The first Hausa language native speaker to become a Professor of French Studies in Nigeria, Bashir Mohammed Sambo, has saluted the determination, zeal and courage of Prof. Adamu Abubakar Gwarzo in promoting french language in Kano State, and across the country.
Recently, Prof. Gwarzo, who is the Founder of Maryam Abacha American University of Niger and Nigeria (MAAUN), awarded fully-paid tuition fees scholarships to no fewer than 50 fresh students of Bayero University, Kano (BUK).
The scholarship will span their entire four years’ of the beneficiaries as BUK undergraduates–from 100 to 400 level.
Prof. Sambo, explained that the MAAUN Founder knew the ‘terrible’ condition of french in Nigeria, together with the low number of people studying it in the country’s tertiary institutions.
That is why Prof. Abubakar Gwarzo is also tinkering with the idea of establishing a College for teaching french, Sambo, who is a lecturing staff of BUK, said.
“Prof. Gwarzo obviously does not want French die in Kano and Nigeria, in extension, because students are not enrolling for the course at our BUK,” he added.
According to the renowned french researcher, Nigerians who do not understand french find it difficult to socialize and interact with citizens of the francophone nations sharing borders with Nigeria.
He argued that the importance and relevance of french is appreciated looking at the fact that it is the foreign language with the second highest number of speakers, across the world.
He said: “It is one of the official languages of the United Nations and the European Union. Therefore, it is a very important language, and wherever you move to in this world, you would meet french.”
Prof. Mohammed Sambo, expressed regret that french language has not been giving the recognition it very much deserves.
“The government is not giving enough support to french language. And here in the North, Arabic is also competing with french too,” he said.
