To some Nigerian English pragmatists and enthusiasts, that the Oxford English Dictionary has bow to pressure by adding to the ever-expanding vocabularies, about 20 Nigerian words and slangs, did not come as a surprise. According to the records, there are well over 500,000 words and workgroups in the standard dictionary, quoting the authoritative Chambers 21st Century Dictionary. Other dictionaries abound boasting of different figures of entry they hold, from top rank to lower rung world languages, such as Latin, French, German, Swiss etc. Hardly has any African county, including Nigeria, with its rich culture and languages been mentioned by the array of books, the dictionary in particular, giving the wrong notion that the compilers of the compendium didn’t care a hoot about African culture.
The clamour has been on to change the narrative right from the beginning of time by some Nigerians and other African scholars. Great poets and writers, such as Chinua Achebe, Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, Ayi Kwei Amah, to mention a few, have risen to the challenge and in stout defence of the rich African vocabularies through their writings, but the biased English or Western lexicographers, said to have put together the dictionary, looked the other way.
From the African point of view, the assumption is that the White man sees himself as superior in everything, and so it would take longer time to convince him that Africa, nay Nigeria has come of age despite her leadership failures, with the gang up of the same West, of course, to keep her in perpetual bondage with the unenviable tag of the dark continent of the world. Now that the scales have finally fallen off the eyes of authors of the book, made up mostly by American and British writers, I doubt if any Nigerian, and indeed, African scholar, has been invited to seat on the panel of selectors to protect the interest of Africa, let’s not trivialise or waste the opportunity to press for more.
Thanks to some Nigerian language experts who have been working behind the scene to ensure Nigerian words are listed in the English dictionary. Above all, kudos to Oxford English Dictionary for setting the pace by ignoring all biases and prejudices long held against Africa’s prolific culture, especially in its diverse indigenous dialects, for accepting to list 20 Nigerian words and slangs to further enrich the world vocabularies. A Nigeria expert, based in UK, Kingsley Ugwuanyi claims he has been one of the forerunners in convincing the Oxford Dictionary to recognise and enter words, such as japa, eba, agbero, 419 among other 16 phrases; including their pronunciations. What a feat! It’s also a good omen to compel others to follow suit. Many of the words, from the argument, are commonly used in Nigeria. It’s said to be everyday pidgin, slangs, also known as street language that reflect Nigeria’s luxurious heritage. For example, the two-syllable word, “japa” means when Nigerians move to places like Europe or America for better opportunities, according to Oxford English Dictionary.
Another common term, “agbero,” refers to someone (usually young) who works at bus stops collecting money from passengers. Whatever that means, drivers are the target of this group of miscreants, who, in most cases, directly influenced how much fare the commuters have to pay. Other mentions, include 419 as internet scam, especially ones asking for money upfront; area boys, cross-carpet, edo, gele, kanuri, abi, adire, suya, kobo, naija, yahoo, yahoo boy etc. From whichever prisms one looks at it, the development is positive one and an eye opener that Nigeria and Africa have so much to offer the world if the Western world treat them as partners, rather than subdue and see them as underdogs.
