Thursday 20 June 2013

Niger as the Intellectual Capital: The Historical Perspective



 By

Isyaku Bala Ibrahim

Intelligence is a function of IQ, which is a brain activity that allows interpretation and transformation of generated impulses into logical and meaningful data and ideas that have the ability to change or shape man and his society. The process of this transformation might not follow structured and guided principles from the formative period to the growth of an individual. However, actors in a group responding to such impulses tend to act in tandem towards a common but unpronounced objective. The brain or the mind, or an individual is central to the strategic development of the society through the implementation of his thought-out dreams or visions. This will however push him to thinking of being patriotic, having good sense of morality, faith, togetherness, cooperation, peace, and unity; and empowering people for the society to prosper. Patriotic thinking points to selflessness in delivering service at one’s endeavour in pursuit of a common goal. The goal of societal growth is hinged on making it better than one meets it. Morality is therefore the feeling of high consciousness of our being which guides one’s behaviour not to infringe on the other or breach societal norm. Perhaps, in a bid to reshape society that is why teachers, statesmen, academics and writers like Abubakar Imam, Cyprian Ekwensi, Etsu Muhammadu Ndayako, Etsu Muhammadu Kobo, Malam Abubakar Zukogi, Professor Shehu Bida, Prof Bawa Salka, Prof Aaron Tsadu Gana, and the like spent a greater part of their lives penning ideas. Therefore, Niger is one of the foremost entities in Nigeria with a strong literary heritage.

So, intellectual power is the conditioning of the mind towards generating meaningful ideas to solve societal problems. These ideas hold the key to national development which can be frustrated with uneducated populace. This approves of the nobility of Dr. Babangida Aliyu’s drive to use intellectual power as a platform for engendering stability, development and prosperity in Niger State. A literate society can only prosper under the following parameters or indices:
1.     High Concentration of Intellectuals, meaning high concentration of thinkers and researchers, meaning high concentration of creative products, alternatives and choices.

2.     Functional Educational Institutions, because citizens perpetually become intellectually challenged arising from the proliferation of critical populace seeking answers to topical ideas and buoyed curiosities, which only educational institutions can help to deflate.

3.     Innovative Printing and Publishing Centres, because well thought out ideas must be recorded formally and shared to enable new approaches, knowledge and discoveries reach wider audiences to accelerate growth and development. 

4.     Turnout of Literary Works: Books, Journals, Newspapers, Magazines, Monographs, etc. suddenly, the society that was once dormant in thought becomes cultured in book development, which is the most reliable and concrete form of idea preservation, documentation and dissemination.

5.     Vibrancy of Bookshops, Libraries, Archives, Museums, etc. A society of books grows simultaneously with book depositories and sale houses. This gives citizens affordability and accessibility in a more formal channels that encourages readership and distribution.

The Intellectual legacy of Niger State has a long and historic tradition in its favour in modern day Nigeria, its silence about it for a long time has not encouraged scholarship in young Nigerlites.  Nevertheless, Nigerlites have made their educational, creative, intellectual and political marks across Nigeria with enduring legacies upon which Nigeria was built and for the future. So, the current crow of Niger State Government over intellectualism has an undisputable Iroko root in the intellectual struggle of Nigeria’s early nationalists and compatriots for which the state and the country as a whole grew.

Early Literary Icons of Niger State Extraction from Nineteen Century

From the nineteenth century, intellectual activities of that era were primarily centred on the missionary activities of both Islam and Christianity, even though, the Islamic missionary activities predated the Christian one which was majorly facilitated before and during the colonial era. The Northern region and partly south-western part of the country are predominately Muslims, which were familiar with the Arabic orthography and scriptures, and hence used it to communicate in their local languages. In the North, Ajami was very popular among the people who applied it in the day-to-day activities of the emirate, court, and Madarasa administrations and other interactions. Then we have Hausa, Kanuri, and Nupe Ajamis, and this is partly the reason why our early currencies reflected a fusion of a local language written with Arabic letters on a part targeting the acceptance of the North, and on the other part pure colonial language with Roman letters, which could not go down well with some people recently as the later was sustained, the former is history.

In the 1840s, the Christian missionary activities began with Europeans and Americans opening mission stations around different countries (Chiefdoms and Kingdoms). One of the foremost kingdoms at that period was the Nupe Kingdom, where stations were opened at Lokoja, Patigi, and Tsonga owing to presence of Niger River that allows easy access to the Kingdom.  These missions led to publication of first sets of books in local languages thereby winning converts to the new faith. Thereafter, anthropologists also performed different adventures uncovering interesting findings about the kingdoms in their published books and journals around the world.  In that period, Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther among others was commissioned to evangelize the Niger River territories which saw him moving to and from Eggan, Dibo, Kakanda, Lafiyagi, Bida etc. meeting prominent notables like Etsu Aliyu of Lafiyagi and Etsu Muhammadu Saba (Masaba) in several occasions during the Niger Expedition, and this led to his interest in Nupe Language and published books like Prima Woro (1842), and A Grammar and Vocabulary of the Nupe Language (1864).
  
However, writers whose works were published before Nigeria’s independence fall into this clique (first generation). The emergence of indigenous writers, the first literary icons in the country like the Kagara-born Alhaji (Dr.) Abubakar Imam Kagara popularly known as Abubakar Imam was a most desired accomplishment to the handicapped indigenous literary environment. He pioneered the trend in the country with his most celebrated publications which have enduring legacies and contributed greatly to the growth of indigenous language literature i.e. Hausa language in Nigeria. This also gave him an edge above other African writers, who used the colonial languages of Portuguese, French, or English to develop literature in the continent in that era.  James Hubbard stressed the achievement of Imam in his book, Education under Colonial Rule: A History of Katsina College, 1921 – 1942 that, “The fate of literary ventures involving college graduate improved after 1937. In 1935-36, Abubakar Imam (Abubakar Kagara),… wrote a three – volume Hausa work, in the style of a thousand and one nights, called Magana Jari Ce (Hausa: Literature is capital).” This trilogy were advanced school readers and the government’s financial arrangements then were more generous than for the novels project, as sales and distribution were not a problem, he added. Imam’s considerable talents was discovered after talent hunt of the 1932, prior to writing of Magana Jari Ce with his first book, Ruwan Bagaja which stunned the Judges, hence, won the contest in 1933. Thereafter, he was commissioned to write more books which yielded the three volumes of Magana Jari Ce, published between in 1938 and 1939, a model for Hausa colloquial prose as a lot of people had had their literary development through these classical tomes.

