language is the Ladder of Legacy’, Dr. Olatunbosun, whose voice rang with patriotic fervour and cultural clarity, captured the soul of the event with a simple but powerful truth, when he said, “Promoting indigenous languages to our children is not merely an educational pursuit—it is a cultural resurrection. A child taught in their mother tongue learns not just letters, but lineage. They don’t just read—they remember.”

Drawing deep from the well of wisdom, the commissioner described indigenous languages as “the heartbeat of heritage, the melody of memory and the root of our identity,” and warned against letting our linguistic legacy slip into silence in the era of globalisation and digital dilution.

Dr. Olatunbosun further lavished praise on Room to Read and Accessible Publishers, describing their partnership as a “noble narrative of necessity”, and a shining example of synergy between global vision and local voice. He noted that this initiative aligns harmoniously with the creative economy agenda of Governor Seyi Abiodun Makinde, a blueprint designed to harness culture as capital and tradition as treasure.

The grandeur of the event was matched by the galaxy of distinguished guests and stakeholders present. From policy architects to pedagogical pioneers, the audience was a blend of brilliance and influence. Among the dignitaries were senior officials from the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), delegates from Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), chairpersons and representatives of State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) across Nigeria, prominent linguists, translators, and education scholars from leading universities and media organisations, cultural custodians and literary luminaries.

At the core of this historic event lies a cause as critical as it is cultural: to reclaim our children’s minds from foreign scripts by reconnecting them to their mother tongues. As a Yoruba proverb has it, “Ti a bá sọ̀rò ẹni, ká má bà á nù” (We must speak our own language so it doesn’t get lost.) And this project seeks to ensure that Nigerian children do not merely whisper their language at home, but read it, write it, and wear it like a badge of honour.

Dignitaries at the event

Indigenous language literacy is not just about comprehension; it is about cultural confidence, cognitive development, and classroom connection. A child who reads in their language reads with heart—and a nation that reads in its language thinks with depth.

With books as bridges and words as weapons and through the adaptation of culturally rooted storybooks, the new initiative will build bridges between generations, connecting elders’ tales to children’s texts. It is turning oral folklore into written wonder, turning bedtime stories into building blocks of identity. With each adapted book, a seed is planted in the soil of self-awareness. With every story read in Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba, a mirror is held up to the soul of a Nigerian child.

As Dr. Olatunbosun poetically stated, “These books are not just bound by paper, but by purpose. They do not just open pages—they open possibilities.”

In a world where cultural erosion looms like a shadow over our screens and schools, the Nigeria Literacy Book Adaptation Project emerges as a lighthouse that beckons us back to the shores of self in a future framed in familiar tongues. This is thanks to the tireless efforts of Room to Read, the innovation of Accessible Publishers Ltd, and the unwavering support of visionaries like Dr. Olatunbosun, Nigeria is not only reading, it is remembering.

And as these books are handed to the children, it’s not merely giving them stories—they are being given roots, wings, and a voice that speaks the soul of a nation. Let the world read in English, but let Nigeria never forget how to dream in Yoruba, reason in Hausa, and sing in Igbo and other Nigerian languages and wake up those already slipping into extinction. For in our languages lie our legacies, and in our stories our survival.