Mother Tongues Come Alive At 5th NTIC Language Festival

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Mother Tongues Come Alive At 5th NTIC Language Festival

CHINELO CHIKELU, Onukogu Kanayo Jubal

— March 28, 2014

Saturday, March 15, 2014 was the day in when parents, the media and other stakeholders gathered at the National Universities’ Commission (NUC) auditorium, Maitama, Abuja, to witness the presentation of gifts to the winners of the fifth edition of the Nigerian Turkish International Colleges Languages Festival.
The colourful event which began on Wednesday, March 12, 2014, saw pupils of the NTIC from around the nation speak flawlessly in their mother tongues for the coveted prizes. The festival was to serve as a reminder to the nation of the importance of our various cultural dialects and values, beyond skin colour. The children spoke in Turkish, Igbo, Arabic, Yoruba, Hausa and a few other languages, to the delight of the crowd.
The deputy ambassador of Turkey to Nigeria was present, alongside the minister of power Prof. Chinedu Osita Nebo, who expressed his joy at the unifying gesture.
“We are very thankful that the hearts of Turks and Nigerians are being welded together in unity. I pray that this unity will continue and that both countries will grow closer and closer,’ Nebo said.
The secretary of education for the FCT, Mallam Kabir Usman, also warmed the crowd with his presence and speech. “Let me commend Nigerian Turkish College for its efforts and I want to assure them that our doors are always open to all such positive ideas,” he assured.
One of the high points of the afternoon was, perhaps, when Turkish girls were seen singing and dancing to native Nigerian songs while Nigerian students also sang and presented poems in Turkish and Arabic. The event was so diverse that a young Turkish girl from Kano got the crowd cheering for minutes with a delightful Hausa song.
The event was wrapped up Winners were awarded medals in the various language categories. Winning students in Turkish Language will be representing Nigeria and will participate in the international Turkish Olympiad in Turkey, where over 1500 competitors from 130 countries will be competing in different categories of singing, poem recitation, speaking, writing, grammar and reading. This will give the various students opportunities to advertise their countries, interact and establish friendships.
Interestingly a Nigerian won last year’s gold award in the poem category.
Chairman of the Colleges, Hikmet Coban, said that the festival was to bring together people through the use of languages and also foster peace in the society.
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