How Dr Bukar Usman’s Folktale Archive Is Helping Preserve Nigerian Languages

A long-running effort to preserve Nigeria’s disappearing mother tongues has drawn fresh attention, with researcher and folklore advocate Dr Bukar Usman cited as a key figure in documenting oral traditions across the country.

The project, carried out between 2013 and 2015, gathered more than 4,000 folktales from communities across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones. Field teams reportedly worked with elders and local custodians of oral history, using audio recordings to capture stories in their original languages before they were lost.

The collected material was later translated and published in Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba and English under a body of work described as a “Treasury of Nigerian Tales.” The archive is now being used by researchers, schools and media practitioners who require reliable local story material in multiple languages.

The intervention comes at a time when concerns about language erosion are rising in many parts of Nigeria, especially where children are growing up with limited fluency in their ancestral tongues. Education and cultural advocates have repeatedly warned that once a language loses everyday speakers, songs, idioms, proverbs and local memory structures also begin to disappear.

Supporters of Usman’s work say its significance goes beyond literature. By preserving folktales in source languages and making translated editions available, the programme ties together language retention, identity and community history. It also offers a practical framework for integrating mother-tongue content into classrooms and youth-facing cultural programmes.

As president of the Nigerian Folklore Society, Usman has expanded the initiative into books, radio content and instructional resources, helping younger audiences access stories that were historically passed down in moonlight circles and family compounds.

His documentation model also aligns with global efforts to protect endangered languages. UNESCO has promoted actions centred on documentation, revitalisation and the use of local languages in learning systems under the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022–2032). Observers say the Nigerian case shows how those principles can be translated into community-led work.

The influence of the archive has reportedly crossed Nigeria’s borders. Similar preservation conversations have emerged in Hausa-speaking communities in neighbouring Niger and Chad, while some overseas researchers have referenced the project in discussions around African oral heritage.

For language campaigners, the broader lesson is clear: preservation cannot wait until a tongue is nearly extinct. Recording oral material, publishing multilingual editions, and building school-ready cultural content are now seen as urgent steps for keeping Nigeria’s linguistic diversity alive.

The renewed call around Mother Tongue Day therefore carries a practical challenge for institutions and families alike: speak local languages at home, support local-language learning in schools, and preserve oral narratives while elder storytellers are still available to share them.