By
Otunba (Dr.) Abdulfalil Abayomi Odunowo
The recent decision by the Federal Government to cancel the mother-tongue teaching policy and restore English as the default medium of instruction in Nigerian primary schools has generated wide applause in some quarters and quiet confusion in others. Policies come and go, but what makes this reversal particularly concerning is the justification given: that poor WAEC, NECO, and JAMB results were observed in regions where mother-tongue adoption was “oversubscribed.”
This explanation raises an immediate question: How can a policy barely three years old affect examinations written by students far older than its beneficiaries? The cohorts exposed to mother-tongue teaching are still in early primary classes. None is old enough or academically advanced enough to sit for national examinations. Linking declining secondary exam performance to an initiative implemented only at the foundation level appears logically flawed and cannot be the basis for such a drastic policy reversal.
If poor exam performance exists and it undeniably does its causes lie elsewhere: inadequate teacher training, outdated curriculum, lack of learning aids, inconsistent funding, overcrowded classrooms, and years of systemic neglect. These structural problems existed long before the mother-tongue policy and will remain even after its cancellation.
**The Global Evidence We Cannot Ignore**
UNESCO, UNICEF, and global education research provide consistent evidence: children grasp literacy and numeracy faster when taught initially in languages they understand. Countries that consistently outperform Nigeria China, Ethiopia, Finland, South Korea, Rwanda, and South Africa have successfully adopted phased bilingual models. Their students learn foundational content in their native languages, then transition to global languages with stronger comprehension and confidence.
Mother-tongue education is not about rejecting English. It is about building cognitive foundations before layering a second language.
**A Good Policy, Poorly Implemented**
Where the mother-tongue policy fell short was not in concept but in execution:
• Insufficient teacher training
• Lack of standardized orthographies
• Absence of approved teaching materials
• No phased rollout plan or monitoring framework
• Inadequate funding
• No measurable implementation roadmap
A three-year trial without preparation, investment, or evaluation metrics was bound to struggle. But struggle is not failure in education, transformation requires time and intentionality.
A country cannot change its instructional language the way it changes a political appointment. National curriculum changes typically take 10–15 years to mature and produce measurable results.
**A Missed Opportunity or a Delayed One?**
Rather than outright cancellation, the government could have:
• Conducted a structured evaluation of early learning outcomes
• Introduced a hybrid transitional bilingual model
• Strengthened teacher capacity development
• Created regional language clusters rather than attempting nationwide uniformity
• Developed pilot states with measurable KPIs
Such an approach would have preserved the spirit of the policy while correcting its weaknesses.
**Beyond Language: The Real Crisis**
Nigeria’s education emergency is not linguistic it is systemic:
• Over 10 million children are out of school.
• Less than 50% complete secondary education.
• Learning poverty continues to rise.
Whether a child is taught in Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Tiv, Esan, English, or Pidgin the outcome will remain poor if the system itself is weak.
Language cannot fix what policy inconsistency continues to break.
**Conclusion**
The debate is not English versus mother tongue. The real question is whether Nigeria will build education reforms on evidence, patience, and investment or on reaction, assumptions, and short political cycles.
A sustainable solution lies in a balanced model: mother-tongue foundation, English integration, and curriculum modernization. Anything less risks repeating the same cycle new policy, poor preparation, public confusion, and eventual reversal while learning outcomes continue to collapse.
Nigeria owes its children more than policy experiments. We owe them a system that works.
Otunba (Dr.) Abdulfalil Abayomi Odunowo, D.Sc (h.c) is National Chairman of Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu Support Group (AATSG)
Date: Tuesday , 18thNovember, 2025
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +234 905 353 5322
Website: www.aatsg.org.ng
As we look to the future, let’s embrace the important role our choices play in shaping the destiny of our nation. Together, let’s commit to the path of active and positive citizenship!
