Arabic Language Planning in Multilingual Nigeria: A Comparative Analysis of State-Level Policy Instruments

Language planning for Arabic in Nigeria operates primarily at the state rather than federal level, producing a highly heterogeneous policy landscape across the 36 states that reflects divergent attitudes towards Arabic, Islam, and multilingual education across Nigeria's diverse geopolitical regions. This study conducts a systematic comparative analysis of state-level Arabic language planning instruments across all 36 Nigerian states, developing an original typology of Arabic language planning approaches and theorising the sociolinguistic, political, and demographic factors that determine state-level policy choices. Using a comparative language policy methodology, the research compiles and analyses the Arabic language provisions of all available state-level education laws, curriculum frameworks, examination policies, teacher employment regulations, and official language directives for each state, supplemented by interviews with 36 state ministry of education officials and 24 Arabic education stakeholders across all geopolitical zones. Corpus analysis of state policy language identifies the discursive framings through which Arabic is positioned in each state's education policy. The comparative analysis produces a six-type taxonomy of Nigerian state Arabic language planning orientations ranging from active promotion to institutional exclusion. The study develops an original Nigerian Arabic Language Planning Model that integrates sociolinguistic ecology theory with Nigerian political economy analysis to explain the observed inter-state variation. Keywords: Arabic language planning, Nigerian states, language policy, comparative analysis, multilingualism.