How New York City Got Its Juicy Nickname “The Big Apple” — And What It Means To The World

 

Esther was sure of securing the job she applied for when she set out that morning for an interview with an auditing firm. It was her dream job, and now the opportunity has beckoned. She wants to make it big as an auditor. She had everything it takes for the interview.      

 

Her curriculum vitae was intact, her dress on point and spotless. She looked gorgeous in the black suit that adorns her slim figure, her elegant curves accentuating her feminine beauty as she strode gracefully. 

 

Esther had a good command of spoken English. The last lap of the interview saw the interviewer asking her to write an impromptu letter on why she wanted the job. Besides, writing in incoherent English, she could not differentiate between formal and informal letters. The firm promised to get back to her after the interview but never did.        

        

 Since the 1990s, students' performance in SSCE in the English language points to a worrying situation. The letter-writing section makes the experience taste bitter. The English language is Nigeria’s official language. Most Nigerians do not advocate the English Language above their mother tongue, but being the medium that connects them with other ethnicities and the outside world on an official level; it requires mastery for one's benefit. 

 

Available statistics from WAEC show that the percentage of students' performance has nosedived over the years. It showed that non-performing students (those who scored below average) are usually more than seventy-five percent of the total examination candidates each year, for the fact that they can't communicate effectively in the English Language, which letter writing helps to master.        

 

The art of letter writing is losing its luster. Back in the 1980s, most primary school pupils could effectively communicate by handwritten letter. The few with the luxury of typewriters could afford to use their parents' typewriters to do so. It was unheard of in the 1960s and 1970s for a primary school pupil to be sent for by someone who never saw the four walls of a classroom to write letters for them and for such students to disappoint or decline, they do it with pride.   

 

The major means of communication back in the day were letter writing. Sometimes, people without a postal agency or post office would have to go to neighbouring towns to send or collect mail. This was in pre-independence Nigeria when the Nigerian Postal Agency metamorphosed from the defunct Post and Telecommunications (P & T) Department of the Ministry of Communications to Nigerian Postal Service Department (NIPOST) in 1987. The post office was one of the best-known government agencies then. It was as popular as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) or any government establishment today.  

    

The holiday period witnessed a surge in letter deliveries by postal workers. Students of both primary and secondary schools communicated a lot during this period by letters, not to mention the undergraduates. The beginning of every term had students engaged in letter writing as they try to impress academically on how they spent their holidays and at the same time writing to their loved ones about how they are doing in school. Within the same school, students communicate often by writing to one another. 

 

  Fast forward to the twenty-first century, other than for examination purposes students hardly write to communicate in Standard English. Most students have no idea that NIPOST exists. NIPOST what sounds vague to many students of all categories. Mr. Chidozie Owoh, the Principal Postal Officer NIPOST, Awka, Anambra State, insists they still deliver mail. He maintained that the volume of mail delivered has not in any way diminished, “NIPOST is on the verge of expanding its activities, especially in the area of mail delivery. We are in the sight of building more post offices, postal agencies, and post centres across the country. Here in Awka, we have mounted postal posts in places like Amaenyi and other places where people can post their letters without coming to the post office.”

 

 Ike Chukwudi, a SS 1, student of Ezi Awka Community Secondary School, Awka, Anambra State, does not know what NIPOST acronym stands for. When told what NIPOST does, he said the letters he has written so far are for examinations in English Language class. “I have not written a letter to anybody, but I send short message service (SMS) when I want to communicate with people in written form, I find it easier and convenient than writing a letter” 

 

With the digital age around us, some people may argue that NIPOST may not be relevant, as some people claim they can effectively employ any digital device to accomplish that. Findings suggest the digital medium which was supposed to make for effective communication has become a major basis for the decline in standard communication in written English, as most people write in short message service, (SMS).   

 

 A student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, who gave her name as Jane said she found it boring and a waste of time writing letters, “I would only bother myself with letter writing when I graduate and seek a job. Who knows, I might not apply for a job, but with the right connection, I can land a good job. So, what is the point in writing a letter, ” When asked if she needs to write a letter, even formal when she gets a job, she said, “When I get there, I will know how to cross the bridge.” 

 

 A parent, Loretta Azubuike, argues that the internet has a lot to offer, but its bad side is affecting the way the younger generation and to some extent, the older generation, deal with the simple art of writing good English which is not encouraging “Most youths today play with their phones than read and write. When they communicate in written form they often text in non-standard English. I have a cousin in a tertiary institution, who once wrote letters in SMS. As a parent, I can't do much not to let my children use their phones, but it is left to me and my husband to encourage them to write in standard English, however short the text message is.” 

 

  Alex Igbokwe, a public analyst, points to the increasing use of pidgin English by most youths as a contributing factor to interest some schools show in the role the English Language plays in today's world. “Most people, especially the younger generation communicates in pidgin English rather than in standard English. It has now become a fashion that no matter your ethnicity, you need to interact in Pidgin English to communicate with most people. The way most schools handle the English Language is not encouraging. The government should receive a knock for the way it has funded public education in the country.”    

 

 “We are losing an important part of history,'' says Ogo Ezedi, a schoolteacher, “Letter writing involves someone expressing his thoughts in communicable words; words that go into a letter are carefully chosen and painstakingly written. Years after writing, when you pick up a well-written letter, it speaks of creativity. Today, it appears we are saying goodbye to an aspect that makes us speak and write better. It pains to see that most youths can't construct good English, more so when it comes to written form.”

 

An educationist, Mr. John Okoye, blamed the poor performance in letter writing and written English in Nigeria on the declining educational system in the country. “It embarrasses and makes me ashamed that students, even those in tertiary institutions, can't communicate effectively in written English. 

 

People may blame the internet age, but I blame the government for the failing standard in Nigeria’s educational system. Education has not been accorded the right perspective, so it is no longer attractive. Some people demonstrate the importance of money rather than sound education. The body language is to make money and other things will fall into place. But that kind of mentality does not help a nation like Nigeria to grow.”