Ovokoo:
In Nigeria's multi ethnic society, we have come to embrace pidgin English to be able to communicate effectively with one another. The use of pidgin in different Nigerian cities vary due to several variables. So, these are the cities in Nigeria wehre pidgin engish is most spoken.

1. Warri: Warri is reputed as the capital of pidgin English in Nigeria and there’s word going around that pidgin English actually started there. We’re not sure of that but what we’re sure of is the fact that pidgin made in warri is a delight to other pidgin speakers throughout the country. Pidgin Englsh has eclipsed other languages such as Urhobo, Isoko, Ijaw, Itsekiri which are indigenous to Warri and it's environs.

2. Port-hacourt: It is not surprising that port-hacourt is in the number 2 position considering the fact that the state that houses the city is made up of several ethnic groups like the Ikwerres, Ijaws, Igbos, Ogonis and pidgin English is an easier way for a lot of people to communicate with one another.

3. Lagos: Lagos is reputed as one of the most cosmopolitan cities not just in Nigeria but Africa. Despite the fact that English is the predominant languages being used in the state of excellence, especially in official capacities, pidgin English is one way for the different ethnic groups that call Lagos home can effectively communicate to one another and is has arguable surpassed the ethnic Yoruba language in terms of use.

4. Benin: The ancient city of Benin just like it’s neighbour, Warri is a home of pidgin English and people who live in Benin speak it so well due to the convergence of different tribes in the ancient kingdom.

5. Yenagoa: The capital of Bayelsa state despite being an almost all Ijaw speaking is reputed as one of the places in Nigeria with a strong Pidgin English base. This may e unconnected with the fact that it is sandwiched by states with different ethnicities.

6. Abuja: Abuja represents the crème de la crème of Nigerian cities and despite how posh a lot of people tend to appear, you cannot take away pidgin English from a city that refers to itself as the city of unity. The city is represented by people from different backgrounds ranging from Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Efik/Ibibio, Igala, Egbira, Idoma and so on.

7. Calabar: The major language spoken in Calabar is efik but due to the fact that cross river state is a multi ethnic state, there;s an adoption of pidgin English by a lot of these people who live in Nigeria’s first capital city.

8. Asaba: Asaba has grown from a small Igbo town on the western side of the Niger to what is seeming as a conglomeration of not just Igbos from different parts but for people from different parts of Delta state who have to adopt pidgin English to be able to communicate effectively.

9. Ibadan: The reputed largest city in west Africa is a hub of modern day Yorubanism. It’s a city that reflects what the Yorubas have been able to do for themselves and this has attracted people from all over the country to add their flavour to the city. So, whenever you find yourself in Ibadan, apart from the dominant Yoruba language, you’ll see people communicating in urbanized pidgin English.

10. Owerri: Owerri, which is often reputed as the las vegas of Nigeria is a tourist hotbed for people from different parts of southern Nigeria who want to escape the busy life in places like Port-hacourt and Lagos and have a nice time in Owerri. It’s also the city that boasts of one of the largest number of tertiary schools in Nigeria and has attracted people from cosmopolitan backgrounds from all over the country, so it’s no surprise really that pidgin English is almost as common as Igbo language.


Source: http://ovoko.com.ng/top10-nigerian-cities-pidgin-english-spoken/

Kindly remove Owerri, Asaba, Ibadan and Calabar from that list. In those 4 cities Igbo, Efik and Yoruba far outweigh Pidgin in ratio of over 70:30.

Niger Delta + Edo is the only places Pidgin is spoken well. Even Lagos I hear mostly Yoruba or Igbo depending on location.

Afam4eva:

There are more pidgin English speakers in Lagos than Warri, Benin and Port-hacourt put together. The only difference is that pidgin is not the only language of choice. There are millions who speak only English and those that speak only Yoruba, Yoruba and pidgin or English ad Yoruba. There also those who speak Igbo, Igbo and pidgin or Igbo and pidgin. let's not forget those that speak hausa and other languages. The competition is just fiercer for languages than in places like Port-hacourt, Warri and co.

plz re read waht you wrote,.Who are the pidgin English speakers in Lagos?typical lagosians or migrated lagosians? Go to the car park, waht language do the touts speak?
come to warri or sapele waht language do the touts speak?
bear i n mind there are more people in Lagos than warri, more so we are not talking about how many people speak waht but the originality and its roots.

ClintonNzedimma:

no city I repeat no city speaks pidgin like warri

If u are talking about accent and style try Sierra Leone, Warri will look like child play but if u are talking scale and population, warri is an ant compared to the giant that is Lagos.

