…as I been dey reason am say we need anoda lingua franca
E get one tori for bible wey I hear when I be small pikin about the tower of Babel. Make I quick nack you the tori sharply should in case you don forget or parraps, you never hear am before.
The people wey settle for Shinar come togeda reason say dem wan build city and tower. Dem wan make the tower high well well make e reach heaven sake of say dem wan become famous. Na so dem start and Baba God look dem sotay, come see say this tower wey dem dey build so go reach heaven true true o. Na so Baba God come talk say if dem fit build this tower as people wey dey yarn one language, notin go fit stop dem to achieve anything wey dem wan achieve. Baba God come decide to skata their language so dem no go fit understand each other again.
The people wey be say na only one language all of dem dey yarn before, na so all of them come dey yarn difren difren language o. All of dem begin waka comot from the place as dem no fit understand each other again and na so building work come stop. Na so Baba God take die the matter o.
I remember dis tori as I dey reason our naija matter and na the tori make me remember one thing wey I bin dey tink since. This our naija eeehn, with all the wahala wey we don face so, e be like say time don reach for all of us to dey yarn just one language o. Abi? How you take see am na? One language wey all of us go fit yarn.
You see as the people for Babel almost reach heaven? Na because na one language all of them dey yarn. Even God sef recognise am na why e target the language make dem no fit succeed. Imagine all the things wey we for don achieve for naija if to say na only one language all of us dey yarn?
I sabi say some people go ask me why we no fit make sure say efribodi dey yarn only English. Me sef, na wetin I reason be dat as na English be our official language but if you tink am well, no be efribodi dey yarn English so. E still get people for this naija wey no fit yarn English at all. Even the people wey go school sef, how many of dem fit yarn English well?
As God take bless us so, na over five hundred languages and dialects we get for naija! All of our local languages dey bam and e get as e dey do person when e see anoda person wey fit yarn him own language. Even Mandela talk say: “If you follow person yarn for language wey he understand, he go reason am but if you follow am yarn him own language, you don find him mumu button”.
Chai, when person yarn something for English, come talk am again for local language, e get as e dey make brain.
Even with all the languages wey we get so, na Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo (WaZoBia) dey reign since tay tay. I sabi say some people go say we fit pick one of the main local languages or make we use all of dem. Hmm, na person wey sabi go know say na dia wahala go from come o.
If to say we declare official languages for each of the six regions, e too sure say both North-Central and South-South no go fit gree on which language to choose. Na dat time we go sabi say other languages dey North-East and North-West aside from Hausa. Maybe na only South-West and South-East no go complain. I for like know as South Africa take do dia own because na eleven official languages dem get. If we try am, no be trouble dey sleep, yanga go wake am so?
We naija people get as we dey do when we dey yarn with difren people. All of us go siddon for one place dey discuss things, immediately one guy see anoda person wey be im townsman or wey fit yarn him language, the two both of them go just open anoda branch of the discussion.
The other people go just dey look like Lucozade because dem no go fit understand their levels again. This thing dey happen well well. I sabi say benefit dey to dey yarn our local dialect with people wey fit understand but when we dey with people wey no fit understand, e no good na abi how you reason am? Na dis kain thing dey cause some of our wahala as trust no go too dey.
So, back to the matter. If all of us no dey too yarn English and we no fit choose regional languages, e be like say na Pidgin English we go take do our second official language o. Abi how you see am?
Plenty people dey yarn Pidgin already, dem fit understand am quick pass English, even oyinbo dey quick learn am. But we go still get one wahala: na which Pidgin we go use because Pidgin get difren levels o. The pidgin wey we dey yarn for Lagos no be the same one wey we dey yarn for Warri. The one wey dem dey yarn for Sokoto sef, fit no be the same one wey dem dey yarn for Aba. No be anoda gbege be dis?
Na now we go need all our Linguistics Professors, make dem come design new Pidgin for us. Dem go look all the Pidgin wey we get and dem go take small small things from each one, come join am form new Pidgin. We go call am Naijin for “naija pidgin”. But e get one request wey I wan make to the linguistics team. I no sabi as dem go do am o but dat new Pidgin gast to keep the sing-song tone of our Warri Pidgin. I swear, make I no too boast o but na Warri pidgin sweet pass for naija, you sef sabi na.
Abeg abeg, if you dey yarn Britico or Americana phonay, no too vex eehn, you fit dey yarn your spree-spree as you like. No be say we no go dey speak English, we go just officially add Pidgin to am. And make nobody wey dey yarn phonay come dey form say dem no fit yarn pidgin o, you sef sabi say if dem nack you slap you go shout “yepa” by force!
Anyway, I just say make I talk wetin dey my mind because time don reach make we torchlight our national unity. All this man know man wey we dey do for our village people must reduce. Make we dey see each other as one people. If all of us dey yarn one language, we fit unite pass as we dey so, na so I see am today o!