Language Policy, Ideology, and Power in Nigerian Federal Tertiary Institutions: A Critical Political Economy of Linguistic Governance

This study develops a critical political economy analysis of language policy, ideology, and power in Nigerian federal tertiary institutions, investigating how language governance in universities reproduces social inequalities, confers institutional advantage, and reflects broader relations of political and economic power in postcolonial Nigeria. Existing studies of language policy in Nigerian universities have been largely descriptive and institutional, neglecting the ideological and structural dimensions of linguistic governance. The research employs a critical discourse analysis and political economy framework drawing on Tollefson's power and inequality model of language policy, Bourdieu's theory of linguistic capital, and Pennycook's critical applied linguistics. Data were collected from policy document analysis across twelve federal universities, in-depth interviews with 30 academic leaders and policymakers, focus groups with 120 students from diverse linguistic backgrounds, and analysis of institutional examination and admissions practices. Findings reveal that English-only institutional policies in Nigerian federal universities systematically disadvantage students from minority language backgrounds in ways that correlate with the geopolitical distribution of federal funding and faculty recruitment. Language ideology of English as neutral and meritocratic is documented as functioning to obscure structurally embedded inequalities. The study makes an original theoretical contribution by developing an extended political economy framework for language policy analysis in sub-Saharan African higher education and recommends structural reforms to language access policies in Nigerian tertiary institutions. Keywords: language policy, political economy, ideology, federal universities, Nigeria.