Journal of African Studies and Sustainable Development

Language remains a strong source of transmission of culture and socio-economic dividends. It has been shown to be a viable instrument of integration or disintegration when improperly applied towards a common national consciousness. The language question remains a common discourse among linguists, technocrats and development experts, with diverse and at times, conflicting shades of opinions. The paper strongly contends for the English Language being an unalienable factor in national integration, especially in a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual nation like Nigeria. It further brings to the fore, the possible subjugation of some indigenous languages by more dominant ones, hence, establishing the need for the English Language to be the panacea for linguistic dominance and subjugation.

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