While Abubakar Imam’s three volumes of Magana Jari Ce were concurrently published between 1938 to 1939, Chinua Achebe’s first book Things Fall Apart was published in 1958 just before Nigeria’s Independence, and Wole Soyinka’s work was published in 1969 - The Bacchae of Euripides. It was a rebranding of the Pentheus fairytale.  Imam is the real pioneer of true African literature in the country using the indigenous language which was well received among his target audience and speakers in the West African region specifically in Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, and Niger to further literary development in a region where books in local languages are scarce. The later-day-greats of Nigerian literature now struggle to translate their works in their own languages. Imam’s intervention strategy was succour to the overall migration from Ajami writings used for centuries to the Roman orthography in his works. This pioneering activism was also at variance from the general adoption of the colonial language by stakeholders as the means of communication in the educational and media systems. These works are considered as truly classical African books in African lingo of Hausa and its development. Imam kindly handed the baton to another Minna-born writer, late Cyprian Odiatu Duaka Ekwensi in 1948 with a dual debut of An African Night’s Entertainment and When Love Whispers. Whoever has gone through these entertainments would have seen Ekwensi’s crafty depiction of his Minnaness in the works.

The media is an important part of any enlightened society as it educates, and inform its populace. Print media is one important area where Nigerlites have contributed immensely to the development of the country. Abubakar Imam became editor of the first Hausa newspaper, Gaskiya Ta fi Kwabo (Hausa: Truth is Worth more than a Penny) which was first printed in January 1939. It charged only a penny for a copy and gearing articles to a wide audience, they had success. Within a year, circulation was 15,000 and the paper’s correspondence columns, in particular, evoked substantial public interest. New Nigerian Newspaper was established by Northern Government in January 1966 as late Malam Mahmud Turi Muhammadu who held from Bida town was its former Managing Director employed by the then government in 1969 and became the managing editor in 1972; he was editor a year later. From October 1976 to March 1980, he ascended to the post of the Managing Director of the newspaper. Mohammed Haruna from Bida worked in the editorial department of the newspaper upon graduation, rising to its Acting Editor in 1981/1982 and becoming the Managing Director in 1985. He retired in 1989. In 1990, he co-founded the Citizen, a weekly magazine, with three other veteran journalists: Bilkisu Yusuf, Adamu Adamu, Kabiru Yusuf and which closed-shop in 1994. Sam Nda-Isaiah is one of the arrow heads of newspaper publishing business in the country, who founded Leadership Newspapers Group in 2004, and another Nigerlite is Alhaji Mohammad Idris, who is Chairman/CEO of Blueprint newspapers Ltd, the publishers of Blueprint newspapers in Abuja. Other ace columnists/opinion drivers and shapers from the state are a common feature in the pages of the national dailies people like, Maikudi Abubakar Zukogi, Muhammad Al-Ghazali, Alkasim Abdulkadir, Prof. Brainy, Dr. M. U. Ndagi, Awaal Gata etc.

The state government’s newspaper – Newsline is one of the oldest and functional government papers founded by the former military governor of the Niger State, Col. David Mark in 1986. In addition, other government publications have emerged under the current regime of Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu such as the Niger State Impact Magazine and The Interpreter which are both capturing the activities of government and the dreams of Nigerilites and ever-ready to get them informed, which is facilitated by the inventiveness and resourcefulness of the Research and Documentation Unit team of the Government House. Hundreds of publications have been churned out by this unit since 2007.

Nigeria’s Nationalists Writers from Niger State (1961-1990)

Most Nigerian writers could not publish their works till after independence. This kind of writers falls into this category. The generation has Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe born in Zungeru, Niger State on November 16, 1904 whose My Odyssey  was published in 1970. This is followed by Mamman Vatsa first published works of Verses for Nigerian State Capitals (Poetry) in 1973. However, the establishment of the Association of Nigeria Authors by Chinua Achebe and others in 1981 marked the continuation of Niger State influence on the literary body, as Vatsa contributed greatly to its emergence and sustenance. Being one of its pioneer members, Major -General Mamman Vatsa donated a large piece of land to the body in Abuja tagged today as the Mamman Vatsa Writers Village in 1985, after holding a national convention there. He was a true nationalist and polyglot-writer who wrote and published several books and poems in Hausa, English, Pidgin (Naija Langwej) and Nupe languages. Vatsa, a Nigerlite pioneered Nigerian Teen Authorship Scheme with his Soldier’s Children as Poets. Today, Niger State has taken the lead in championing this genre. It is currently being popularized by Raji/Dzukogi leadership of ANA through a grant by the wife of Niger State Governor to commence a pilot programme in five states of the federation. Owing to the legendry accomplishments of the body through Mamman Vatsa led the Association to then appeal for his death sentence to be commuted. In the account of Max Siollun, who quoted Soyinka of saying on 4th March 1986 in a synopsis after meeting IBB a day before Vatsa’s execution, “Chinua Achebe, J. P. Clark, and myself met Babangida that day. He (Babangida) came out, and he gave his pledge. He said: ‘Gentlemen, I’m glad you people came, I’m going to throw my weight on the side of mercy, I promise you, I’ll do my best.’ ” Thereafter, he gave up the ghost on 5th March 1986. The legendry achievement of ANA draws it strength from it pioneers such as the Mamman Jiya Vatsa.  

Since then Nigerlites have one way or the other contributed to development of literature on the continent. The 1991 Booker Prize winner, Ben Okri whose stardom was consolidated with his first fiction, Flowers and Shadows (1980) and his award endearing book The Famished Road had his umbilical cord buried in the valley of Minna in March 1959.  Abubakar Gimba joined this group with the publication of his first, Trail of the Sacrifice in 1985 and he thereafter became ANA’s President in 1997. Corpse as a Bridegroom of Yahaya S. Dangana made its debut in 1986. Abdullahi Ismaila unveiled the Demon and other Poems in 1990, and was the former Chairman of ANA, National Assist General- Secretary. In league with Abdullahi were Baba Akote, Ezekeil Fajenyo (Bandaged Candle), Amaechi Odimeze, Jerry Galadima, Godwin Bawa, and later joined by Dzukogi and Kamar Hamza.

The Birth of Niger’s Literary Crusaders (1991 -2012)

The actors of the first and second generations in Niger State were primarily adult authors, but the third and fourth are a class of adult authors along with their children. This is a generation where the mentors are growing along with the mentees. It is a complex generations where the fathers are weaning their sons and daughters into literary maturity and achievements. They have unlimited drives, large heart to outdo their predecessors with high spirit of regeneration through empowerment of the young and curious minds in schools around the state through the following programmes: Annual Schools Carnival of Arts and Festival of Songs, Art Centres, Literature Libraries, Reading projects, Teen Authorship Schemes, Theatre practice, and Writer’s Spell. This is the reason why larger portion of writers in the third and fourth generations are the products of aforementioned programmes. However, despite the complexities of its outlook, these generations can broadly be categorized into two groups: the frontiers & Mentors, and the Mentees. The dynamism, unrepentant activism, functionality and stubborn hope that marked this era (still unfolding) is articulated in Kamar Hamza’s monograph.

