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– Says African languages key to inclusive growth
By Bianca Iboma -Emefu
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of CEOAFRICA, Prince Cletus Iloabanafor, has issued a strong call to policymakers, corporate bodies, private sector actors and civil society organisations to deepen their support for the African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) as it approaches its 20th anniversary.
Iloabanafor made the appeal at the University of Ghana, Legon, during the 2026 Africa Languages Week held from February 23 to 24 in Accra. He said the ongoing stakeholder engagements are laying a critical foundation for the official anniversary celebrations scheduled to commence in the third quarter of 2026.
A member of the Africa Languages Week Coordinating Committee and Chairman of Resource Mobilisation, Iloabanafor stressed that sustained investment in African languages remains a powerful but underutilised pathway to inclusive development across the continent.
Speaking under the 2026 theme, “Sustainable Waters, Shared Voices: African Languages as the Conduit for Water and Safe Sanitation for the Africa We Want,” he challenged governments and corporate organisations to tap into the economic and social potential of Africa’s over 600 million indigenous language speakers.
According to him, engaging this vast population could significantly transform business outcomes and public policy impact by reaching nearly 60 per cent of Africans who remain excluded by the dominance of colonial languages in governance, commerce and service delivery.
The two-day gathering also witnessed the official unveiling of ACALAN’s new logo and a series of high-level strategic sessions chaired by Prof. Dr. Vicensia Shule, Acting Executive Secretary of ACALAN. She urged stakeholders to design high-impact initiatives capable of converting two decades of linguistic research into measurable social and economic outcomes, including a proposed recognition ceremony for lifetime contributors to indigenous language development.
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In an interaction with CEOAFRICA, Prof. Shule called on parents and educational institutions to prioritise intergenerational language transmission as a safeguard for Africa’s cultural identity. She reaffirmed ACALAN’s commitment to moving beyond policy formulation to practical implementation across African Union member states, aligning the 20th anniversary with the International Action Plan for Indigenous Languages to improve quality of life, governance and linguistic rights.
Strategic coordination of the week was led by the Africa Languages Week Coordinating Committee, chaired by Margaret Nankinga. Other members included John Rusimbi, Babusa Omar Hamisi, Anicet Allamadjingaye and Francina Nutifafa Feyi.
During the working sessions, Nankinga presented proposals on language advocacy, while Iloabanafor outlined strategies to boost the visibility and valorisation of African languages across education, media, governance and business. Technical presentations showcased innovations such as artificial intelligence tools for African languages and the use of animation and cartoons to support early childhood language learning.
Former Senior Programme Officer, Dr. Babajide Ojo Johnson, also highlighted the need to deliver media literacy and entrepreneurship education in indigenous languages to advance the African Union’s Agenda 2063 aspirations.
Discussions further focused on the instrumentalisation of African languages through the development of standardised vocabularies for critical sectors including health, water and public administration, with participants stressing the need for adaptive governance frameworks to keep African languages relevant in a rapidly evolving digital age.
As the event closed, Iloabanafor renewed his call for strategic partnerships and unwavering stakeholder support, noting that the year-long 20th anniversary programme—scheduled to run from September 2026 to 2027—signals a renewed push to reposition African languages as pillars of social cohesion and sustainable development.
He said reclaiming Africa’s linguistic heritage is indispensable to shaping a future in which the continent fully realises its potential on the global stage.
