By Asiat Meikudi
Sadia, who prefers to use a pseudonym to protect her real identity, is an indigene of Kwara State_ a dominated Yoruba speaking state in Nigeria.
She sees and believes in education as a source of exploration and experience. That was the reason she convicted herself and
shrugged all advice given to her, regarding studying in a non-yoruba speaking state.
Meanwhile, by the time Sadia steps on the trail soils of the Seat of Caliphate, Sokoto, her thoughts become diverse about her country, Nigeria.
Nigeria is a multicultural nation owing to her diverse ethnicity with over two hundred languages with three regarded as the major ones_ Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo.
The ample resources earned her the name ‘Giant of Africa’ and being one of the British colonies, made the West African country adopt the English Language as Lingua Franca.
Sadia’s quest for education drives her to the Northwestern part of the country in Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto(UDUS); a 451 kilometers journey from her homeland, Kwara State.
UDUS, a federal University established in 1975, is situated in the heart of Sokoto City in Sokoto state_ an Hausa speaking state in Nigeria.
The students who could not speak the Hausa language had faced one or two hardships as a result.
A Trace of Injustice
Sadia, now a finalist, experienced a scorn of language barrier in her second year in the university.
Night class is not an infantry academic trend to UDUS students. Going to night class is a daily norm of most students who find comfort in reading and revising with their coursemates after the day’s exhaustion. Sadia happens to be a fan of the norms and prefers reading during this hour of the day to any other time.
But after the annoyed incident, she found it reluctant to undergo the norms again.
“I was heading back to the hostel with two other girls whom I didn’t know nor speak with. It was already late around 12:30 in the night,” she recalls.
Before entering the hostel, you are expected
to provide your Identification card_ either the school ID or library ID Card_ to the security officer at the entrance but little did she know that she would be denied access to the hostel without either of the cards.
“After the security demanded our I.D cards to allow us in, I was dumbfounded and tried to plead with him to allow my entry but he stood his ground. After what seemed like some minutes, the two girls took a front and started communicating in tone(Hausa) to the security, in a blink he let them in and denied my entry.”
“Everything became clear to me. Although I didn’t understand their communication, one thing was clear: he made way for them just because they spoke Hausa with him and I, being a non Hausa speaker, remained standing until I called my friend inside to bring my I.D card,” she notes with a distant uneasiness.
My Complaint Change Nothing
Every hostel in UDUS has its own girls popularly tagged ‘Yarinya girl’ whom students send errands to ease their daily task.
Folayowon Roqeebah, a 300-level student from the department of Mathematics narrates her ordeals which altered her mindset on believing the barrier of language.
“I’m not a fan of sending those Yarinya girls any errands although I don’t detest anyone sending them too, I only prefer doing my things by myself.”
But the onus of what happened to her triggered the aversion she had for them.
“It was on Thursday afternoon after fetching two of my cooking buckets. I kept one outside with the aim of coming back and carrying it inside,” she spews out.
Her jaw stood and anger displayed on her forehead on sighting the repulsive act of what one of the ‘Yarinya girls’ did to her cooking bucket.
“I was so enraged after sighting one of those Yarinya girls bent down her head and drank directly from the cooking bucket I fetched. What pained me was not the water she drank but the way she drank it without a cup or bowl to fetch. I was damned angry and wanted to beat hell out of her but refrained from doing so, instead headed to the matron to lay the complaint.”
“But my complaint changed nothing as the matron just shoved the complaint away and signaled with hand to leave them alone. It really pained me, hadn’t it been I understood Hausa, I could have taken the judgment and taught her a lesson not to forget in her life,” she recounts.
Bias of a Lecturer
Ruki (not real name), a law student narrates how the ordeal of not being a Hausa language speaker made her miss one of her courses.
“It was during one of my borrowed courses at ETF3. Both my coursemate and I were late for the lecture and as per the rule of the lecturer ‘No entry once he’s inside,” she says.
“We both waited at the doorstep with a pleading face, hoping to let us in. But he glanced at our direction and asked the reason for coming late to his class.”
“After failing to provide a genuine reason for our lateness, a trail of communication ensued between the other girl and the lecturer. She pleaded with the lecturer in Hausa saying that such a thing will not repeat itself again. I could comprehend little Hausa in her utterance and this clarified the situation. Meanwhile he let her in after giving a warning note and I stood agape till the lecture ended.”
Accommodate only the Hausa Speakers
Of all places in the school, language barrier has no restriction. It is found everywhere in classrooms, departments, between lecturers and students and anywhere you enter. It is either you are confronted with a greeting in Hausa or a question in Hausa.
Segun(not a real), an Oyo State indigene and a 300-level from the department of English and literary Studies department has an encounter with one of such lecturers.
“I entered the office of one of the Arabic lecturers to submit my examination card. He spoke in Hausa language and I was unable to reply to him. He further asked if I understood Arabic or Hausa. My answer turned negative and he told me to step out of his office.”
Segun was agape at the same time shocked on why skepticism was practiced in an institution. Skepticism should not be in a place where different people from different religions meet.
“I did as he said and stayed some minute outside his office before knocking again and said the teslim( Muslim greeting) calmly.”
No One Will be Discriminated Merely for not Understanding Hausa Language_HOD of French Reacts
In response, Professor Umar Kiro Kalgo, the head of the department of French language, says the security man must have denied Sadia entering the hostel on other grounds but not the language barrier.
“The security denied her entry. Maybe her manner of approach was not good enough or her way of dressing wasn’t good.
“No one will be discriminated against merely for not understanding Hausa,” he says.
He further urges the Non-Hausa speakers in the school not to see the difference in language as a spike to initiate a fight or aversion but instead allow peaceful coexistence to reign.
“You should not consider the language but abide by the culture of the people to have peaceful coexistence.”