At the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), many students and workers take pride in speaking Hausa. With English relegated, their non-Hausa speaking colleagues are left in the lurch. MUNEER YAQUB writes.

Language is the most potent tool of communication. It projects identity and promotes cohesiveness, especially in a homogeneous society. For a multi-cultural society, such as Nigeria, with over 300 ethnic groups and more than 200 dialects, adopting a common language would help in unifying the diverse ethnic nationalities.


English is Nigeria’s lingua franca. It is the language of instruction and communication in official and unofficial circles. Many schools frown at  those who communicate in other language than English.

But at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), many students take delight in speaking Hausa.

For students who don’t understand Hausa, living among native Hausa speakers comes with its own challenges. Such is the ordeal of Jasper Adegunloye (not real name), a native of Ogbomoso in Oyo State, who was accused of a crime he did not commit.

Besides English, the only other language he speaks is Yoruba. His quest for tertiary education took him to Sokoto, a predominantly Hausa-speaking society. Now in his third year, he narrated how he was accused of theft by his colleagues.

“It was in the library,” he recalled.

After long hours of study, Jasper came out of the library to fetch his bag that he dropped in the perforated shelf at the library entrance. Having forgotten the exact place he kept his bag, he started opening all holes in the shelf in search of the item. But, he was challenged by a library official, who thought he was up to something else.

“It was the most horrible day of my life. I had thought the official was a student, trying to challenge me. He yelled at me in Hausa. I was lost, since I don’t understand the language. I snapped back at him and told him I didn’t understand what he was saying. He didn’t understand English. We couldn’t understand ourselves. Before I knew what was going on, he held me by my shirt and dragged me to the security unit.

“Unfortunately, the guards on duty couldn’t understand English too. This gave the guy a chance to change the narrative. Before I was allowed to explain my own side of the story, I had been treated as a criminal,” Jasper recounted.

The matter got to a head. His case was taken up by the security unit and he visited the unit for two months before he was finally acquitted.

He said: “My student Identity (ID) Card was seized, along with my library card. I was not allowed to study in the library for the rest of the semester. This affected my academic performance, all because I could not speak Hausa to people who do not understand English. This was an employee of a federal university for that matter.”

At the female hostels, there is an agreed time for putting off the light. Bilqees Abu, an Ebira, lives in an hostel with Hausa roommates. She has an ear for Hausa, but she cannot speak it.

For Bilqees and her roommates, the light in their room must be put off by 11pm. But, one of her roommates broke the rule because she wanted to wash her clothes.


Bilqees said: “She turned the light on. I wouldn’t sleep if the light is on. Even though her action got me angry, I suppressed my emotion and refrained from letting out my complaint.”

It became unbearable for Bilqees when the roommate later started a loud conversation with others.

Bilqees said: “I couldn’t take it anymore. So, I stood up from my bed and walked carefully to her corner in order not to disturb others in the room. I politely told her to switch off the light. But she looked at me scornfully and yelled at me, asking how she was disturbing my sleep. I was shocked. Then, she faced her friends and started insulting me in Hausa right there in my presence.

“Unknown to her, I understood every word she said. And she was shocked when she had discovered I understood everything she said. I was so annoyed and almost fought with her that night. To be honest, language barrier can cause a crisis in this school.”

Rodiyah Omotoyosi, a student from Ekiti State, was surprised when she found that Hausa is the major language of communication in the school.

“You can imagine my horror when I found out that staff of the school, whether a lecturer or a cleaner, speak Hausa to everyone,” she said.

Rodiyah said she had been having communication challenges since she was admitted into the school. Most of her classmates speak Hausa more than they speak English, she added.

She said: “I had thought things would take a turn for the better once I settled down, but to my utmost surprise the reverse has been the case. I had issues with a group of security officers the first time I visited the school’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Centre to complete my registration. With my flowing hijab, they thought I must be Hausa.

