Personalities and Policies in the Establishment of English in Northern Nigeria during the British Colonial Administration, 1900-1943

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Periodical article

Title:	Personalities and Policies in the Establishment of English in Northern Nigeria during the British Colonial Administration, 1900-1943
Author:	Adeniran, Adekunle
Year:	1978
Periodical:	Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria
Volume:	9
Issue:	2
Period:	June
Pages:	105-126
Language:	English
Geographic terms:	Northern Nigeria Great Britain Nigeria
Subjects:	colonialism language policy English language History and Exploration Education and Oral Traditions
Abstract:	Focussing on Northern Nigeria, the author looks at the calculations made by British colonial officials and the traditional Northern elite alike, which marked the slow spread of English in the area, and the consequences this had as a result. Highlights are: (i) the Northern Nigeria milieu in terms of which the initial hostility to English is to be understood, and the dilemma which the colonial administration faced in the circumstances and which consequently incapacitated a dynamic English language programme in the area. (ii) Landmarks in British colonial efforts to formulate language policies, in particular the attitudes and the methods of the policy makers. (iii) Growing awareness and changing attitudes of Northern Nigerian to English as a weapon of economic independence in the wider political community of Nigeria, (iv) Brief conclusion on the attitude to and status of English in contemporary Northern Nigeria. Notes.