Kebbi: The dying languages of Illo

Not for study The river Niger at Lolo swells with aquatic life. But the mighty  river knows a truth: many of the languages spoken in its vicinity as well as at nearby Illo, also in Kebbi state, are dying. The older generations speak the languages, but the younger generation can hardly utter their mother tongues. […]

Not for study
The river Niger at Lolo swells with aquatic life. But the mighty  river knows a truth: many of the languages spoken in its vicinity as well as at nearby Illo, also in Kebbi state, are dying. The older generations speak the languages, but the younger generation can hardly utter their mother tongues. However, they speak a lot of Hausa, and their fluency in the tongue  improves with every passing day. Today, they are already rivaling native speakers of Hausa. Languages such as Zabarmanci, Dandanci, and  Busanci are declining  by the Niger. The languages did better a hundred years ago, Weekly Trust gathers. The river is brimful with life, even as the languages  continually contract, continually  shrink. These are languages with very lovely  names, and it is painful to think of the impending death of these tongues, which  are suffocating  by the  natural expansion of both  the Hausa language, and  also  of English into the area. Zabarmanci is not taught in any school in Lolo, or Illo. Same applies to Dandanci as well as Busanci.  All these languages seem to be off the curricular nationwide . Zabarmanci is not taught either at the Ahmadu Bello University, Usman Dan Fodio University or the Bayero University, Kano, for instance. Adamu Malumfashi  of the Department of African Languages and Cultures, Ahmadu Bello University, sheds light on the study of these languages in Nigeria’s Universities. His words ‘The answer is no. Zabarmanci  and Dandanci are not being taught in these universities, or in  Nigerian universities generally. To the best of my language, a  student can write a thesis or a paper on aspects of these languages at ABU, for instance. But no degrees are  awarded,  say in B.A Zabarmanci’.
Linguistic map of Illo
Zabarmanci, Dandanci, and  and Busanci are the principal  languages spoken in Illo, but these tongues are slowly giving way to Hausa, which is also the common language of trade in the area. On the languages of Illo, Alhaji Idrisu Illo, Tudun Giris says ‘The principal language of Illo is Busanci. If you are in Illo, there is a language called Dandanci. Dandanci  and Zabarmanci are more or less the same. The only difference is the dialect. If  you understand Zabarmanci, you  can understand Dandanci.’ According to him ‘The communities in the  whole district of Illo speak Dandanci as well as Zabarmanci.  A few towns speak Busanci.  In Illo you  can get quite a number who speak Busanci. In  the village of Bani  as well as Tsamiya, Busanci is spoken even today. There  are others too, and these include Kyanganci, which  is commonly spoken in a village, two kilometers away from Lolo’.
Once upon a time
He  says that a long time ago Kyanganci was the main language spoken in Illo. His words ‘The whole area was once dominated by the Kyangawa , a tribe known by this name. At that time it was only Kyanganci that was spoken in the area.’ Then  he comments on the huge toll which Hausa  has had on the languages which are indigenous to the area. According to him ‘Hardly would you find people who can speak these languages fluently today, without putting in some words of Hausa. Hausa  had significant influence on these languages, and it has come to dominate the other languages today. When you go to the large Lolo market, you will find people speaking these languages, but   you will see that generally they are now Hausa speaking population.’
It spreads easily
On why Hausa seems to be on the rise in the area, displacing the local languages in its wake, he says ‘The tribe known as the Hausa have travelled far and wide in the whole of west Africa, and that is why there is the spread of the Hausa language.’ They  go from one place to another on trading missions, and the language naturally spreads with them. Then, if you want to  buy their goods, inevitably you will begin to slowly learn their tongue. This  is why the language has spread, not  only in Illo, but elsewhere in Africa. ‘He laments that the younger generations are not being taught the language.’ They  are being taught in Hausa and English. Unfortunatlely, nowadays not only around Illo, in most of the schools, young children are being encouraged to learn English. Around this area pupils are taught in Hausa and English only.’
