Prof. Samuel Kolawole, the Director, Nigerian French Language Village (NFLV), Badagry, Lagos State, has urged institutions and parents to desist from ferrying their children and students across border for learning.
Kolawole gave the advice on Friday during an interview with newsmen, at the NFLV 2026 Stakeholders’ Meeting and Conference, with the theme: ”Repositioning French Studies for National Relevance and Employability”.
He said that the Federal Government’s directive mandated that students learning French in all Nigerian universities should come to French Village, for a two-semester language immersion before graduating.
“Our dream as a nation is to produce worldclass French graduates who can represent Nigeria in diplomacy, education, trade and culture.
“That dream is under threat when we send these students to unrecognised and unaccredited institutions outside Nigeria.
“It may look like an opportunity now, but the negative consequences are real, and they last for years, because the academic damage of unrecognised institutions do not meet international standards,” Kolawole said.
He said that NFLV was established to bridge the gap between classroom French and real-life communicative competence.
“Our mandate remains clear: to provide an immersion environment where students, teachers, and professionals can acquire functional proficiency in French,” the director said.
He said that students who graduated with certificates that were not accredited by the government or by National Universities Commission in Nigeria meant wasted years and effort.
“Secondly, there is financial and emotional loss to parents and guardians who have sacrificed a lot to send these children for the programme as tuition, accommodation and feeding are paid in foreign currency.
“When we send our students to these unrecognised institutions in Benin Republic, Cameroon, Niger, the cost is higher than the tuition and that investment becomes a debt with no returns.
“Many families go into debt for a qualification that has no value back home. Students return home with nothing to show for it, except disappointment and many fall into depression,” Kolawole said.
He said that many of the unrecognised institutions did not have qualified lecturers, language laboratories, housing facilities and in most cases health support.
“They often operate without oversight and because the school is not registered, no embassy or government can fully protect them and most times, our children become stranded.
“I, therefore, appeal to you to desist from ferrying your students across the border. It is an act of gross disobedience to the directives of the Federal Ministry of Education,” the director said.
Kolawole described French language as a powerful tool in the West African sub region therefore, students needed proper training, so as not to continue to import interpreters and translators, while Nigerian graduates were left behind.
“The management of NFLV commits itself to transparent reporting on every student sent to us with regards to attendance, performance, proficiency gain and faster processing of results and certificates.
“The future of French in Nigeria depends on how well we work together today. Government policy is pushing for stronger ties with Francophone neighbours.
“We are convinced that ECOWAS, AU, and businesses demand French proficiency. Together, we can make Nigeria truly bilingual and make our graduates the most sought-after in West Africa,” he said.
The director said that the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Tetfund) had granted a waiver to NFLV and that the French village had started benefiting from its interventions.
“This has enabled us to improve our infrastructure, enhance our faculty development and increase our research capacity.
“We hope to continue to enjoy the interventions to enhance the growth and development of NFLV,” he said.
Kolawole, however, said that one major challenge of NFLV was the rising operational costs such as electricity, diesel and facility maintenance, which had constantly been on the increase.
Alh. Labiru Kafur, the Chairman of the Governing Council of the institution, said that numerous opportunities, both nationally and internationally, were available for those who understood French language.
“French is an international language and our products are needed in embassies, military formations, security agencies, diplomatic circles, institutions, trade and many other relevant fields,” Kafur said.
Also speaking, the Chairman, Local Organising Committee, Prof. Omolegbe Laditan, said that NFLV had good structures, facilities and qualified lecturers capable of producing world class graduates of international reputation.
Laditan urged parents and institutions who were interested in the French language to always make use of the NFLV’s immersion programme, so as to get the best result and certification.
“We have upgraded two language resource centres, expanded hostel capacity, and unveiled the NFLV e-Learning Portal system to support blended learning,” he said.
