Paper long abstract:

In 2013, the Lagos State government, under Governor Babatunde Fashola, introduced the teaching and learning of Mandarin in five state-owned secondary schools. The pilot programme was part of efforts to identify with China, which is fast becoming a world power of note. This paper undertakes an exploration of the reactions that greeted the state policy especially from Lagosians. Using the research instrument of netnography, data harvested reveal mixed perspectives about the socio-cultural implications of this action on the indigenous languages of Nigeria and the people as a whole. Lagos is a linguistically heterogeneous enclave accommodating people from virtually all ethno-linguistic groups, with Yoruba as the language of wider communication. The introduction of Mandarin, though not compulsory but expected to be of economic benefit to those who learn it, is perceived as a move towards conflict of linguistic and cultural interest. While indigenous languages are mostly undermined in high school curriculum in Nigeria, the teaching of Mandarin dramatizes the onset of the integration of Chinese into the Nigerian school system, besides English and French. The difficulty that may arise from learning a new foreign language, with an alien orthography constitutes a significant part of the reactions. The paper concludes that much as the motivation for introducing Mandarin stemmed from the prospects of economic benefits for indigenes and residents of Lagos State, it raises important questions about the implication of this initiative on the languages in Nigeria.

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