<div dir="ltr"><h1 class="gmail-story-body__h1">Letter from Africa: Why Nigeria needs multi-lingual soldiers</h1>
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<ul class="gmail-mini-info-list"><li class="gmail-mini-info-list__item"><div class="gmail-date gmail-date--v2">6 December 2017</div></li></ul>
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</figure><p class="gmail-story-body__introduction">In our series of
letters from African journalists, the editor-in-chief of Nigeria's Daily
Trust newspaper, Mannir Dan Ali, says instead of shouting to be heard,
Nigerian soldiers have been told to learn more languages.</p><p>The new
regulation came in characteristic military fashion, giving soldiers a
window of one year to learn to speak Nigeria's three main languages.</p><p>It did not specify whether those unable to do so by November 2018 would lose their jobs.</p><p>The
languages in question - Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba - represent the three
dominant communities in the country, but that still leaves out a large
number of Nigerians from the country's several hundred other ethnic
groups.</p><p>Army spokesman Brigadier General Sani Usman Kukasheka has
since clarified that soldiers need only learn the basics, but those with
a certified level of proficiency will get bonuses. </p><figure class="gmail-media-landscape gmail-no-caption gmail-body-width">
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</figure><h2 class="gmail-story-body__crosshead">Mannir Dan Ali:</h2><figure class="gmail-media-landscape gmail-no-caption gmail-full-width">
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</figure><p><i>"Most Nigerians keep their distance from
soldiers, who are mostly heavy handed and unfriendly to those they refer
to derogatorily as 'bloody civilians'"</i></p><figure class="gmail-media-landscape gmail-no-caption gmail-body-width">
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</figure><p>He explained that the idea was to help soldiers to
carry out their duties more effectively and earn the trust of the
communities in which they were deployed. </p><p>If the initiative
succeeds, Nigerians will be in for a shock when they hear greetings -
such as "sannu" in Hausa, "ekason" in Yoruba or "kedu" in Igbo - from
those in military fatigues. </p><p>Most Nigerians keep their distance
from soldiers, who are mostly heavy handed and unfriendly to those they
refer to derogatorily as "bloody civilians".</p><h2 class="gmail-story-body__crosshead">Unifying force</h2><p>Nonetheless,
the Nigerian military is seen as one of the most nationalistic and
unifying institutions in the country - with many of its personnel in
cross-cultural marriages because of their postings.</p><figure class="gmail-media-landscape gmail-has-caption gmail-full-width">
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Critics feel more emphasis needs to be put on training and tactics rather than language learning
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</figure><p>A soldier will have served in all parts of Nigeria - Africa's most populous country - during the course of his or her career.</p><p>For those with a <span style="font-size:inherit"><a id="gmail-PXLINK_2_0_1" class="gmail-pxInta" href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-42239130#">gift</a></span> for languages, it is an opportunity to learn in the areas they are deployed or from colleagues from other regions. </p><p>English
is the formal language of the military and government - and even with
the new requirement, will remain the official language. </p><p>But in
the years after independence in 1960, there were more northerners at
junior levels of the army, meaning that Hausa, the lingua franca of the
north, was often used to aid communication between the lower ranks and
officers. </p><p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-38000387" class="gmail-story-body__link">Pidgin English</a>
is also commonly used among soldiers from different areas especially in
the famous "mammy markets" in barracks, where the soldiers go to unwind
away from the drudgery of parade grounds or operation zones. </p><h2 class="gmail-story-body__crosshead">Language of Boko Haram?</h2><p>The
new language policy appears to stem from the challenges the military is
currently encountering as it continues to be called upon to assist the
police in handling law-and-order situations.</p><p>Soldiers are deployed in more than 30 of Nigeria's 36 states in one internal security operation or another.</p><p>The
military's crackdown on Islamist insurgents in the north-east has
brought with it new challenges - mainly those of non-conventional
warfare but linguistic too.</p><p>However, Kanuri - the dominant language of Boko Haram militants - is not among the languages soldiers are now required to learn.</p><p>This is despite the eight-year insurgency, in which some 20,000 people have been killed, being far from over.</p><p>Likewise, Ijaw - widely spoken in the restive oil-producing Niger Delta area of southern Nigeria - is not compulsory. </p><p>The
Delta militant groups, who say they are fighting for a greater share of
the resources for local communities, still occasionally attack
pipelines and are behind numerous kidnappings for ransom.</p><figure class="gmail-media-landscape gmail-has-caption gmail-full-width">
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Militants in the Niger Delta generally speak Ijaw, not one of the three compulsory languages
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</figure><p>Critics of the new measure also say that it may be
counter-productive to lay emphasis on learning more languages when the
army should focus more on training, strategy and tactics to actually
contain these problems.</p><p>They suggest that a few talented
translators may do a better job during interrogations and
intelligence-gathering - instead of every soldier with a gun.</p><p>Nigeria's lower house of parliament - the house of representatives - has already stepped into the matter.</p><p>It has asked the army chief to stop the implementation of the new policy, saying it is discriminatory and harmful to the <span style="font-size:inherit"><a id="gmail-PXLINK_1_0_0" class="gmail-pxInta" href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-42239130#">cohesion</a></span> of the army. </p><p>The
MPs said that as Nigeria is home to about 400 languages, compelling
speakers of other languages to learn the three major ones would be
unfair - and gave some an undue advantage.</p><p>This controversy may
prompt the army to mind what innovations it implements in future as
tries to grapple with the challenge of supporting the police to keep
everyone safe in the country.</p><p>But as it stands, the military chief is unlikely to be saying sorry for this policy - in any language.</p><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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