Gbagyi: Story of a shrinking language

In many Gbagyi households one finds that the parents can speak their mother tongue, while the children cannot, and quickly turn to Hausa  or English when the need arises. Weekly Trust investigations show that the Gbagyi language has started to shrink and may vanish from Nigeria’s linguistic map.‘No Gbagyi here’It began as a gentle murmur […]

In many Gbagyi households one finds that the parents can speak their mother tongue, while the children cannot, and quickly turn to Hausa  or English when the need arises. Weekly Trust investigations show that the Gbagyi language has started to shrink and may vanish from Nigeria’s linguistic map.
‘No Gbagyi here’
It began as a gentle murmur while he prayed. At first he thought it was the wind. Then it gained strength  and the audience broke convention, stunned the Clerics present, and raised a loud protest, asking him to sit down, or at best pray in a language they could quickly understand. He had to stop the prayer. Dr. Mailafiya Filaba, historian and lecturer at the Nasarawa State University, had gone to Church one weekend, and was asked to pray. When the flock had risen, he solemnly raised his head and prayed in Gbagyi, the language he knows very well , and whose lore and traditions he is very familiar with. Calmly, he made the usual opening words of prayer in the language. Then he got a huge surprise. He never knew that his fellow Gbagyi who had massed in the church as they often did, would take offence at this act of his, owing to their inability to speak the language.He is still shocked at the turn of events. His words ‘I once prayed in the church in Gbagyi, and the youths protested that they did not understand what I was saying, and that I should not be allowed to speak again. They wanted me to pray either in English or in Hausa. They wanted me to be stopped from ever stepping forward in the church to pray in Gbagyi.’ We were in his house some distance from Keffi in Nasarawa state, when he recounted the incident which happened in the nearby church.
Its facing extinction
But  his  house is a vivid summary of the crises which the Gbagyi language is facing today. He and his wife are the major speakers of Gbagyi in the house, and he says so. His  sons who grew up far away from home, express themselves more in Hausa and English. There are similar households among the Gbagyi, and many other linguistic groups in Nigeria. On the Gbagyi language, Dr Filaba states ‘definitely, the language is facing extinction. It is one of those languages in Nigeria that is dying, and it is reducing in size as a result of migration, urbanisation, government policies, westernization, Christianity and commerce.’ He shows that the rapid urbanisation of the FCT has become a minus for the Gbagyi communities located therein ‘The rapid urbanisation of the FCT which attracts  people of all backgrounds, who come to live in the same compound with the Gbagyi,and greatly outnumber the latter ,is a major problem for  us. This vast mixture of groups eventually results in Gbagyi children who cannot speak their language, and who prefer to express themselves in Hausa or English.’ He explains why Hausa is rising in Gbagyi speaking areas ‘The Hausa language has become the language of commerce, and it is an accepted means of communication. It is being taught in schools located in communities with huge Gbagyi populations. We even find Gbagyi parents speaking Hausa to their children, and this is a major problem of urbanisation.’ The Gbagyi language is significantly hit because it has no orthography, while Yoruba and Igbo scholars on the other hand, have developed their languages.’ Globalisation is a major setback, he adds, drawing attention to the fact that ‘people now want to be part of the global system, and this lies at the heart of globalization. Where does Gbagyi fit vis a vis the unimpeded march of  globalization?’ Then he raises an  issue about the church in the FCT. Hear him ‘In the FCT there is the rapid rise of new churches. 99% of churches in the FCT were brought by migrants, and all their activities are in English. All the Gbagyi who go to these new churches will be Anglicised.’ Then he warns ‘Any Gbagyi who sets up a church should be ready to preach in English, rather than in Gbagyi. Almost all the indigenous churches had to immediately set up an English segment, or they will lose their youth.’
‘Religious words  will be forgotten’
But Gbagyi is not spoken in the church ,and if the language witnesses a  decline, then this has implications for the language and culture. Hear him ‘Certain aspects of Gbagyi culture will die. Religious words will die, and names of shrines, botanical names of plants, and even of the planets, will be forgotten. Names of parts of the body will soon be forgotten, since these will not be in frequent use. ‘He expands on some of the issues arising from the creation of the FCT. His words ‘All new sites that were once in the FCT have all lost 50% of their people, and this means that 50% of the speaking population has gone. The groups left in the FCT are directly absorbed by the Hausa and English language spoken by the migrants. ‘Then he laments ‘I send texts in Gbagyi to my fellow Gbagyi, but they reply in Hausa.’ The handset, a product of globalisation, now plays a role in the decline of Gbagyi.
