The Nigerian Child In Diaspora

 Igbo/Nigerian Children in Finland

A child starts as early as possible to internalize his surroundings, which includes sound, and gestures emanating from his immediate environment, in this case his home.

For Nigerians living in the Diaspora, the enabling environment their children need to internalize the Nigerian language and culture is non-existent and should therefore be created by the parents.

But does every Nigerian parent in the Diaspora have what it takes to create this enabling environment?

One of the major problems facing the Diaspora Nigerians today is that of transferring our culture especially the Nigerian languages to their children. Of all the Ethnic groups among Nigerians in the Diaspora, the Igbo it seems, are the worst hit by this problem. Most parents prefer to use English language at home, so the child gets used to the sound of the English language from day one. Another reason is that some parents are under pressure to make ends meet, They get too busy during the week leaving the up-bringing of their children in the hands of the day-care centers or other such institutions within the system. Why do the Asians for instance not have this kind of problem? Of course the reason is not far fetched as it is simply because they stick to their native language all the time, and as soon a baby is born into the family, he or she automatically tows in line.

When a child learns his or her native language, it is much easier to understand the other aspects of the culture. The knowledge of the language makes him think and respond in a certain way peculiar to the culture.

It has been proven that children of migrants who have a good background of their culture of origin integrate to a new culture better than those who don’t.

 It is based on this fact that the government of Finland runs an education policy that allows primary school children with dual mother tongue have the right to be taught their mother tongue in school. In the city of Helsinki for instance, if you can find 4 children of Yoruba descent, they are automatically entitled to a Yoruba language class as long as a qualified teacher of the language can be found.
Many foreign nationals in Finland with a large population, for instance Somali language teachers make a living as teachers of their native tongue while at the same time perpetuating their culture.

Many Nigerian children in the Diaspora today have problem of identity . The psychological burden borne by these unfortunate children is capable of leading them to a host of negative attitude. This problem is a very serious one. Every Nigerian parent should make out time to teach his or her child our language. It may not be that easy for some parents. Such parents should seek help from other Nigerians in their community. The best approach will be that of a collective effort through ethnic/national organizations. Unfortunately we form ethnic and national organizations for the wrong reasons. The problem of raising our children should take priority, and I suggest our women, in our Diaspora communities that are lucky to have a large population of Naija women should take up this challenge, since the men often end up in personality conflicts in our organizations.