By Miracle Enuji
Nigerian graduates seeking further studies in English speaking countries, have constantly being coerced to take the IELTS or TOEFL exam to prove their profiency in English Language.
This Commonwealth countries of which Nigeria is a recognized member, and speaks same English language, have consistently demanded prove of English language from emigrating Nigerians.
IELTS, TOEFL exams which cost between N80,000 to N120,000 (about $250) in Nigeria, requires the candidate to have a certain score inorder to gain admission into some of these International schools or be employed in these countries.
This challenge has crashed the dreams of many young Nigerians of acquiring advanced education and an opportunity to compete with their peers abroad.
Activist, author and a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, is challenging this ‘discrimination’.
He took to his Twitter Account to query this demand, which has psychological and economical effects on the graduates who had studied in English language for about 4-8 years in Nigeria University.
According to tweets obtained on his timeline, Omokri said, “Why should a Nigerian graduate whose degree was taught in English have to write the IELTS to prove he can speak English? UK Visas are given to Chinese students whose English is nowhere near the proficiency of Nigerian graduates. What is the use of being in the Commonwealth if our English is not considered good enough for the United Kingdom? Then it means the wealth is not common.
“Will the United Kingdom be pleased if Nigeria insists that British citizens seeking to transact business in Nigeria must pass a Nigerian English test? Of course not. Then why would the UK insist Nigerian university students take an IELTS test to prove they can speak English when their degrees were taught in English? We agree we have an accent. But English is a language, not an accent!
“Even as I am pressing for the UK and Canada to abolish IELTS and TOEFL for Nigerian undergraduates, their insistence on these exams is a wake-up call for us to develop our universities and, more importantly, learn and speak our native languages. TOEFL means Test of English as a Foreign Language. What they are telling you is that although you think you speak English, from their point of view, to you, it is a foreign language. They are telling you that it is not your language. So you must learn your own language as a backup to English.
“How can the UK, Canada, and Australia ask Nigerian graduates to take IELTS and TOEFL to prove they can speak English when Nigerian universities have even produced a Nobel Laureate in English Literature? The author of one of the most successful books in the English language of the last century (Things Fall Apart) was the product of a Nigerian institution. England itself is now a consumer of Nollywood movies. Yet, they say we can’t speak and understand English?
“I schooled in England. It is easier to understand a Nigerian speaking English than it is to understand some Scottish and Irish accents.
“I wore baggy clothes back then. But nobody asked me to write IELTS or TOEFL. So why ask today’s Nigerian graduates to write them? Why the discrimination? We are an English-speaking country. Our youths are being turned into cash cows for foreign institutions, which must stop. Enough is enough!”
In a related video, he also addressed the imbalance within the Commonwealth countries ranging from trade to education.
It Is An Insult For The UK To Ask Nigerians To Prove They Can Speak English Before Giving Them Study Visa-Omokri Tells UK High Commissioner to Ghana #TableShaker pic.twitter.com/eNpwYUGNLg
— Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) May 15, 2023
