THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF FRENCH LANGUAGE IN AFEMAI, 1996-2020

Language is a major channel of communication between individuals, irrespective of political, geographical, economic, cultural and social backgrounds. Scholars have declared language as a unique conveyer and transmitter of the culture of a people, such that a good grasp of a language provides insight into people's culture. The French language and culture were introduced into Africa largely in the wake of colonisation. Following the independence of African states, the French language, rather than being replaced or relegated to the background in Francophone countries, has consolidated its position on the African continent through the extension of its sphere of influence to English-speaking countries including Nigeria. Shortly after independence, the Nigerian government realised that Nigeria is a 'linguistic island surrounded by French seas.' Geographically, Nigeria is surrounded by Francophone countries, Cameroun in the east, Chad in the north-east, Niger in the north-west, and the Republic of Benin in the west. Thus, the need to maintain eco-political relations with these countries, alongside the quest of the Nigerian government to integrate the country into the international community largely dominated by French countries precipitated, the declaration by the then military head of state, General Sani Abacha, of the new status of French as Nigeria's second official language in 1996. Be that as it may, several pieces of literature have been written on the status of French language in the linguistic landscape of Nigeria. This body of scholarly works was majorly streamlined towards the evolutionary path in the education curriculum courtesy of the National Policy on Education, and lexical semantics between the French language and some Nigerian indigenous language. However, none has written extensively on the history and development of the French language in Afemai from 1996 to 2020. This has left a gap in a critical aspect of the socio-linguistic history of the Afemai people in particular, and Nigeria as a whole. Therefore, this work sets out to critically examine the historical foundation and development of the French language in Afemai. Overall, the lessons learned from this study will provide insights into the challenges hindering the development of the French language in Afemai. By the same token, this study offered practical implications on the effective ways to implement Nigeria's language policies to facilitate smooth integration of the country into the international community. This study made use of primary and secondary sources. Primary sources were drawn from oral interviews. Secondary sources included books such as handbooks, articles in journals, media reports and internet sources. Data gathered from these sources were subjected to critical historical analysis.