Ngugi’s latest prize should inspire us to love local languages

Kenyan novelist, playwright and essayist Ngugi wa Thiong’o is the winner of the 31st Catalonia International Prize. Ngugi beat 73 contenders from 35 countries. According to Catalan News, Ngugi has won the prestigious award thanks to his distinguished and courageous literary work. Notably, Ngugi’s win is attributed to his invariable defence of African languages that is premised upon his conviction that language embodies a people’s culture and collective memory.

The award Jurry reckons that Ngugi wa Thiong’o is one of the most renowned and prolific African writers. The jury further appreciates that in his novels, essays, memoirs and plays, Ngugi blends the most profound African traditions with sensitive yet merciless description of the social and political situation in Kenya.

This award couldn’t have come at a better time than this. It is a perfect punctuation to my reflections on the literary events that the year 2019 brought with it. Among these events stands my first physical encounter with Ngugi wa Thiong’o when he visited Kenya in the first quarter of the year. In my mind’s ears and eyes I can still hear and see everything that transpired during his public lectures that I attended. How can one let go of fond memories of the punchy tunes to which the Maseno University band treated us on the morning of the 4th day of February as we awaited his arrival at Maseno University? Just how can one forget the afternoon visit that Ngugi paid us at the East African Educational publishers (EAEP) Nairobi offices soon afterwards?

 Indeed, it is for very justifiable reasons that memories of the day we trooped to the Kenya National Theatre to witness the launch of Kenda Muiyuru: Rugano Rwa Gikuyu na Mumbi, Ngugi’s latest title, still stalk me.

During his visit, the key theme of his public lectures, media interviews and informal conversations, such as the one we had at EAEP offices, was mother tongues. Worried over Africans’ open contempt for their mother tongues, he implored his audiences not to confer a non-existent superiority status on foreign languages. He nevertheless did not dissuade people from learning foreign languages. In fact, he encouraged them to learn as many foreign languages as time and other resources can allow them to. He argued that the more languages one masters besides one’s mother tongue, the more empowered one gets. He however categorically reminded his audiences that proficiency in foreign languages, and not their mother tongues is enslavement.

Ngugi lauded the Ministry of Education for securing the place of mother tongues in the school curriculum. He however challenged both central and county governments to invest heavily in the preservation of mother tongues through writing.

The discernible modesty in Ngugi’s tone and the memorable smile that lingered on his lips and eyes as he gave his lectures, in my observation, were manifestations of his passion for his cause. It’s good news, therefore, that the world has recognised the consequence, meaning and significance of his endeavor. The question that begs is, shall we or shan’t we read Ngugi’s lips and warm up to his call?

Are teachers still going to use the time allocated for mother tongues for English practice and as such, implicitly send a message to the learner that their mother tongue is not important? And will the government indifferently look the other way as this happens? Are we going to stop humiliating or beating learners who speak mother tongue at school? What about parents? Are they still going to celebrate their children’s mother tongue oral, reading and written incompetencies?

Our sense of patriotism, demands of us to join Ngugi wa Thiong’o in his celebration of his latest award. And the best way to do so is by supporting his aspiration to have present and future generations of Africans master their mother tongues and then venture out and learn as many foreign languages as they wish. This is the surest way to surmount present day neo-colonialism, imperialism and dominance. Let us embrace our mother tongues. Let us pursue universal and a hundred per cent literacy in Kenya and Africa at large.

A few days ago the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) shared photographs of indigenous language experts developing indigenous language instructional materials in Naivasha. This is good news and one can only hope that indigenous language textbooks aside, KICD and local publishers are also developing indigenous language readers and other supplementary learning materials. 

It’s notable that the government has done exemplarily well in her bid to attain a 1:1 learner –textbook ratio. A conversation with any school teacher on this subject will confirm to any doubting Thomas that things are, indeed, looking up. It is at the same time notable that when it comes to indigenous languages, the government is yet to put her money where her mouth is.

Congratulations Ngugi wa Thiong’o! Your win is a win for all African languages and cultures. And this win will hopefully inspire our resolution to completely decolonise our minds in the New Year.

The Saturday Nation published this article on December 28, 2019.