‘Some think English has prestige’
Dr. Ruth Galadima, of the College of Education, Minna, who has MA PhD on Gbagyi, speaks on the effects of globalisation on Gbagyi communities ‘Technological advancement in the communications industry and infrastructure has contributed in imposing foreign languages on the youth, which is diverting their attention from their languages to other dominant languages such as English and French.’ The increasingly cosmopolitan nature of the FCT, as noted by Dr. Filaba above, is a major setback for the Gbagyi communities in the FCT,she posits. According to her ‘In the traditional setting parents use Gbagyi as the language of socialization. However, the influence of other languages as a result of the cosmopolitan nature of Gbagyi settlements, has led to the decline in the use of the language. Story time by moon light has given way to the Satellite dish and the internet.’ Dr. Galadima also identifies the attitude of the Gbagyi towards their language, as another issue. Her words ‘Some Gbagyi see the use of English as a mark of prestige, and thus tend to develop inferiority complex towards their own language. This attitude makes them shy to speak Gbagyi in public. It is not uncommon to see a group of  Gbagyi resort to English or Hausa once there is a non Gbagyi in their midst.’ There are then many challenges confronting the language.
Educational disadvantage
Philemon Dara, retired civil servant and educationist, identifies more of these challenges. He sees the crises facing the language as emerging from the fact that the Gbagyi are an educationally disadvantaged group. His words ‘The Gbagyi are educationally disadvantaged. This has brought about the tendency for them to give in to some of the Nigerian languages, and not just English. In terms of usage, you find that as a result of this educational disadvantage, a lot of the modern breed of Gbagyi, do not understand the importance of Gbagyi culture.’ He adds that  a background to this is the fact that the Gbagyi suffered serious marginalisation in terms of land. ‘Thus the Gbagyi have kept moving from place to place. The average Gbagyi is not a city person, he is not an urban person. He is a rural person who prefers to cultivate the land, and this is his priority in life.’ He argues that as time went on, it dawned on the Gbagyi that they cannot live in isolation of others, and that life is meant to be shared. He states ‘But life of a good quality must be founded, not only on the land, but on the language and the culture. As a result of being educationally disadvantaged, the Gbagyi need to know that he should not feel inferior to anyone, because of an inability to speak another language, especially English.’
‘We  don’t worship in Gbagyi’
He  illustrates  the  issues affecting the language in Gbagyi communities. His words ‘Sometimes, a mother would have to translate a greeting made in Gbagyi, before a child would understand. Indeed, the parents have become translators for their children today. A child is born and raised without being taught its mother tongue. The mother, who is doing the translation cannot speak English. Our children are unable to speak, write and read in Gbagyi. Rather, they speak Hausa and English. Some speak Hausa, but cannot write in the language.’ Whenever the Gbagyi go to Worship in church, the entire activity is  not conducted in Gbagyi. His words ‘When we worship, we go to the Hausa service, while the children go to the English programme. This is because the children flow better with English version. There is no service  conducted in Gbagyi owing to the neglect the language has suffered over time.’ He adds, while speaking on the urban character of the FCT ‘With the sudden and continuous influx of people from all parts of Nigeria  into the FCT, this has affected the culture of the Gbagyi. It has affected our way of dressing, and the way we interact with other people.’ The story gets more and more complicated.
‘Our language has shrunk’
Reverend Panya Baba  who was once Chairman, ECWA, Nigeria, explains other aspects of the complicated state of affairs. He too laments the fate which Gbagyi is passing through. According to him ‘The Gbagyi used to be very isolated in the centre of Nigeria. Now, even areas that were Gbagyi lands are no longer for the Gbagyi only. The FCT, for instance, has been mixed up with many groups. Thus, one way or the other, the spoken language has shrunk in terms of its use. The language of commerce is largely Hausa, and so people communicate, not in Gbagyi, but in Hausa.’ Education, which ought to be a plus, has become a huge minus to the people. He argues ‘Gbagyi tends to suffer owing to educational pursuits by the youths. Some of the younger generation speak better English than their spoken Gbagyi, due to the time spent studying in the secondary school, as well as in the university. Just yesterday, one of our relatives came with her two year old daughter, who greeted us in English, and both mother and father are Gbagyi. They told us that every morning they take her to the nursery. This shows that right from an early age, the children are groomed in English. Even if we teach them Gbagyi, as soon as they go to school, they speak English. The struggle to save Gbagyi is a very difficult battle. This is except for the villages, where there are no nursery schools, where children will be taught in English. So, the children there speak Gbagyi, more than those in the urban areas.’ He provides some useful statistics ‘Just 20% of the young people of this generation are speaking Gbagyi well. But you hardly find the rest speaking Gbagyi well. In the villages you find that 80% of the youths speak Gbagyi  fluently. But in the cities there is a sharp drop in this context.’