“They started speaking Hausa to me, but I could not comprehend. I had to scream that I didn’t understand the language. They thought I was ill-mannered. It was when they realised I don’t understand their language that they spoke English.”

Kolawole Muhyideen greeted a non-teaching staff in English and was surprised when he responded in Hausa. The student said he didn’t know how to respond to Ina Kwana.

“He saw the confusion on my face. When I explained what I came to do in his office, he still would not speak in the language I would understand. I was disappointed. He kept responding to my inquiry in Hausa,” he said.

When the non-teaching staff eventually spoke English, Kolawole said the grammar and accent were worse than speaking Hausa.

He added: “I wish I had allowed him to speak Hausa, because I couldn’t pick anything from all he was saying. His English was so bad. It was even worse than Hausa. I was so sad. Why would an office in a university, with students from diverse backgrounds, be occupied by someone who cannot even properly communicate in English?”

The language barrier  also reflects in the classroom between lecturers and students. Subjects that should be taught in English are, sometimes, delivered in Hausa to enable Hausa speakers understand the subjects.

Murtadoh Abdullahi, an Education and Islamic Studies student from Ogun State, said he had such an encounter with a lecturer.

“It was my first time in Arabic class,” Murtadoh said, adding: “The lecturer announced that only Arabic was allowed in his class. In the middle of the lesson, the lecturer switched to Hausa. And this went on for about half an hour. I drew his attention to the rule he had set, and to the overwhelming non-Hausa population in the class.

“Although he switched back to Arabic later, he completed the lecture with a mixture of Hausa and Arabic. At this point, I knew any effort to call him to order might seem like confrontation. And that was how the lecture ended his teaching and I gained nothing. Even though I prepared to face such challenge in the school, I never imagined that it could be that bad.”

Isa Ismail, though based in Katsina, does not understand Hausa. He is a Yoruba native. He is disappointed at the manner religious activities on the campus are conducted in Hausa. He said he likes to participate in religious activities, but the language remains the hindrance.

Dean of Students’ Affairs (DSA), Prof Aminu Mode, in his reaction said the management was not aware of what he called the unacceptable” develoment.

He said: “Lecturers are not supposed to use any other language aside from English to teach in the class, even if the topic is Arabic related. The acceptable language of instruction is English, and it is unfair to the rest of the students who don’t understand any other language beyond English.”

The dean said it would be an aberration for Hausa students studying in Yoruba land to be taught in a language they won’t understand. He said it would be wrong for any lecturer to impose native language on students apart from the official lingua franca.

He advised students to report cases of victimisation based on language to senior officers of the university, promising to raise awareness about the need to keep English as the official language of communication on the campus.




http://thenationonlineng.net/the-language-barrier-at-danfodiyo-varsity/

How can somebody use Hausa to teach Further Maths.


It happens in the North.

This country is a big joke.

Youth Service years back, a Graduate. A Graduate sent me this text.

**Congratulation dear friend more greece to your elbow**

Shocking to find there are Yorubas in UDUS.

English got no expression like mother's tongue










Borno people are #team ba bu turenshi

Omo wetin person wey im head correct find go sokoto university?
Na sexy gels on hijab im find go dia?Abi na flexing?Abi na standard quality education you find go dere?Im dey very obvious say the person no like im life.

I rather skool in Djibuti biko.

If we all were diligent like this,we won't have issues of a dying language.
India,China,Philippines,Indonesia,Russia,Germany use their languages which is why you have to learn their languages first.

If you aren't comfortable, come to your state and study.

statusquoante:
Shocking to find there are Yorubas in UDUS.

you need to travel

at least they can speak Hausa well.....some people can neither speak their language nor English well.......

I don't understand why they are complaining.

Ebira and Oyorubas are slaves to Awusas and ought to understand their masters tongue.

Or did they not see Ogbomoso Technical College or Okene University before venturing into Boko Haram University?