The Emergence of a new Frontiers and Mentors

The Minna literary evolution went into lull between 1991 and 1994; a new verve was introduced to the environment when Yahaya Dangana and Godwin Bawa invited and inaugurated Abdullahi/Dzukogi EXCO in December 1994. The executive succeeded in the rediscovering and reinventing strategies that help positioned the literary activities in the state through innovative steps of growing literary outputs in books and in the print media across the country. The pioneers of this generation are Abdullahi Ismaila, Baba Akote [(the Moving Cloud (Poetry)], BM Dzukogi [Midnight Lamp (Poetry)-1996], Saidu B. Musa, Kamar Hamza (Best Book of Rhyme), Lucky Oghuvwu (Mr. Culture) as drivers and anchor leg of the unfolding movement.

The second leg had writers like Khalil Ayuba (Darkness of Doom), who ought to be in the upper category above. Aminu S. Muhammad (Moon and the Star), Nma Hassan, Hasiya Mohammed (A Price to Pay), Alkasim Abdulkadir (International Journalist), Ayuba Pmabi (Voyage through Soul), Shagabo D. Bala, Awwalu A. Sakiwa(Story of Bayajida), Sadisu Mohammad (Inaudible Noise), a Nupe filmmaker, actor, producer and a writer (Short Stories 2004),  Banma Baba Suleiman,  Bilkisu Abarah, Sulay Nsubong (Die and Be Beloved – 2005),  Almamun Malam, Farida Mohammad (Dance with the Ocean – 2009), Awal Avuti, Abba Abdulkareem (Balderdash)

Fireful Mentees and baton holders

Saddiq Dzukogi [Images of Life-2004, Canvas-2011], Zainab Manko [Penalty of an Orphan (Story), 2006], Halima Aliyu [One Little Trick One Painful Death (Story), 2006]; Gimba Kakanda [Safari Pant (Poetry) 2010], B. M. Nagidi [Slaying the Wayfarer (Poetry) - 2011], Paul Liam [Indefinite Cravings (Poetry)-2012]; etc.

Teen and Kid Authors
Fatima Daniyan (the Wicked Mother - Story)
Hauwa Hussaini (Full Moon –Poetry)

Institutional Scholars

Attainment of scholarship and excellence is one important character academicians of Niger State origin are known for in various educational institutions across the country. Though, the state’s first degree graduate was the late Alhaji Shehu Ahmadu Musa who graduated in 1960 from the University College, Ibadan. This landmark achievement opened a path for others, as things have progressed considerably as turnout of intellectuals have increased in pursuit of brilliance for the state. However, there are numbers of thinkers from the state that have made considerable impacts in the development of Education in different fields of knowledge in the institutions of learning around the country. Today, with about 30 Professors and over 60 Ph.D degree holders in different institutions around the country, Niger State has become a breeding ground for scholarship and excellence.  

Professor Shehu Jibrin Bida is the first Veterinary Doctor in Northern Nigeria who graduated from the Veterinary College, Tuskegee, Alabama (1967), M.Sc. from Kansas State University, Kansas, USA (1969); Ph.D from Veterinary College, University of London (1973) and became a Professor of Pathology in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Other intellectuals are Prof. Jonathan Othman Ndagi, the first VC of FUT Minna (1982 to 1990); Prof. Bawa Salka;  Prof. Muhammadu Daniyan, former Rector, Federal Polytechnic Bida (1991-1997), and third VC of  FUT Minna (1997-2002);   late Prof. Ango former Rector of Federal Polytechnic Bida; there is also Prof. Jerry Gana who became professor of Geography in 1985 and three-term minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Prof. Muhammad Bello Audi; Prof J.M. Baba; Prof. Muhammad Kuta Yahaya, former SSG and the Current Chief of Staff to the Niger State Government; and Prof. S. K. Tswanya. The Niger State College of Education had its first provost in person of late Dr. Umaru Sanda Ahmadu (1975-88), Dr. Peter Sarki and lots more.

The Story of the Niger Press
Publishing outfits are central to the attainment of this vision of Niger State intellectual distinctiveness. It will be out of place if one has developed an idea but it can go beyond the right-owner, as bringing it to the fore is the most honourable thing to do. Get it published or printed for the benefit of humanity. So this struggle will be incomplete without the availability of the chains of publishing companies or houses.

Though, Niger State has an entrenched press tradition. The Niger Press was established by Rev. Alexandra Woods Banfield in Tsonga in December 1910, owned by Evangelical Publishers of Canada. It is about the first printing company in the country as Mr. Jason stressed, “Mr Banfield had no previous experience in printing, but his engineering background served him well, and together with a few young men he started printing. Orders were sent in from a number of mission stations, government officials and traders, and it was soon evident that the Press was meeting a real need.” By 1914, Niger Press was in full swing, staffed by Nigerians, and printing and binding were done in about twelve languages: English, Hausa, Yoruba, Nupe, Gbagyi,  Munchi, Yergum, Angas, Sura, Bachama, Jukun and Berom (Burum). The Press published very large or difficult jobs such as: Scripture portions, dictionaries, prayer books and Bible stories, hymn books, readers, primers, catechisms and reading sheets. Not only were these printed, but suitable covers were made and the books bound, a credit indeed to Nigerians who did the work.

In September 1918 E. F. George took over the management of the press as he had vast experience in the printing business. Thereafter, the press owners made an important decision that culminated into the movement of the Press activities to Minna from Tsonga in January 1919 and it was thus better equipped. The decision was reached because they believed  Minna is more centrally situated town on the railway and within easy reach of various mission stations, and hence Minna became SIM’s headquarter in Nigeria. Jos then became the headquarter of the press in 1928 because of its favourable weather to the white men.

In 1958, Niger Press and African Challenge joined forces in Lagos and the name Niger press was changed to Niger Challenge Press to reflect the printing of African Challenge and Yoruba Challenge. Yoruba Challenge was a vernacular magazine, which was later, phased out because it was selling below expectation. Along the way, there came a great change that had adverse effects on the production, distribution and sales of African Challenge and other publications. In February 1966, the Niger Challenge Press was sold out.