Gbagyi names dying
Theophilus Tanko agrees and says that Gbagyi language is certainly in bad weather, and draws attention to ‘the fact that many of us prefer to speak either English or Hausa, and to further make matters worse, parents prefer speaking Hausa or English to their children.’ He stresses that the creation of the FCT has been a huge blow to Gbagyi culture ‘With the creation of the FCT most people no longer bear Gbagyi names and the names of most villages were changed. For instance, Wushapa, was changed to Ushaffa, Bwaya to Bwari and Kukuaba to Kubwa.’ Philemon Dara  also comments on this by saying that Dushepe has been changed to Dutsen Alhaji, while Gazhima is now Galadimawa.Also Gbagyi Christians tend to give their children European or western names .Gbagyi Muslims give their children Arabic or Hausa names. Dr. Filaba says ‘Only very few Gbagyi names are given to Children born in Gbagyi homes,and when these are given, the name given will always be a second name. This implies that Gbagyi names are dying.’ Government policies are another  challenge for the  Gbagyi.
Dr. Galadima  refers to  one of such policies, which is the relegation of the mother tongue education policy by the government. Her words ‘The National Policy on Education stipulates that the Mother Tongue of the children or the Language of Wider Communication LWC of the community be used at the initial stage of schooling, but schools do not comply with this provision. Most parents are anxious to see their children acquire English Language which is key to western education, thus they resort to using it for all forms of education. In some cases parents proudly declare that their children cannot speak their language.’ She says that the language, though written down, still does not have  an harmonised orthography, and that political will is needed to develop the language. Then there is a lack of trained teachers to handle the language, especially at the primary school level, and a significant lack of textbooks in Gbagyi. She adds that some words have already disappeared from the language. Hear her  ‘The words Luuluu (bottle) and Snidoko (bicycle)have become completely extinct in the language, while Hausa words ‘zare’and ‘Kalapi’are now also used interchangeably.’
Way forward
On the way forward Dr. Filaba  says that the Gbagyi elite should lead the way in the effort to save the language. His words ‘The elite should encourage a revival of Gbagyi culture. Children should also be spoken to in our language, especially in the homes.’ He argues that gospel music should be expressed in Gbagyi language. His words ‘People are now producing songs and films in Gbagyi, and we should keep it up. The elite are already encouraging people to start writing instructional material in Gbagyi, but they should stop lamenting over the state of the language, and act decisively. ‘ He  envisages a situation where students, in tertiary institutions, will be encouraged to choose  project topics which will focus on  aspects of Gbagyi language. He also has a word for Gbagyi politicians. Hear him ‘I am also encouraging Gbagyi politicians to push  that the language should be included in the educational curriculum at the primary school level,in keeping with the federal government policy in this regard.’ He informs Weekly Trust that an  NGO based in America, is sponsoring the development of the Gbagyi orthography, and the translation of the whole bible into Gbagyi. This is similar to what missionaries did for the Gbagyi early in the last century. Dr. Galadima argues that the Gbagyi should take pride in their language, and freely use it.’ She advocates that parents should speak more Gbagyi to their children while at home, that children should be taken for vacations in the village where the language is the dominant medium of communication, and that working mothers should employ Gbagyi nannies, who will speak Gbagyi to the children. She adds that government too should sponsor the publication of materials in indigenous languages. Reverend Baba opines that the church which spearheaded the effort to write out the bible in Gbagyi early in the last century, can rise to the occasion ,and save the language all over again. On efforts to save Gbagyi, Danjuma Shagye  says that Gbagyi classes can be organised for the young ones. Theophilus Tanko posits ‘In all sincerity nothing is being done to save the language, instead so much is being done to send it into extinction.’