The Learner

  By Muhsin Ibrahim   Language  is   one  of the most amazing things in the world. We often overlook  its  influence  in our lives  because  it is  mundane . W e all use a language ,  verbally   or non-verbally ,  daily. We acquire language , i.e.,  we   grow up speaki ng  effortlessly. Thus, we don't care much about its profound  impact and influence   on how we interact with others, think about and view the world .   We had international conferences on Africa in  Cologne, Germany and San Francisco, United States.  This short piece is about something other than  the many academic papers  presented; it is about  how hearing someone speaking our language  or a local language   we are familiar with  in a foreign country attracts our attention.   In both Cologne and San Francisco, I observed a pattern. People speaking the same language form a circ...

By Muhsin Ibrahim Following the publication of Skills Rather Than Just Degrees by Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), a debate raged on whether to obtain a degree certificate or acquire skills in northern Nigerian cyberspace. To my knowledge, Prof. Abdelghaffar Amoka Abdelmalik of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, offered the best response, which put the final nail in the coffin of the debate. For the past few days, we have been busy (again) arguing whether or not English proficiency can be a measure of one's intelligence. But, unfortunately, these controversies in sections of northern Nigerian cyberspace aren't only unneeded but also detrimental to the region. A few other concerned friends and I have said enough about the two topics. However, some things are worth repeating. Here are two points. First, school is not a scam. Even Islam, the religion most of us practice, is totally pro-education. So, obtain that degree certificate and learn that skill. The two aren't mutually exclus...

I initially posted this on Facebook. I believe it should be here for other people outside Facebook. Enjoy! We must address this weak argument that no country develops using a foreign language. Frankly, it is doing more harm than good to us. So many people bring it up as their reason to not learn English or respect this essential language entirely. Eventually, many people miss several opportunities within and, especially, outside Nigeria due to their lack of English language skills. Nigeria was colonised. Like many other former colonies, Nigeria is a multilingual country. However, unlike Europe (Germans speak German; French people speak French; Italians have Italian, etc.), most former colonies comprise speakers of several languages, making it challenging to elevate one above others without others crying for discrimination, marginalisation, etc. I know that Tanzania, among a few others, succeeds with Swahili. :)   The last time I checked, India had more English speakers than the Uni...

Muhammad Muhsin Ibrahim @muhsin234 Wait, the pidgin I know? That’s for the uneducated folks only. Did you just say that? Then you are wrong. The importance of this debased language is far beyond what you think. This is not a new discovery. It’s a fact. That’s why many people campaigned for the pidgin (or, better, the c reole ) spoken in their countries to be formalised, standardised and even officialised. But that was  barely   achieved in a few nations like Papua New Guinea , the Philippines and Sierra Leon . Although India is far more diverse than Nigeria, many Indians are often amazed that we speak English among ourselves, and not ‘Nigerian’. They think there is a popular language used in the country by that name the same way Hindi is in India. We only have Nigerian Pidgin English (NPE) spoken by a healthy minority, I would say, and scores of other languages. A detour: India’s other names are Hindustan (the root word of Hindi, a popular language, and Hinduism,...