Developing and Promoting Multilingualism in Public Life and Society in Nigeria

Abstract

The need to develop and encourage the use of local, national and official linguistic codes in Nigeria for both domestic and international usage cannot be overemphasised. In order to achieve a rapid political, economic and sociocultural change in the country, all academic and specialised institutions and corporate organisations in the local and federal governments, should mobilise, inform and educate the old and young, illiterate and literate, male and female, lowly and highly placed individuals across the diversified ethnolinguistic groups in their respective codes. In other words, these institutions, organisations and various levels of government cannot clearly and effectively perform to the expectations of their respective communities unless they can understand and be understood by their host communities. This paper examines the linguistic and sociolinguistic importance of adopting a multilingual approach in solving Nigeria's complex linguistic problems in public and social life at the various levels of government as well as in academic and specialised institutions, in strict compliance with the country's past and current language policy.