Minna and Nigeria’s 1st Bookshop
The first bookshop in the region was opened in 1914 in Minna. It was a missionary shop called Sudan Interior Mission (SIM) Bookshop which had an additional book kiosk at Minna rail station. It thereafter spread into the rest of the country: Jos in 1924, Kano 1945, Kaduna 1957, Lagos 1960, Ibadan 1964, Port Harcourt 1965.

In compliance with the indigenization decree of 1972 promulgated by the then military administration, the name Sudan Interior Movement (S.I.M.) Bookshops had to be changed to Challenge Bookshops in 1974. The name Challenge was deemed more indigenous, and it was felt that the time had come for S.I.M / ECWA to stand on the threshold of indigenization by handing the management of S.I.M Bookshops over to ECWA leaders. As at 1984 there were 36 Challenge Bookshops across the length and breadth of the country. The state today can fly its own kite with prominent bookshops such as Ilmi Bookshop, KC Bookshops and the rest. This is where government needs to do a grand plan for book sales. Real big time bookshops to meet the intellectual capital policy of Niger state must be redesigned to cover all the local governments.

The Intellectual Centres

The economy of most nations today is been propelled by the knowledge power. Knowledge – Based Economy is powered by the strategic human capital development. Therefore, the knowledge power philosophy has the ability to bring faster development to a growing economy like Niger State. So, such economy is People-Centred, where the empowerment of the individual is key to attainment of a common goal or vision. This will also strengthen other sectors such as industry or manufacturing, Agriculture, and tourism. However, the intellectual centres in Niger State are the key educational institutions include: higher educational institutions, primary and post-primary schools (private and public), literary centres and bodies. They are the breeding centres for innovator, idea-breeders and generators.

The First Literary Body in the Country

The first organized literary body in the country is not the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) which came into existence in 1981, but the Bida Literary Society (BLS) established in 1932, which is among the first literary bodies on the continent. James Hubbard wrote about  the literary society that, “In Niger Province, a British plan to have an educated member on each Native Administration council to handle the paper work produced places for Nuhu Agaie, Na’ibi of Agaie, and Suleiman Barau, Iya of Abuja. The only organized group in which college graduates seem to have played a prominent role was the Bida Literary Society. P.G. Harris, District Officer Bida founded the society in 1932 as a meeting ground for educated Africans, both college trained northerners and southern-born clerks. It met every two weeks through at least 1934. It remained, however, a creation of the British and of little significance, political or otherwise.” People like Abubakar Imam, Alhaji Aliyu Makama, Malam Ahmadu, Malam Nuhu Agaie, Suleiman Barau, Malam Ibrahim Jibrin (the father of Prof. Shehu Bida) etc were all pioneer members of this iconic literary body. However, even Christopher Okigbo’s African Authors Association was founded around 1956. Bida Literary Society even predated the Ghana Association of Writer which came to existence in 1957.

Currently, there are four literary bodies in the state whose activities and influences have been overwhelming: Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Niger State Chapter; Bida Literary Society (BLS) – this body’s activities have been very minimal because most members have been absorbed by ANA; Hilltop Arts Foundation (HAF) – a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) has a broad objective of establishing art centres, libraries, and teaching arts across schools in the state for instance, it has centres and libraries in the following places: Hilltop Model Schools, Government Girls Secondary School, Old Airport, Government Secondary School (GSS), Minna; Women Writers’ Association (WRITA) of Nigeria, Niger State Chapter – It is women platform encouraging female writers and young minds to embrace books through it reading and spelling campaigns in the state.

Educational Institutions

Niger State has numerous schools, about 4 Federal Government Colleges, 157 Secondary Schools, 12 Science & Technical Schools, 19 vocational Schools etc.
Universities:
-         Federal University of Technology, Minna (established in February 1983)
-         IBB University, Lapai (established in 2005)
-         Edusoko University, Bida (formative stage)
Polytechnics:
-         Federal Polytechnic Bida (established in 1977)
-         Niger State Polytechnic, Zungeru, & Bida (established 1991)
Colleges of Educations
-         Federal College of Education, Kontagora (1978)
-         Niger State College of Education, Minna (established 1975)
Schools of Health:
-         Niger State School of Midwifery, Minna
-         Niger State School of Nursing, Bida (1977)
-         Niger State School of Health Technology, Minna
-         Niger State School of Health Technology, Tunga Magajiya

Schools of Agriculture
-         Federal College of Fresh Water Fisheries Technology, New Bussa (1978)
-         Niger State School of Agriculture, Mokwa (1979)
Others are:
-         Federal Schools of Aviation, New Bussa
-         Federal College of Wild Life Management, New Bussa (1978)
-         Justice Fati Lami College of Arts and Islamic Legal Studies, Minna

Literary Centres:

Literary centres are the brain of the society, the preserve of its culture, which Niger State is blessed with so many of them. It is however important that Nigeriltes explore the information contained in these places like National Information Centre, Minna; National Library of Nigeria, Minna; Dr. Abubakar Imam Library, Minna; Niger State Archive, Minna; Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu Writer’s Village, Maikunkele (formative Stage); Hilltop Arts Centre (the first literary centre in the Northern Nigeria), Minna; GGSS Art Centre, Minna; GSS Minna Art Centre etc.

Educational Tour Centres

Niger State is a peaceful state and as a result of this disposition, conferences, trainings, meetings, summits, political brainstorming sessions, workshops and seminars are a daily occurrence in the state most especially in the state capital. So, there several educational tour centres available in the state capital such as UK Bello Arts Centre, Justice Legbo Kutigi International Conference Centre, YES Multipurpose Hall, General Abdulsalami Youth Centre, and other  hospitality centres like parks, garden Hotels, sports centres across the state.

Scholarship Enablers

There are Nigerlites who in the course of discharging their duties in governance have contributed to the empowerment of people for the development of the nation. This group is mostly policy-makers and implementers who have challenged people to become the best in later in life.

Alhaji Aliyu Makaman Bida led the trend as the first Minister of Education and Social Services, between 1952 and 1956, and Minister of Finance from 1956 -1966 in the Northern Nigeria. Later, he was very instrumental to the positioning of education in the region including the establishment of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, and Kaduna Polytechnic, and where he served in their boards for over 15 year. He also served in the board of University of Ibadan until his death in March 1980. He was a mentor to thousands of Nigerians.

