IBADAN – The Acting Director, Alliance Francaise in Ibadan, Oyo state, Mr Nicolas Michelland, has urged the Federal Government to make French language a compulsory subject from primary to tertiary institutions.
Michelland made the call at the 2016 annual carnival of Franco-phone countries on Sunday in Ibadan.
He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that March 20 was usually set aside to celebrate world’s francophone countries.
NAN reports that Alliance Francaise is an international organisation that aims to promote French language and culture around the world.
According to Michelland, the Federal Government has been supporting the organisation but needs to make French the second language in the country.
He said that though French was made compulsory at the junior schools, it should be extended to secondary and tertiary institutions.
He said that many Nigerians who had passed through Alliance Francaise spoke French fluently and could compete with their peers around the world.
Michelland said that the Alliance Francaise was a non-profit institution devoted to training and educating people wherever it existed.
He said that the organisation had 850 centres in 137 countries. (NAN)