[s]

LadySarah:
If we all were diligent like this,we won't have issues of a dying language.
India,China,Philippines,Indonesia,Russia,Germany use their languages which is why you have to learn their languages first.

If you aren't comfortable, come to your state and study.

[/s]

All these one Nijeriya defenders like yourself seem not to understand that the very reason for a Mutli-cultural marxist society is geared towards creating a mono-culture.

If you believe in multicultural marxist one Nijeriya guinea pig experiment then you must accept the fact that it is meant to strip you of your native tongue and culture.

By the next generation, Yoruba language will be come extinct in Yoruba land and will be replaced by Hausa language.

UDUS is a very useless school.

If any one should complain it isn't a Yoruba because I know that in some parts of Osun and Oyo if you can't speak Yoruba you are literally OYO.

Even in a cosmopolitan urban environment like Lagos, Yoruba language is required in navigating the urban slum transport system or in battering in the sewer stinks called markets.

Or is there no discrimination in Yoruba universities against non-yorubas especially those who can't speak the language?

lol, so funny and painful.
I once went to my alma-mata for transcript application, I spoke to the woman in english and she responded, so when I was to fill the form, she saw my name and state of origin, na so she talk sey so i be yoruba com dey yarn oyinbo since, i was like wetin u want make i speak before, you cant believe she stopped responding in english to me immediately.
I also had similar issues during my service year in Akwaibom, we were trying to settle a dispute btw corps members and mgt, the teachers and state rep from min of education just start to dey use ibibio narrate their side of the tori, i told them that its wrong most especially in the circumstance at hand, they no ans, i just walked out, na dem call me back to do normal

Juliusmalema:
At the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), many students and workers take pride in speaking Hausa. With English relegated, their non-Hausa speaking colleagues are left in the lurch. MUNEER YAQUB writes.

Language is the most potent tool of communication. It projects identity and promotes cohesiveness, especially in a homogeneous society. For a multi-cultural society, such as Nigeria, with over 300 ethnic groups and more than 200 dialects, adopting a common language would help in unifying the diverse ethnic nationalities.


English is Nigeria’s lingua franca. It is the language of instruction and communication in official and unofficial circles. Many schools frown at  those who communicate in other language than English.

But at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), many students take delight in speaking Hausa.

For students who don’t understand Hausa, living among native Hausa speakers comes with its own challenges. Such is the ordeal of Jasper Adegunloye (not real name), a native of Ogbomoso in Oyo State, who was accused of a crime he did not commit.

Besides English, the only other language he speaks is Yoruba. His quest for tertiary education took him to Sokoto, a predominantly Hausa-speaking society. Now in his third year, he narrated how he was accused of theft by his colleagues.

“It was in the library,” he recalled.

After long hours of study, Jasper came out of the library to fetch his bag that he dropped in the perforated shelf at the library entrance. Having forgotten the exact place he kept his bag, he started opening all holes in the shelf in search of the item. But, he was challenged by a library official, who thought he was up to something else.

“It was the most horrible day of my life. I had thought the official was a student, trying to challenge me. He yelled at me in Hausa. I was lost, since I don’t understand the language. I snapped back at him and told him I didn’t understand what he was saying. He didn’t understand English. We couldn’t understand ourselves. Before I knew what was going on, he held me by my shirt and dragged me to the security unit.

“Unfortunately, the guards on duty couldn’t understand English too. This gave the guy a chance to change the narrative. Before I was allowed to explain my own side of the story, I had been treated as a criminal,” Jasper recounted.

The matter got to a head. His case was taken up by the security unit and he visited the unit for two months before he was finally acquitted.

He said: “My student Identity (ID) Card was seized, along with my library card. I was not allowed to study in the library for the rest of the semester. This affected my academic performance, all because I could not speak Hausa to people who do not understand English. This was an employee of a federal university for that matter.”

At the female hostels, there is an agreed time for putting off the light. Bilqees Abu, an Ebira, lives in an hostel with Hausa roommates. She has an ear for Hausa, but she cannot speak it.