IBB was a friend of the professionals and writers as seen during his regime which writers and technocrats who were part of his government, people like Professor Wole Soyinka, Dr Tai Solarin, Prof Jerry Gana etc.  Therefore, the NLNG’s The Nigeria Prize for Literature and The Nigeria Prize for Science could not have happened without General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) establishing Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Bonny. Apart of generating more revenue for the government, it is also empowering writers. This singular achievement is a challenge to the subsequent governments after IBB which ended up putting the petroleum sector into hysteria, because the nation cannot longer refine its petroleum products and have refused to build new ones. Assuming IBB did not conceive this NLNG project, and refused to complete the second phase of 150,000bpd capacity Port Harcourt Refinery commissioned in 1989. What would have been the position of LNG Nigeria Prize? So, we applaud the efforts of LNG for empowering scientists and writers across the country, as writers today have the opportunity to win the yearly coveted Prize of $100,000. The Prize award started in 2004 with a maiden reward of $20,000 and grew considerably over the years. Little wonder, IBB was invited to chair one of the Prize awarding ceremonies. Since inception of the honours, the following writers have been rewarded for excellence: the 2004 prize list has Bina Nengi-Ilagha, Omo Uwaifo and Prof Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo with a bit of disappointed as no winner emerged for the year’s literature prize for prose. Ezenwa Ohaeto & Gabriel Okara (Poetry 2005 Winners); Dr. Ahmed Yerima (Drama - 2006);  Prof Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo & Mabel Segun (Children Literature 2007); Kaine Agary (Prose 2008); no winner in 2009; late Esiaba Irobi (2010) and Adeyemi Adeleke (Children Book: Little-Known Mai Nasara 2011).

The advent Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, CON in 2007 as the Governor of Niger State total changed the direction of governance to a more proactive and serious business thereby affecting every segment of the society including the literary environment in an effort to broaden the economic fortunes of the state to include among others a knowledge-based-economy which is being propelled by the development of the intellectual power of the actors/stakeholders. So, this intellectual struggle is moving at a supersonic speed as educational and literary activities of the state have been reinvigorated thereby carving out a dimension toward achieving the broader vision of the state to be among the three most developed economies in the country by the year 2020 with the huge support given to the literary centres in the state. Though, more efforts are needed in some areas of the educational institutions which their managers need to be challenged to be more innovative to strengthened and improve on the quality of their outputs despite the resource change all over. They should be told that their great asset is the will to do it, as nothing is impossible. If they conceive it, they can do it.

References:

Azikiwe, Nnamdi (2004). My Odyssey (An Autobiography). Ibadan: Spectrum Books Limited

Daily Trust Newspaper. Meeting of the Chief Servant with Academics and Professionals of Niger State Extraction (Advertorial ).Vol.29 No.98, July 18, 2012 p.34

Dzukogi, B.M. (2009). Minna: Valley of Poets & Writers. Ibadan: Kraft Books Limited.

Hubbard, James Patrick (2000). Education under Colonial Rule: A History of Katsina College, 1921 – 1942. University Press of America.

Mason, Jim (2009). Literature Outreach in Nigeria: A History of SIM Literature Work 1901 – 1980. Waterloo

Nigeria LNG: The Nigeria Prize. http://www.nlng.com/PageEngine.aspx?&id=61 (accessed 27 August 2012)


Siollun, Max. The Trial of Mamman Vatsa on October 7, 2008 http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/max-siollun/the-trial-of-mamman-vatsa.html  (accessed 25 August 2012)

Translation as a Tool for Language Development – The Nupe Language Experience



  By    


Isyaku Bala Ibrahim

1.0 Introduction
Communication is one important fact that made the world what it is today. It is a world where barriers are falling apart because we can today understand each other more and rightly through conventional and unconventional means. The conventional means are through the use of language and the unconventional means are through technologies. Language is one important aspect of our lives that makes us what we are, human. The ability to speak one's language is another important thing in the life of any individual and for other people who are not one's tribespersons, makes it more interesting. Languages present the identity of our complex world. This complexity is reflected in the multiplicity of the over six thousand languages therein and the interactions among them. These interactions occur as a result of the unrelenting human activities like trade, spread of knowledge, religion, socialization that demand movements or interconnections of societies and their civilizations from one part of the world to another, which poses one important challenge, the challenge of understanding each other; this is where as in the past, the services of ‘interpreters and translators are now more essential to enable both parties understand each other.

2.0 Brief History of Translation/European Renaissance

Somewhere in Spain, and to be exact in Toledo, translation was what triggered the scientific renaissance of the world in the twelfth century. In a presentation by the School of Translators of Toledo asserted,
“The School of Translators of Toledo is considered to be an historical fact which took place in the 12th and 13th centuries. Systematically and with the support of the Archbishopric of Toledo, and of King Alfonso X himself later, many Arabic works which contained part of the Greek, Persian, Indian and Arabic science and philosophy and which have survived until our days were translated. This situation was made possible to the fact that Toledo was the first great Muslim city of Al-Andalus conquered by a Christian kingdom. When Castilian king Alfonso IV conquered the city in 1085, he found out that there were plenty of original works in the libraries of Toledo, including the remaining works from the library of Al-Hakam II in Cordoba, which had managed to gather up to 400,000 volumes. All that, along with the presence of a large number of Muslim, Hebrew, Mozárabe, Latin and Frankish educated people in the city, made possible that scholars and translators from all over Europe gathered in Toledo to know and share the scientific and philosophical knowledge of Al-Andalus and Sefarad. Toledo was not just a vast translation centre, but also a place for meditation on the organization of knowledge, which later proved to be crucial because of its repercussion on European culture.” 1

It concluded also that,

            “Thanks to the translations of Arabic texts into Latin and Castilian language which were made in Toledo, Aristotelianism and mainly Averroísm arrived in Europe. The works of Aristotle influenced the ideas of St Thomas and the Scholastic, and, after being spread, the ideas of Averroes brought about several confrontations between philosophers and theologians in the University of Paris. The contribution of the School of Translators was remarkably significant in Medicine, Mathematics, Astronomy and Astrology. In Mathematics the sexagesimal system, the algorism and the number zero were spread. The translations of astronomical subjects, along with the works supported by Alfonso X, meant the birth of European astronomy, so much so that The Alfonsine Tables of Toledo helped Copernicus to develop his heliocentric theories.
Finally, translators did not only help to spread texts, but, what is more important, to spread the Islamic experimental method consisting of experience, observation and analogy; which would prove to be crucial for the later development of modern science and European Renaissance.” 2

Nigeria is a state with over three hundred languages, and with their sub-tribes, over five hundred. Nupe is one of the major languages in the country. Today, there is no tentative figure on the number of speakers but they are predominantly found in Niger, Kwara, Kogi States, and the Federal Capital Territories (FCT). This bridge was caused by non inclusion of the language/tribe/ethnic group on the census questionnaire in the recent conducted census in the country. Though, the earliest censuses showed that Nupes numbered 650,000 in 1963, and it grew by 1986 to a population of 1,314,000. It is ranked among the first ten major tribes in Nigeria.  The language has a well established literary tradition dating over a century.