Lagos is the English and Pigeon English capital of Nigeria followed by Abuja, then Warri, Port Harcourt, Benin and Asaba

janellemonae:


It's not abt competition, it's about prevalence. When u move somewhere u tend to pick up on d prevalent language spoken there. I know someone dt moved to warri & after a while started speaking pidgin (sthn he never spoke before) because it was widely spoken around him & was prevalent wt everyone. Same thing happens wt pple dt move to Lagos, they pick up Yoruba because it's prevalent. I've never seen anyone move to Lagos & picked up speaking pidgin.

Yes, it's possible to move to lagos and pick up Yoruba but there are millions of people in this same Lagos that cannot speak Yoruba to save their lives. No one comes to Lagos to learn pidgin English because they probably already know how to speak it to some extent wherever they're coming from. We're basically saying the same thing. Pidgin English is not the major attraction in Lagos but it is very prevalent just like English and Yoruba.

BrutusOj:
I agree with you 100percent. those guys speak *from back to front* e.g, an average Nigerian pidgin goes like this " two of una"( two of you) while, a confirmed wafi goes like this "una two".

ahaha correct, U know wassup, you know the Jamaicans speak like that as well, they will say *Unu two

erico2k2:

plz re read waht you wrote,.Who are teh pidgin English speakers in lagos?typical lagosians or migrated lagosians? Go to the car park, waht language do the touts speak?
come to warri or sapele waht language do the touts speak?
bear i n mind there are more people in Lagos than warri, more so we are not talking about howmany people speak waht but the originality and its roots.

Some of you are just unbelievable. When we say lagos, we're talking of all people who live in Lagos and not indegenes. It's also weird that you chose car park and touts to pass your message. I could also ask you to go to Alaba, Computer village and idumota and claim that Igbo is more prevalent than pidgin English in Lagos just because they speak it heavily in certain places.

Lagos shouldn't come before Benin in the right order.

And what is Ibadan doing there when Enugu and Onitsha are missing in the list?

OK I want to write a simple pidgin English,Plz lagosians we sabi re write it in simple English


*Akpos abeg wetin dey, arrange me H*,if bross arrange me I go square you back*.
This should be very simple.

Afam4eva:

Yes, it's possible to move to lagos and pick up Yoruba but there are millions of people in this same Lagos that cannot speak Yoruba to save their lives. No one comes to Lagos to learn pidgin English because they probably already know how to speak it to some extent wherever they're coming from. We're basically saying the same thing. Pidgin English is not the major attraction in Lagos but it is very prevalent just like English and Yoruba.

I learnt primary Yoruba in Lagos. You can hardly learn Urhobo or Itsekiri in Warri.

Afam4eva:

Some of you are just unbelievable. When we say lagos, we're talking of all people who live in Lagos and not indegenes. It's also weird that you chose car park and touts to pass your message. I could also ask you to go to Alaba, Computer village and idumota and claim that Igbo is more prevalent than pidgin English in Lagos just because they speak it heavily in certain places.

You are missing the point, grassroots language of a local population would be spoken in the car park, and this is fact.
So I stand to be corrected.

Joavid:
remove Ibadan from that list.

Folks who grew up in Ibadan can't speak Pidgin.

.. hahaahh ... not true .. my friend at sch is a perfect example .. dude speaks pidgin like his life depends on it

Abagworo:


I learnt primary Yoruba in Lagos. You can hardly learn Urhobo or Itsekiri in Warri.

I can't remember where i argued this fact. My point is that not everyone who comes to Lagos learns Yoruba. There are milliions of Igbo people in Lagos that neither understand or can speak Yoruba. The best they can mutter is owa, ekaro, kilonshele and other basic words.

erico2k2:

You are missing the point, grassroots language of a local population would be spoken in the car park, and this is fact.
So I stand to be corrected.

You can't be corrected about something you made up unless you have a legit source where you got this stuff you call fact.

If Lokoja isn't on the list then then OP needs better consultation

If Lokoja isn't on the list then the OP needs better consultation

erico2k2:

ahaha correct, U know wassup, you know the Jamaicans speak like that as well, they will say *Unu two

exactly. I trip for warri pidgin, sounds like we have America English with swags

unstableaswater:


If u are talking about accent and style try Sierra Leone, Warri will look like child play but if u are talking scale and population, warri is an ant compared to the giant that is Lagos.

Lagos is the English and Pigeon English capital of Nigeria followed by Abuja, then Warri, Port Harcourt, Benin and Asaba

look around u bro...evry1 is rooting for Warri even Lagos boys...
PIGEON...This argument is over

Afam4eva:

Yes, it's possible to move to lagos and pick up Yoruba but there are millions of people in this same Lagos that cannot speak Yoruba to save their lives. No one comes to Lagos to learn pidgin English because they probably already know how to speak it to some extent wherever they're coming from. We're basically saying the same thing. Pidgin English is not the major attraction in Lagos but it is very prevalent just like English and Yoruba.