For Bilqees and her roommates, the light in their room must be put off by 11pm. But, one of her roommates broke the rule because she wanted to wash her clothes.


Bilqees said: “She turned the light on. I wouldn’t sleep if the light is on. Even though her action got me angry, I suppressed my emotion and refrained from letting out my complaint.”

It became unbearable for Bilqees when the roommate later started a loud conversation with others.

Bilqees said: “I couldn’t take it anymore. So, I stood up from my bed and walked carefully to her corner in order not to disturb others in the room. I politely told her to switch off the light. But she looked at me scornfully and yelled at me, asking how she was disturbing my sleep. I was shocked. Then, she faced her friends and started insulting me in Hausa right there in my presence.

“Unknown to her, I understood every word she said. And she was shocked when she had discovered I understood everything she said. I was so annoyed and almost fought with her that night. To be honest, language barrier can cause a crisis in this school.”

Rodiyah Omotoyosi, a student from Ekiti State, was surprised when she found that Hausa is the major language of communication in the school.

“You can imagine my horror when I found out that staff of the school, whether a lecturer or a cleaner, speak Hausa to everyone,” she said.

Rodiyah said she had been having communication challenges since she was admitted into the school. Most of her classmates speak Hausa more than they speak English, she added.

She said: “I had thought things would take a turn for the better once I settled down, but to my utmost surprise the reverse has been the case. I had issues with a group of security officers the first time I visited the school’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Centre to complete my registration. With my flowing hijab, they thought I must be Hausa.

“They started speaking Hausa to me, but I could not comprehend. I had to scream that I didn’t understand the language. They thought I was ill-mannered. It was when they realised I don’t understand their language that they spoke English.”

Kolawole Muhyideen greeted a non-teaching staff in English and was surprised when he responded in Hausa. The student said he didn’t know how to respond to Ina Kwana.

“He saw the confusion on my face. When I explained what I came to do in his office, he still would not speak in the language I would understand. I was disappointed. He kept responding to my inquiry in Hausa,” he said.

When the non-teaching staff eventually spoke English, Kolawole said the grammar and accent were worse than speaking Hausa.

He added: “I wish I had allowed him to speak Hausa, because I couldn’t pick anything from all he was saying. His English was so bad. It was even worse than Hausa. I was so sad. Why would an office in a university, with students from diverse backgrounds, be occupied by someone who cannot even properly communicate in English?”

The language barrier  also reflects in the classroom between lecturers and students. Subjects that should be taught in English are, sometimes, delivered in Hausa to enable Hausa speakers understand the subjects.

Murtadoh Abdullahi, an Education and Islamic Studies student from Ogun State, said he had such an encounter with a lecturer.

“It was my first time in Arabic class,” Murtadoh said, adding: “The lecturer announced that only Arabic was allowed in his class. In the middle of the lesson, the lecturer switched to Hausa. And this went on for about half an hour. I drew his attention to the rule he had set, and to the overwhelming non-Hausa population in the class.

“Although he switched back to Arabic later, he completed the lecture with a mixture of Hausa and Arabic. At this point, I knew any effort to call him to order might seem like confrontation. And that was how the lecture ended his teaching and I gained nothing. Even though I prepared to face such challenge in the school, I never imagined that it could be that bad.”

Isa Ismail, though based in Katsina, does not understand Hausa. He is a Yoruba native. He is disappointed at the manner religious activities on the campus are conducted in Hausa. He said he likes to participate in religious activities, but the language remains the hindrance.

Dean of Students’ Affairs (DSA), Prof Aminu Mode, in his reaction said the management was not aware of what he called the unacceptable” develoment.

He said: “Lecturers are not supposed to use any other language aside from English to teach in the class, even if the topic is Arabic related. The acceptable language of instruction is English, and it is unfair to the rest of the students who don’t understand any other language beyond English.”

