The Nigerian Pidgin English: A Tool for National Integration

The fact that Nigeria is a multilingual and multicultural speech community is no longer new. Hence, the need for a national language to foster national unity and peace has been a debate among linguistic scholars. Because of its diverse tongues, all indigenous languages (especially the "big three" - Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba) have been ruled out as possible solutions to Nigeria's national language problem. This paper therefore is concerned with providing sufficient facts that the Nigerian Pidgin English can contribute to the national development of Nigeria as a whole. Heedful of this, this paper adopts that the Nigerian Pidgin English is the possible language capable of providing common intelligibility among all based on the following evaluations - it is devoid of ethno political affiliation, it's grammar, syntax and phonology are purely Nigerian, it is the most proximate language among the low, middle and high class, it is being used in the media and even in literary texts. Conclusively, this paper suggests that the Nigerian Pidgin English holds the key to foster unity and national integration