3.0  Complexities of Language Translation
There are several kinds/approaches to translations:
Formal equivalence — literal translation of the text, it is a word for word translation.
Dynamic equivalence – it is also known as the functional equivalent- it expresses the essential thought in the source text.

Classification of Translations
In most societies, people understand other people through oral transmission of language. When people from say north move to the south for work or any other engagement that will make them spend some time in the place, they are expected to at least understand one or more languages which are often learned orally more especially the dominant ones or the lingual Franca in such areas. So when one visits the North, he is expected to learn Hausa; in the south, when one visits, he is expected to learn at least Yoruba or Igbo. Written documents on the languages are almost absent and the rigorous process of getting right the orthographies could be tiring.
i.                    Back-text translation – recovery process- is a translation of a translated text back into the language of the original text, made without reference to the original text. It is also called "round-trip translation”  
ii.                  Forward Translation - It is a one language translation oral or written.
iii.                Mixed translation - a word like ‘come’ can be translated into three Nigerian languages as in Wa (Yoruba), Zo (Hausa), Bia (Igbo). It is a translation in more than a language at a time  or in a written text.    

           Issues/challenges of Translation
1.      Reliance on a third-party called an Interpreter– In the introduction of his grammar book, Rev. Crowther said, “In translating into a newly reduced language, without the aid of a good native interpreter, there is a great disadvantage if the construction is made according to the idiom of a foreign language, instead of the idea and idiom of the language into which the translations are being made. The force of the original will thus be destroyed. Native idea, idiom, and construction should be studied as much as possible, so as to convey the subject home to the mind through the proper channel.”
2.      Mis-0r mal -translation – ‘Kare jini, biri jini’ this is a Hausa idiomatic expression that heated-up the polity in the wake of the April 2011 elections. Most newspapers in the south did not translate the expression properly. It technically means ‘struggling it out between two contending parties.’
3.      False equivalents -  the use of unsuitable words which lead to change in the message.
There are three basic facts or assumptions worth noting in translating a language to another:

i.                    No perfect translation – it is not possible to get a hundred percent translation exactly as the source language. The closest one is to the meaning and the message, the better the translation.
ii.                  Respect the language-registers: words that suggest names of people, places and things should be left in their original language format.
iii.                The translator must be fluent in the source and the text languages to be able to bring out a good work. Roger Bacon wrote in 13th century that if a translation is to be true, the translator must know both languages, as well as the science that he is to translate; and finding that few translators did, he wanted to do away with translation and translators altogether.

Why Translate a Language
When a language is translated into one or more languages, there are expected effect on the people and the society. Some of which are: 
1.      Cultural promotions
2.      Language development
3.      Academic Experience
4.      Religious Propagations: Different religions in the world today most especially Islam and Christianity have developed a friendly method of evangelism where God’s message and religious doctrines are presented to the target group in the way and manner they will understand. So language is the key to achieving that. That is the more reason why Qur’an and the Bible are the most translated books on earth.
5.      Social Cohesion, Understanding and Harmony
There is always a need for the projection of one’s culture for the other to recognize and appreciate, and there is a special bond a language creates when a person not from your tribespersons can speak or write in ones language.

4.0 Nupe Language Translation
Language translation is generally a double-edge sword. It involves translating a language into another language vice versa. This can be traced back to the early missionaries of both Islam and Christianity. The early Islamic scholars used the Qur’an and Hadiths to translate/interpret in Nupe their messages to Muslims from the oral to the written Nupe Ajami.  It was widely used by the businesspersons, emirates and the aristocrats in the ancient Nupe Kingdom from about seventeenth century through the use of translators or interpreters orally or written. This trend continued until the coming of the Christian Missionaries whose activities heightened in the mid-nineteenth century in the kingdom.
“At the dawn of the twenty-first century a new interest in vernacular translations has arisen among Nigerians. It is fueled by the popularity of the Jesus film, which is being dubbed into the tribal languages. Most of this work is being done by Nigerians themselves, many of whom have been prepared in United Missionary Church schools such as the United Missionary Church of Africa Theological College and the Tungan Magajiya Bible College. Often this has been followed by linguistic training from the Nigerian Translation Trust, an heir of Wycliffe Bible Translators.”3

Early Nupe Translations
The use of the indigenous languages became a catch for effective evangelization of Nupe Kingdom in the nineteenth century which called for translations of the scriptures in the native languages. So this profession was pioneered by the Church missionaries in the 1840s. The activities in the 19th century have made tremendous impact in the literary activity and development of the Nupe language. Nupe was among the first target when mission stations were stationed in different parts of Niger River territories.
The Anglican Bishop Herbert Tugwell suggested that the missions interested in the Nupe come together in a conference to decide on matters related to translation questions. These missions were the Anglican Church Missionary Society (CMS), SIM and the Brethren Mission (UMS). Their first meeting was held at Pategi in 1906 where they settled on a working alphabet. They also planned to translate the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer. Banfield was asked to be the secretary. The second meeting in 1907 was at Shonga, and later meetings were at Pategi in 1908 and 1909. At the first conference J. L. McIntyre (CMS) was asked to write a Nupe grammar. Banfield was to revise his translation of the Gospels. After the committee decided his translation of the Gospels was good quality it went to the Bible Society and they were printed in 1908. The Banfields were on furlough and were able to be in London when the Gospels were being printed.
The Nupe Literature Conference’s work was not the first attempt at Bible translation into Nupe...It is likely the Anglicans made Banfield aware of earlier efforts. As early as 1877, Samuel Crowther had a translation of the Gospel of John printed by CMS in London, fruit of his many contacts with the Nupe and attempts to open the kingdom to Christian missionaries. In 1886-87, the BFBS published the four Gospels translated by Archdeacon Henry Johnson and a later revision by J. L. McIntyre and T. W. Bako in 1889. This same Thomas Bako also had a translation of the Psalms, with revisions by Obadiah Thomas and J. J. Williams, published in 1903 after Bako’s martyrdom. As they met, the 1909 Literature Conference urged Banfield to continue translating.4

Pioneer Nupe Translators
The interesting part of the earlier Nupe translators was that their source language was not Nupe. They worked through oral interpreter or translators to get their messages across to their target group or their work published. 

