Celebrating RFI Hausa service @10
Permit me to congratulate the management of RFI for coming this far. I wish you many more years. FRI Hausa will mark its 10 years anniversary on May 21, 2017. If you understand Hausa language and you don’t listen to RFI, BBC, Voice of America, Deutsche Welle Hausa services etc., I strongly advise you start listening to it. The media are very important means of enlightenment and education. Resource persons who are professors and PhD holders from universities are usually called upon for analyses on different national and international issues.
Unarguably the most effective means of political communication and otherwise among the masses majority in Northern Nigeria, in my observation, is Radio. Radio as a source of information has undoubtedly made the Hausa-Fulanis and or Northern Nigerian masses more politically conscious as well as educated than their compatriots. I know too very well that the western powers have their objectives each for set up of their media houses, nonetheless, in my view, it has done more good than harm to our people. However, any politician in the North or Nigeria as a whole who ignores the power of Radio only does that at his own peril.
Radio France International broadcast news in 15 languages. RFI speaks to the world in English but also in 14 other languages: French, Cambodian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Spanish, Hausa, Mandingo, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Swahili, Persian, Romanian, Russian and Vietnamese.
France International generally referred to by its acronym RFI, is a French public radio service that broadcasts in Paris and all over the world. With 35.6 million listeners in 2008, it is one of the most listened to international radio stations in the world, along with BBC World Service, Voice of America and Deutsche Welle.
“Hausa”, “Swahili” and Arabic languages are the three most widely spoken languages in Africa. “Swahili” is widely spoken among the East African countries while Hausa language is widely spoken in West Africa and beyond. Arabic is being spoken among the North Africans. Hausa language is being spoken in about 32 countries out of the 54 Independent African countries. Hausa language is being taught as course in universities in Germany, England, United States of America, Belgium, Netherland, Poland, Portugal, Russian, Sweden, Switzerland and many other African Universities.
A lot of white people study Hausa Language in order to make their research work easier especially in West Africa and other parts of Africa. We have many Europeans that are professors in Hausa Language. Hausa Language has international recognition with British Broadcasting Corporation(BBC), broadcast news in over 30 different world languages daily and from 1957 to date (60 years) it has been broadcasting news in Hausa language four(4) times daily(in total 2 hours) You can also watch them on “Capital TV” Ghana.
United States of America’s Voice of America (VOA) Hausa service was established in 1979(38 years) and it has been broadcasting news in Hausa language four (4) times daily. In Germany Deutech welle Radio was established in 1953 it has been broadcasting news in Hausa language three (3) times daily. Others are Radio Moscow World Service, Hausa 1961; Radio Sin (China) International, Hausa, 1941; Radio Libya, Hausa; Radio Tehran (Iran) IRIB, Hausa; Radio TRT Hausa and Radio Muryan Alkahira, Egypt.
Hausa Language is being spoken in Nigeria, Niger, Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Chad, Togo, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Gambia, Central Africa Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Congo, Ethiopia, Eretria, Sudan, Libya and Egypt etc. We have newspapers that published in Hausa language such as Leadership Hausa, Aminiya and Rariya etc. Hausa language can be adopted as a lingua Franca in West Africa with little or no hitches. Nurudeen Dauda, nurudeendauda24@yahoo.com. Abuja,