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Translating 1999 Constitution to Nigerian languages: Matters arising

constitution 

Mr Ayanbode Oje, a member of the Change Movement Nigeria, recently translated the 1999 Constitution to Yoruba language. He also decided to make the document available free to empower the perceived disenfranchised, oppressed and the voiceless due to their inability to read and understand English language.

According to him, reading and understanding in one’s language will encourage participatory democracy. “We are calling for volunteers to help translate the 1999 Constitution to other indigenous languages in Nigeria while we work on an audio version of the constitution,’’ he said in an interview.

In spite of Oje’s initiative, observers note that it is worrisome that most Yoruba speaking Nigerians don’t make use of the translated version of the constitution. They note that some of the targeted Nigerians in the translation are not even aware of Oje’s effort, which they say can undermine the purpose of the translation.
For instance, Mr Shola Adeboye, a teacher, said that although the motive behind the translation was to bring the constitution closer and make appealing to the targeted ethnic group, the response of the public to the initiative was not encouraging. But Mr Chinedu Okechukwu, said that he and other Nigerians from his ethnic group, would utilise the advantage of a translated constitution to his language (Igbo) to know more about human rights.
The National Orientation Agency (NOA), therefore, said it would soon circulate indigenous language translations of the constitution to promote understanding of human rights among Nigerians. Mr Mike Omeri, Director-General of the agency, noted that the translation of the constitution was to motivate Nigerians to be conscious of their rights by reading and understanding it.
He said the agency was working with National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to promote human rights in Nigeria, adding that the agency was training its staff in that regard. Lending credence to the decision of the agency to promote more translation of the constitution to more Nigerian languages, Mr Samuel Akanbi, a political scientist, noted that the constitution ought to be in various languages in Nigeria.

 

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