Reverend Samuel Ajayi Crowther (c. 1809 -1891)
i.           Primer for the Nupe language in 1860
ii.         A grammar and vocabulary of Nupe in 1864
iii.       Translated Gospel of John into Nupe in 1877 

Rev. Henry Johnson
i.                  i.   Nupe reading book and a translation of the Catechism of the Church of England, 1883. 12 pages
ii.               ii.   He translated the Gospels into Nupe and popularly known as the African Pastor between1886-1887
iii.             iii.    Adua Lazhin be Lozun. | Be Litani. Be Gigo Lilici. | Be Baptismi Lilici. | To Katekismi. Be Konfirmesoni.| nimi ezhi Nupenci. | (Portions of the Book of Commmon Prayer in the Nupe language.), 1899

T. W. Bako
i.  
1.  Alikéwo Wóró nyá Jesu Kristi Cocĩ to Zaboluguoyi (
Gospels (revised), a 283 page book with J. L. Macintyre, CMS, and T. W. Bako in 1899
ii. Psalms into Nupe in 1903. It was revised before printing by O. Thomas and J. J. Williams    
iii. Enikozi (Songs/Hymns) , a 169 page book in 1903 with  O. Thomas and J. J. Williams, J.D. Aitken.
Alexandra Banfield Wood (1878-1949)
A.W. Banfield was an evangelist who stayed in Tsonga (Shonga) for over two decades in the current Kwara State of Nigeria. He started the work of translating the Bible into Nupe in 1900s; by 1908 he has translated the four Gospels into Nupe language from English Bible. In 1914 Banfield completed the entire translation of the New Testament Nupe language and later the whole Old Testament. He is considered as giant in Bible translation.
However, R. V. Bingham, the co-founder of SIM said: “Mr Banfield applied himself wholeheartedly to mastering this difficult tongue. Into it he began to translate the precious Word of God. He compiled his own dictionary and when he returned from his first furlough he had ready the manuscript which the British and Foreign Bible Society printed, so that he was able to take back to the field these portions of the New Testament (the four Gospels) to the two or three million people who spoke the Nupe language.” Bingham later said: “A.W. Banfield set the standard and tone for SIM’s translation programme.”5

He used the Niger Press and published his works which are listed below:
i.        Gospels (Matthew, Luke, John & Mark, 1908 
ii.      Completed the translation draft of the whole New Testament in 1914 using the Reverse Standard Version of 1881.
iii.    Romans- Revelation (Portion of the Bible), 1910-1915 
iv.    A Grammar of the Nupe Language together with a Vocabulary by A. W. Banfield &  J. L. Macintyre in 1915
v.      A Nupe Dictionary in two volumes of over 13,000 words was also published; volume 1 in 1914 and volume 2 in 1916.
vi.    Published in 1916, Gamaga - Nupe Proverb and translated in English, a collection of 623 Nupe proverbs.
vii.  Published Zabura tò Gạ̀cìṇẓì. (Psalms and Proverbs – Part of the Old Testament into Nupe) in 1920 and revised by a committee in 1950, the committee included: A. W. Banfield, I. W. Sherk, F. Merryweather, A. E. Ball, and C. H. Daintree.
viii.The whole bible in 1953 by same committee.

Examples of translations done by Banfield in his proverb book wrote:

Bolanci è la ewun zhe etsan ò : (Nupe Language)
A weak person turns a quarrel into laughter. (i.e., he can't fight it out.) (Translation)

Cintara wuryagi kun dinni nya à, a ci ba ù nya dinni nance à : (Nupe Language)
The goat's tail that is not long enough to switch flies, should not be cut off to make a fly -switch (i.e., if he cannot support himself he cannot support others). (Translation)

Isaac Madugu
Sharp Sayings: Aphorisms of Jesus in the Gospels 1994

Sheikh Saidu Muhammad Enagi (1952 – 2011)6
Translated the Holy Qur’an into Nupe Language in 2002

Ambassador Solomon Adama Yisa
Just published a 900 page Nupe Heritage Dictionary to be presented to the public this week in Abuja

5.0 The Government effort and Policies on Indigenous languages
The impact of language development could be felt more when government creates the enabling environment for it to strive. That is by establishing policies that encourage the languages. The former National Language Center, now transformed into the current Language Development Center (LDC) and placed under the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), in 1976 suggested that, in addition to the three major languages, viz: Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba, only the following nine of the remaining 387 or so indigenous languages in the country should be allowed to feature in the country's formal school system: Edo, Fulfulde, Ibibio, Idoma, Igala, Ijaw, Kanuri, Nupe, and Tiv. 
Thereafter, the Federal Republic of Nigeria through National Policy on Education (NPE) mentioned in an official document first published in 1977, revised in 1981, it for the first time laid it down as a policy for the whole country that: 
a.       in primary School, which lasts six years, each child must study two languages, namely: (i) his mother-tongue (if available for study) or an indigenous language of wider communication in his area of domicile, and (ii) English language; 
b.      in Junior Secondary School (JSS), which is of three years' duration, the child must study three languages, viz: (i) his mother-tongue (if available for study) or an indigenous language of wider communication in his area of domicile, (ii) English language, and (iii) just any one of the three major indigenous language in the country, namely, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba, provided the Language chosen is distinct from the child's mother-tongue;
c.       in Senior Secondary School (SSS), which also lasts three years, the child must study two languages, viz: (i) an indigenous language, and (ii) English language.7 

In 1978, the Niger State government inaugurated the Nupe Language Project Committee to look into the possibility of teaching the language in public schools especially at the primary and secondary school levels, the state drew its inspiration from the conclusion of the National Language Centre that included Nupe among major languages to be taught at that stage. Sadly, this effort was never realized.
Furthermore, in the portion of the 1989 Nigeria constitution dealing with the educational objectives of the policy. Section 19 sub-sections (4), says simply that "Government shall encourage the learning of indigenous languages."8
In addition, government established media9 organizations both print and electronic in northern Nigeria to reach out to its people with educative and informative local programmes in different languages. At the beginning, indigenous languages programmes that involves news gathering, interpretation and translations was part of the core programmes of these organizations, which was a good language development tool that has the ability to transform the society, suddenly stopped broadcasting in some, with only a skeletal transmission in the Hausa. For instance:
i.        In the 1950s and 1960s, the weekly Nupe Newspaper, Nnanyitsu published by the Gaskiya Corporation, Zaria with over 2500 copies weekly circulation had stopped long ago.
ii.      The Nupe half-hour programme aired on the Radio Nigeria Kaduna in the 1960s had also stopped.

However, despites all the efforts by government in promoting indigenous languages in the country through policies, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba got the dismal result, the rest, total neglect. So, in the face of official neglect, the responsibility of Nupe speakers is obvious. The onus is on them to keep their language alive by using it as medium of communication all the time and to also get involved in language engineering with the aim of making Nupe acquire tools needed to communicate efficiently in today’s  changing world.

