The National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN), Aba, Abia State will hold her first convocation on December 2, holds her first Convocation.
The institution was established in 1992.
The institution will use the occasion to honour some Nigerians, including Prof Ayo Bamgboshe, 91, one of the pioneers of Africa and Nigeria linguistics; Archbishop (Emeritus) Anthony Obinna; Prof Peter Ejiofor, the Emir of Zauzau, Alhaji Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli and Chairman of Innoson Motors, Chief Innocent Chukwuma.
Disclosing these during a pre-convocation press briefing, the Executive Director of NINLAN, Prof Obiajulu Emejulu said the convocation ceremony will lead to the award of Postgraduate Diplomas, Certificates and Diplomas to graduands since inception.
Prof Emejulu informed that the convocation lecture with the theme, “Finalization, implementation and sustainability of Nigerian Language Policy as strategy for retooling Nigeria’s security and Industrial Development”, will be delivered by Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof Rasheed Adamu Abubarkar.
Emejulu who stated that circumstances beyond the institution’s control could not allow it hold her convocation over the years, disclosed that all graduands of the institution since inception have been contacted for the convocation ceremony and have indicated interest to attend.
The Executive Director regretted that the institute was yet to meet its core mandate of awarding degrees as a result of a lacuna being cited by NUC.
“NINLAN Act empowers the Institute to award Degrees, Diplomas and Certificates. But the long-standing obstacles to our starting the degree programme have not been removed.
“At the Government level, NUC objects to our doing degree programme because the name of our academic authority in our Act is ‘Academic Board’s and not ‘Senate’ as it is called in the University’s Act.
“Based on that, we were asked to have our act amended by the National Assembly and that has been going on for about three years now”.
He called on NASS to expedite action on this to enable the institution becoming a degree awarding as its the case all over the world.
In the meantime, Emejulu said NINLAN was going to affiliate with Nnamdi Azikiwe University for it to award Degrees to her graduands.
While restating that Nigerian indigenous languages should be vehicles for national development, the ED further disclosed that the convocation ceremony will be used to honour some Nigerians who have distinguished themselves in various fields of life.