The Role and Effect of Language and Ethnicity in Nigerians’ Political Climate

Language play an unavoidable role in human existence. Language and society are usually in unism. The relationship between the two is deeply rooted in antiquity and so if one does not exist the other will also extinct. Nothing has ever influenced the human race either positively or negatively as language has done. This is so because language is the cardinal vehicle for human interaction and integration in all sphere of endeavor. One such aspect is Politics. The intrinsic link between language and politics has long been recognized by Aristotle who wrote that “man is more of a political animal than bees or any other gregarious animal. Nature as it is often said makes nothing in vain, and man is the only animal whom she endowed with the gift of speech”. It is therefore the cardinal aim of this paper to explicate the impeccable role of language in politics, and the effect of language on politics and social reality. Lastly, a cursory consideration of the influence of language and politics in national development, unity and cohesion will be x-rayed.