6.0 Current Efforts:
Since year 2007, new nerve of creative art brew into Northern Nigeria, specifically in Niger State thereby repositioning itself as the literary hub of the country. Book activities were energized and momentum increased. In a bid to responds to this hype, I wrote, collaborated, or translated the following books in an effort to further promote the language:
i.                    Eganmaganzhi Nupe (Nupe Proverbs – over a thousand proverbs with English translation and explanations) in 2009. Here are examples of the proverbs:
    “Soko gá tankpolo cin be ezhi lo è, wun à de kara eza na wun à fu dan na.
    When God has destined the travelling of a toad, it will hop into a traveller’s luggage. (i.e. Whatever God had ordained for any person, he will get it.)
Eza è cewo ya ti ù wun kpé éwó so à.
                    A person does not trade alone and defrauds himself.
                    (i.e. One cannot deceive himself).” 10
ii.                  Prof. Mohammad Kuta Yahaya’s play – Ignorance is a Disease was also translated and acted into Nupe Language book (Rakpebo Batán Wun Yi ò) and film respectively in 2012, it was a collaboration between me and the Sadisu Mohammad, a Nupe Filmmaker.

iii.                Translated into Nupe language BM Dzukogi’s Sex is Beautiful titled Cìn Sà. This is an excerpt from the book:
“Nyizagi ndondo kpe aziki na dan nyizagibo ù na. Nyizagi ndoro kpe wó gan muradi bagi gá yi nyizagibo wun bo. Nyizagi, ba na wun sà tu à na, bòla wun yi ò, alita na è fò bagi sharya na ù yi ò. Wun ma kpe acin; wun kpe gan éyézhi kpátá zhe dan ù. Kpekpewo nana, ganganni be kemina a ku ù dan dozhi ge na, wun à jin wun fe ka ù gi, yekpa nyá didàbéwo be èsà è. Nyizagi sà à ka a la de egwa la tò wun à.” 11
 “Everywoman knows the treasures called femininity. Each woman knows that the terminal goal of man for the day is her femininity. A woman, no matter how bad looking, is a delicate, lucid creature that tickles another man’s fancy. She understands this; she believes that all eyes are on her. This consciousness, together with her adorable nature, regularly ignites in her, the sense of self-esteem and beauty. A woman is ugly only when not touched”

iv.                 Finally, through the Niger State Book Development Agency, Minna, efforts is being made to get late Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart translated into some indigenous languages, among which Nupe language was included. It is interesting to note that this classical book has been translated into over 50 languages of the world, sadly, none from Nigeria. The Nupe Translation by Allah’s grace would be ready before the end of the year, here is an excerpt from the translated work:
égó dan zumata èmì Okonkwo ò. èfògi na lo èmì ù na gá yi eba na dan ègba-egundzuru na bishezhi è lo be ezhin ebo ègi à zhi ò na. Èfo wunci ma la eza wo à.  Égó zumata nana gá Obierika la komishina be eza ù zhi da ò. A ci à ganshe nbaga be saza è, a ci à tsò ba ègba ò. Nyana we wó wo na gá yi bicí à zhi na è ban finigbásázhi be nyi na. 12
There was a small bush behind Okonkwo’s compound. The only opening into this bush from the compound was a little round hole in the red-earth wall through which fowls went in and out in their endless search for food. The hole would not let a man through. It was to this that Obierika led the Commissioner and his men. They skirted round the compound, keeping close to the wall. The only sound they made was with their feet as they crushed the dry leaves.13

7.0 Conclusion
In Niger State, writers are not resting on their oars in a bid to re-energize the almost forgotten Nupe Language Project Committee set up by the then Military Administrator of the State, Colonel Ola Oni.  For that reason, we have devised means of furthering the development of the indigenous languages in the state most especially, the Nupe language in the following ways:
-          Opening of a translation bureau in collaboration with the Niger State Book Development Agency to published translated works of writers in the areas of Prose, Poetry, even sciences and humanities.
-          Teaching the language at HillTopArts Centre, Minna owned by the HillTopArts Foundation
-          Proposing to host a Nupe Language Conference to further promote the teaching of the language in schools in the states.
If translation of texts was used as a tool for scientific development and above all the European Renaissance, I am hopeful that this can be repeated in Nigeria or the whole Africa. The impediment here would be the absence of a strategic plan by government, and the inactivity of the languages concerned to consolidate on the past efforts and devising new approaches of producing works and popularizing the use of translation in developing our indigenous languages.

Endnotes:
1The School of Translators of Toledo, University Board of Toledo (within the University of Castilla-La Mancha) Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. http://www.uclm.es/escueladetraductores/english/history/ (accessed 17 June 2013)

2Ibid

3Erdel, Dr Paul, Vernacular Language Translators and the Missionary Church

4Mason, Jim (2009). Literature Outreach in Nigeria: A History of SIM Literature Work 1901 – 1980. Waterloo

5R. V. Bingham, Seven Sevens of Years and a Jubilee, Evangelical Publishers, Toronto, Canada, 1943.

6Ndagi, M. U. Sheikh Saeedu Muhammad Enagi (1952-2011). Weekly Trust newspaper. Abuja: 12 November 2011

7Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1981. National Policy on Education. Revised. Lagos, Nigeria: NERDC Press. 

8Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1989. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Ilorin, Nigeria: Woye Printers & Publishers. 

9See a Report of the Use of Mother Tongue for Literacy Part III: Nigeria by UNESCO / University of Ibadan.  Ibadan: 13-23 December, 1964, p 62-64.

10Ibrahim, I. B. (2009) ‘Eganmaganzhi Nupe (Nupe Proverbs)’, over a thousand (1000) proverbs. Minna: Gandzo Enterprises.

11See Chapter 9 (first paragraph). Dzukogi, BM. (2008), Sex is Beautiful, Ibadan Kraft Books; and it translation, Cìn Sà (unpublished). 

12Excerpt from Enyazhi à Gbìnya (Things Fall Apart), Nupe Language Translation by Isyaku Bala Ibrahim (Unpublished).

13Achebe, Chinua. (2008) Things Fall Apart. Essex: Pearson Education Limited Edition – Chapter 25, pp. 164-6.





THE CONTRIBUTION OF INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES IN PROMOTING LITERATURE IN NORTHERN NIGERIA - THE NUPE LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE

Presented by ISYAKU BALA IBRAHIM At The Conference Hall of Katsina State Secretariat Complex, Katsina On ...