Dying tongues
Then he states ‘Infact, you cannot teach a language which has not been written down, and which is largely oral. The parents themselves, as they grow older they pass on, and the young ones have not been taught the language. Thus, you find that in most areas around Illo, the languages are dying. In a short period of time we may no longer find speakers of these languages. I will give you a concrete example ’Around Illo, there is a village where there are Nupe settlers. By the year 1890 everyone there spoke Nupe, but if you go there today, you will hardly find half a dozen people who speak Nupe. The  place has completely changed, all this occuring in less than a hundred and fifty years.’ He adds that many children today only learn their mother tongues from home, since the schools do not teach these tongues, and if their parents had not taught them then they would have lost the opportunity forever. Today, the common language in Illo is Hausa. In the past the common language was Dandanci.’ Alhaji Idrisu says ‘Hausa has almost dominated these languages. Most people are losing the memory of their original tongues. In a class of 30 children, all will be able to speak Hausa. In the same class you may find three or four who speak the same language, but they would not care about this because they speak Hausa.’ He complains about the absence of these languages from Nigerian universities. His words ‘Zabarmanci and Dandanci are not studied at Nigerian Unversities, or colleges of education. The focus is mostly towards Hausa mainly, and the smaller languages are vanishing.’
Less than 100
Alhaji Mohammed Dobi Illo, Sarkin Kudu, is  the District Head of Illo. He comments on Busanci in the following words ‘There are less than a hundred people who can speak Busanci today in Illo. Things have changed a lot here.’ But he states that  it’s only in Illo town that the languages are fading away, adding that they are doing fairly well in some other locations. According to him ‘It is only in Illo town here that some languages are fading away. When you leave  Illo, in towns like Bani and Tsamiya ,they speak Busanci as the main language’. He thinks however that Hausa  is making strong inroad into the communities around, saying ‘Hausa is slowly overcoming the other languages. In Illo here Hausa is trying to dominate the other languages, but to a certain degree the people in some of the rural places are trying to maintain their tongues. ‘
Hausa rising
He explains  why the Hausa language  has been rising in the area, displacing  some of the local tongues in the process. He  says that it s origins are rooted in the historical past. His words ‘When Hausa traders were going to Accra in Ghana to trade a long time ago, it was through Illo that they passed. They would stop here with their caravans before going on to Ghana, and on their way back they would stop here. So, a lot of intermingling  has taken place. I think that is the main reason for the domination of the Hausa language in Illo town. ‘He  laments ‘If we are to go on like this, I am sure these languages will die, especially Busanci and Kyanganci. But Zabarmanci will take a very long time before it dies, because children here understand the language. As for Busanci, there  are not up to a hundred who can speak it here in Illo.’
Abubakar Soldier hails from Niger Republic, and Weekly Trust met him at the Lolo market. He says that at Lolo and in several parts of the locality, Hausa is the preferred language. Inevitably, Zabarmanci is dying, he argues. His words ‘People in Lolo speak more Hausa than Zabarama. So Zabarmanci is dying. This is happening all over the locality ’.
A looming extinction
Professor Gbenga Ibileye, formerly of the Department of English, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria,  presently with the Department of English and Literary Studies, Federal University Lokoja, sheds light on the factors which  endanger a language. His words ‘A major indicator of an endangered language is when the younger people of the community no longer speak the language. If you  make a cursory assessment of these languages, you find that children no longer speak these languages, rather they speak English. When the present generation of older people go, we will be left with children who cannot speak their indigenous languages, including the so-called major Nigerian languages.’ Dr  A.S Abaya of the Department of English, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria speaks on a way out of the crises affecting the Nigerian languages. His words ‘One way out is at the level of tertiary institutions, where we can encourage students to carry out research on indigenous languages, using English. Parents should also speak the various local languages to the children while at home. The languages will face extinction if they are not spoken.’ At Lolo market, as well as in Illo itself, Weekly Trust observes  that Hausa is the main language  used in  conversation. In a few places people recourse to Zabarmanci  or Busanci to make a point.