EAC Member States Reaffirm Spreading Swahili Across Africa

By Margaret Ebeshi

Ambassadors from Member States in the East African Community (EAC), in Nigeria have reiterated their country’s commitment to the spread of the Swahili language for Africa’s renaissance.

The pledge was made at the commemoration of the 2025 Swahili Language Day in Abuja, Nigeria.

At the event hosted by the EAC in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Mohamed Malick Fall said it has become imperative to celebrate all those who have worked in the preservation of the Swahili language and in turn preserve the culture, tradition and the soul of the African people.

Mr. Fall called on governments and the education sector to continue to promote the teaching of Swahili language across Africa.

“As globalization accelerates and dominant language overshadow local tongue, the importance of protecting and revitalizing local languages like Swahili becomes ever more important. We celebrate the poet, we celebrate the elders, the educators, the youths that continue to speak, dream and teach in Swahili.

“Their dedication preserve not just vocabulary but the soul of people. From oral traditions to contemporary literatures and digital applied. Kiswahili finds a new expression adopting to modern realities while rooted into ancestral dept,” he said.

Mr. Fall called for the adoption of technology to preserve and spread the Swahili language through the use of Apps, Audio books, language learning platform and social media story telling.

The Kenyan High Commissioner to Nigeria and Chairperson of the EAC in Nigeria, Amb. Isaac Parashina speaking on this year’s theme: “Kiswahili Past, Present and Future” said the Swahili language must evolve beyond a cultural threshold to become a language of innovation and global relevance.

“This year’s theme “Kiswahili Past, Present and Future” invites us to reflect on the language journey and what lies ahead. We honour its past with reverence for Kiswahili carries the wisdom of generations, the spirit of assistance and the memories of oral tradition, we celebrate its present with pride as it flourishes with literature, music, education, and daily discuss and we must shape its future with determination ensuring that it is driven in digital space, scientific enquiry and the global market place of ideas,” he said.

Also, Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mallam Jibrin Baba Ndace emphasized that the Swahili language be put at the fore front of driving Africa’s positive narrative.

He said that, VON as one of Africa’s international broadcast stations was a leading driver of Africa’s positive perspective through its daily broadcast in the Swahili language and several other languages.

“Whatever we do we must prioritize public media institutions and put them in the front line in creating positive content about our country and continent because no country is perfect in the world but what you’ll hear about African countries is always in the negative. We have a beautiful continent but the world will not take us seriously until we own our narrative,” he added.

The Tanzania High Commissioner to Nigeria, Amb. Selestine Kakele lauded the UNESCO and the organizers of the event stating that it was the first step to uniting Africa.

There were several goodwill messages from other ambassadors in the EAC emphasizing the adoption of the Swahili language at official capacity.

There was also a presentation and testimony from the swahili class in Voice of Nigeria