𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵: 𝗔 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀
During a trip to Kano in July, I paid a visit to my mother’s alma mater, St. Louis Secondary School, Kano. I was accompanied by a friend, Dr. Abdullahi, from Bayero University, Kano.
On arrival, the first person we met was the Hausa teacher, who was an indigene of Kano. Dr. Abdullahi was surprised to learn that it is compulsory for students at both the primary and secondary school levels to learn Hausa. I, however, was not.
You see, I’ve observed a quiet but consistent pattern across the country, one that places the Catholic Church as an unheralded defender of Nigeria’s indigenous languages.
Years earlier, in Calabar, the Catholic Board of Education was the first institution to approve my Efik language books for use in schools. Recognising the need for students to access more modern materials for learning Efik, the Board’s Secretary even wrote a recommendation letter endorsing my books for use across Catholic schools within the Calabar diocese. Those books have now been in continuous use for over four years in nursery, primary, and secondary schools across Calabar, an experience that has given me a front-row view of how institutional support can sustain the vitality of an indigenous language in education.
This commitment isn’t unique to Calabar. Across Nigeria, Catholic schools often make the study of local languages compulsory. In the South East, students must learn Igbo; in the South West, Yoruba; and in the North, Hausa. This consistent emphasis on linguistic identity sets Catholic schools apart in a time when many government institutions struggle to find teachers or maintain effective indigenous language programs.
While public schools in Calabar and other Nigerian cities, often lament the “lack of teachers” problem, the Catholic Church continues to prioritise and institutionalise the teaching of African languages. This is not merely an educational choice; it’s a form of cultural preservation.
It is my belief that state governments across Nigeria have much to learn from this model. By partnering with religious institutions that already have structured educational systems and a sense of mission, we can ensure that our languages do not slip into endangerment, but instead, remain living vehicles of thought, heritage, and identity.
The Catholic Church may not always make headlines for it, but in many ways, it has long been one of the silent defenders of African languages.
TONY TOKUNBO ETEKA FERNANDEZ 