The dean said it would be an aberration for Hausa students studying in Yoruba land to be taught in a language they won’t understand. He said it would be wrong for any lecturer to impose native language on students apart from the official lingua franca.

He advised students to report cases of victimisation based on language to senior officers of the university, promising to raise awareness about the need to keep English as the official language of communication on the campus.




http://thenationonlineng.net/the-language-barrier-at-danfodiyo-varsity/

This is why we must laud what Lagos State has passed into Law that all students attending and receiving academic instructions in Lagos State must study and be proficient in Yoruba.

If Sokoto had a similar law this student would have taken Hausa in 1st and 2nd year and have skill to communicate. If he is not happy with studying Hausa or is unwilling to then he should stay in Yorubaland.

KAHBOOM:
Omo wetin person wey im head correct find go sokoto university?
Na sexy gels on hijab im find go dia?Abi na flexing?Abi na standard quality education you find go dere?Im dey very obvious say the person no like im life.

I rather skool in Djibuti biko.

LOLS..I go rather school for Eriteria.

If dat school was the last school on earth i rather be a dumb stark illiterate.

[s]

MayorofLagos:



This is why we must laud what Lagos State has passed into Law that all students attending and receiving academic instructions in Lagos State must study and be proficient in Yoruba.

If Sokoto had a similar law this student would have taken Hausa in 1st and 2nd year and have skill to communicate. If he is not happy with studying Hausa or is unwilling to then he should stay in Yorubaland.

[/s]

I guess you will need a piece of legislature ensuring language compliance when your language is about to go extinct.

If you can even tell us the original name of Yoruba instead of using the Awusa derogatory maybe we can be take you serious.

You pass legislation to protect a shrinking ecosystem or an endangered animal. Is Yoruba or Oyoruba facing extinction?

And again, if you must accept Multi-Kulturalism then you must be ready to face the consequences.

Finally, no piece of useless rubber stamped legislature can save Oyorubas from their own self endangerment - the Yoruba Muslims have already sold all of you down the river. The Fulani is just waiting for the delivery date.

TarOrfeek:


How can somebody use Hausa to teach Further Maths.


It happens in the North.

This country is a big joke.

Youth Service years back, a Graduate. A Graduate sent me this text.

**Congratulation dear friend more greece to your elbow**

Further Maths and Medicine is taught in Chinese language. Go figure.

networkgenuis:


Further Maths and Medicine is taught in Chinese language. Go figure.

Chinese language has it's own written Characters. Other than Ethiopia, which African language has it's own written codex?

networkgenuis:


Further Maths and Medicine is taught in Chinese language. Go figure.

Any subject can be taught in indigenous language.

MayorofLagos:


Any subject can be taught in indigenous language.

Pray tell what is the oyoruba term for the following:

Tangent

Circumference

Radius

Differential

Matrix

Cosine

Radian

Vector

Infinitesimal

Trigonometry




Because a parrot can mimic words of a human doesn't mean it speaks and understands it.

LadySarah:
If we all were diligent like this,we won't have issues of a dying language.
India,China,Philippines,Indonesia,Russia,Germany use their languages which is why you have to learn their languages first.

If you aren't comfortable, come to your state and study.

Gbam!

TylerDurden:


Chinese language has it's own written Characters. Other than Ethiopia, which African language has it's own written codex?

Off topic.

PS: read up on Ajami script.

networkgenuis:


Off topic.

PS: read up on Ajami script.

A dead scribble that none of you can decipher

It probably predates yoruba race or else why isnt it in use?

TylerDurden:


A dead scribble that none of you can decipher

It probably predates yoruba race or else why isnt it in use?

SMH.

You'd see a student who graduated with first class or second class finding it difficult to express his/her with other colleagues from east or south. A Master's student once told me that he preferred lecturers to be speaking hausa language during the lecture times instead of english. He further added that english is difficult to understand.Just imagine!