Spanish in Sub-Saharan Africa: Whither Nigeria?

Abstract

The apparent lack of recognition of the need for Spanish as a foreign language is surprising in Nigeria where only one federal university offers Spanish (Uchechukwu, 2014). Even the Spanish government’s Action Plans for Africa (2001-2012), efforts at the diplomatic level to foster bilateral relationships through cultural exchange, and introduction of Spanish as a foreign and international language into the African continent did not have any resonancein Nigeria. Investigations however, confirm a tremendous increase in learning Spanish in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa with the francophone countries in the forefront (Serrano, 2014). This paper presents the situation of Spanish in Nigeria and poses the question of the country’s standin this emerging trend in the West African sub-Saharan region.

Key Words: Spanish in Sub-Saharan Africa, Spanish in Francophone countries, Spanish in Nigeria