Chinelo Obogo
Leaders of the Fulani living in the South West have unveiled books which they believe would help preserve the Fulfude language.
Sarkin Fulani of Lagos State and chairman, association of Fulani Chiefs, South West, Mohammed Bambado, said on Sunday during the public presentation of the Fulfulde Century Educational Books in Lagos, that the Fulfulde language is gradually going into extinction.
He said: “There are over 6000 languages spoken in the world today but many are at the risk of becoming extinct and forgotten. It is estimated that if any language could be wiped off the map by the end of this century. While some languages that are considered endangered have become confined to single villages and still others to single people.
“Fulfulde is a language spoken by the Fulani, who are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely spread across the region to the far reaches of Central Africa and regions near the Red Sea coast.
“We may not have the accurate on the number of people that speaks Fulfulde regularly as first language or official language, but we should not be surprised that like other languages, Fulfulde too is also endangered and under real threat. This is not cheering news. A language is at risk of being lost when it is no longer taught to younger generations, while fluent speakers of the language, usually the elderly, die.”