Paper short abstract:

This paper advocates for a better understanding of the indispensable roles and importance of Foreign languages, especially Portuguese, in the attainment of the development goals of Nigeria

Paper long abstract:

The introduction of Portuguese as a language of instruction in the Nigerian educational system actually predates Nigeria itself as a nation. Historical records show that the Portuguese language was first brought into the area known today as Southern Nigeria by the arrival of the first Portuguese sailors on the Guinea Coast in the 15th Century in their quest for the road to India and the wealth it promised in spices and silk trade, among others. A more pronounced presence of the Portuguese language was introduced into the coastal region of South-Western Nigeria from the mid-1800s when Afro-Brazilian returnees known severally as Aguda, Amaro and Tabom along the West-African coastal region came to settle in the areas around Badagry and Lagos where the Agudas successfully constituted themselves into a closely-knitted community and implanted the Brazilian version of the Portuguese language and culture. Today, Portuguese language represents one major component in the restricted list of Foreign languages taught in the Nigerian Tertiary School System. The present paper not only seeks to evaluate the role that the teaching of Portuguese as a foreign language has been playing in the training and formation of Nigerians in the past four decades but also highlights the impact of the interaction of Nigerian Portuguese language students have been having with the Lusophone world, most especially, Brazil and Portugal, over the years to the cultural, socio-economic and technological development of Nigeria.