Trust me d millions dt can't speak or hear some Yoruba are way less dn d millions dt can.
No need to continue dis argument though.

If Lokoja isn't on the list then the op needs better consultation

Afam4eva:

You can't be corrected about something you made up unless you have a legit source where you got this stuff you call fact.

Ok the question is who speak more pidgin English, remember not howmany people but where its largely spoken.
So you can do the sampling,divers warri of grounded Ijaw,itsekiri,Urhobo ,Isoko, they chose Pidgin as a common way of communication on a grass root basis.
lagos on the order hand has just Yoruba as grounded, every other tribe are tenants.

ritababe:


so for your mind na only Benin they yarn pidgin for Edo? my friend go and do your research, we speak pidgin everywhere in Edo.

The length and breadth of Edo and Delta Speak good pidgin though some places speak better pidgin than others. but I think there are some places at the Northern part of Edo that might not be so good in Pidgin but all the part of Delta flow good in pidgin including the rural parts.

janellemonae:

Trust me d millions dt can't speak or hear some Yoruba are way less dn d millions dt can.
No need to continue dis argument though.

Do you mean Yorubas or non Yorubas or both? If you're saying that there are more Non Yorubas who understand Yoruba than those who don't then you're very wrong. Infact Non Yorubas who understand and speak Yoruba are in the minority. Majority cannot speak the language. No need to continue this argument

gerg:
The length and breadth of Edo and Delta Speak good pidgin though some places speak better pidgin than others. but I think there are some places at the Northern part of Edo that might not be so good in Pidgin but all the part of Delta flow good in pidgin including the rural parts.

The Igbo speaking parts nko?

Jacksparr0w127:
Ibadan?

I give up

They are doing Federal Character thing.
Warri
Benin
PH

.............and other SS cities follow.
Lagos is the place many 15 years old kids cannot speak pidgin. Seen many.

Even the fluent pidgin speakers of Lagos are mostly from SS/SE/NC. With exposure to these people some Yoruba Lagosians improve their pidgin.


Lots of teenagers from Osun, Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo who come to Lagos cannot speak good pidgin initially. Some never really master it. They understand it well though.

SE people also improve their pidgin outside SE. Because they travel widely, they usually master it quickly.

Pidgin should be an official language.

Europeans/Americans and others should come and be learning Pidgin from us.
.

Abeg, Lagos is predominantly Yoruba.

AreaFada2:

They are doing National Character thing.
Warri
Benin

.............and other SS cities follow.
Lagos is the place many 15 years old kids cannot speak pidgin. Seen many.

Even the fluent pidgin speakers of Lagos are mostly from SS/SE/NC. With exposure to these people some Yoruba Lagosians improve their pidgin.
good
Lots of teenagers from Osun, Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo who come to Lagos cannot speak good pidgin initially. Some never really master it. They understand it well.

SE people alsi improve their pidgin outside SE. Because they travel widely, they usually master it quickly.

Pidgin should be an official language.

Europeans/Americans should come and be learning Pidgin from us.
.

Nice analysis.

anibi9674:
wida na pH niggazz no day dis room.

It's a funny list. Take PH to number 1, because no city in Naija has more pidgin English speakers than PH. Warri just have their own accent that's all. Pidgin speakers in PH as compared 2 Warri is like 3:1.

Who dey yarn DAT Sanya say Lagos rep for pigeon pas wafi? I pray o.

Afam4eva:

The Igbo speaking parts nko?

which Igbo speaking part? Seems you don't know anything about Delta. Deltans were not put in one state by mistake. study our history and our culture and you'll know there's only a slight similarities.

Ekinematics:


It's a funny list. Take PH to number 1, because no city in Naija has more pidgin English speakers than PH. Warri just have their own accent that's all. Pidgin speakers in PH as compared 2 Warri is like 3:1.

na lie....some job interviews here are in pidgin....Warri is the pidgin capital.....no doubt

gerg:
which Igbo speaking part? Seems you don't know anything about Delta. Deltans were not put in one state by mistake. study our history and our culture and you'll know there's only a slight similarities.

Are you saying no part of Delta state speaks Igbo or anything like Igbo

Ekinematics:


It's a funny list. Take PH to number 1, because no city in Naija has more pidgin English speakers than PH. Warri just have their own accent that's all. Pidgin speakers in PH as compared 2 Warri is like 3:1.

who's talking about number of speakers? they're talking about percentage of speakers and fluency