Nigeria is home to a rich tapestry of over 500 languages, yet most of them are undocumented, unappreciated, and largely endangered. In the digital landscape, only the main languages – Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, and sometimes Nigerian Pidgin – receive the most attention and efforts, while the other languages are largely untouched. This neglect has severe consequences: currently, 12 Nigerian languages have already gone extinct, one in five faces severe endangerment, and many others are disappearing from daily use[source].
NaijaVoices is a community-centered initiative working to change this narrative. We are dedicated to building a digital future for all Nigerian languages, irrespective of their popularity or status.
2024: Building a Foundation with Data
Last year, we released the largest African speech dataset to date, spanning over 5,000 unique voices and 1,800 hours. With over 500 monthly downloads, this dataset is unlocking digital applications for the three main Nigerian languages – Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba. Our ethos of “data farming” ensures that our documentation process is value-creating, mutually beneficial, and sustainable. Learn more about our sustainability-focused approach in this article.
2025: Putting Communities in the Driver’s Seat
On our journey of language documentation, we recognized a fundamental gap: preservation efforts are most impactful when the language members themselves, regardless of academic or career status, drive the process: such as deciding the dialects to work on, who to work with, and how the work is done. However, documentation projects are typically led by researchers (who most often are not speakers of the language or in a much better economic position than the target language communities), with funding routed to universities or outside institutions, while the indigenous language members are relegated to annotator roles, having very little to no input in the decision-making process of the project. This model is not sustainable.
We wanted to inspire a new model where community members are leading their heritage projects as decision-makers, with NaijaVoices providing support and guidance based on our experience. As a step towards realizing this vision, we launched the NaijaVoices Language Heritage Micro Grant program, a unique program to support and empower language community members, regardless of career, academic status, or popularity, as leaders of their documentation work.
“The NaijaVoices language heritage program is a testament that we can achieve sustainable impact in endangered language conservation with limited funding, by putting it in the hands of passionate language community members alongside meaningful support and guidance.” -Chris Emezue (Lanfrica Labs)
On July 9, 2025, we announced the first cohort during a seminar with over 100 attendees celebrating Nigeria’s rich diversity and the digital age. The seminar session can be re-lived here.
Meet the 2025 Cohort
We’re proud to introduce six community-led projects selected for their commitment to documenting, preserving and revitalizing lesser-known Nigerian languages and dialects. The spotlight below highlights these inspiring language champions and their work.
Bringing Ehugbo to Life Through Sound
Ukachi Agnes Eze-Mbey is on a mission to preserve the Ehugbo language of Afikpo Town through her project, Ehugbo TTS: Biblical Text to Speech Dataset in Ehugbo Language, supported by the NaijaVoices Micro-Grant. “There’s hardly any digital resource for Ehugbo, my native language”, she shares. “So I decided to build for my language; to make sure it doesn’t fade away.” Her project focuses on collecting at least one hour of biblical text read aloud by native Ehugbo speakers, creating a valuable audio dataset. By giving voice to sacred texts in Ehugbo, she’s building more than a dataset, she’s creating a bridge between generations and preserving a language deeply rooted in cultural and spiritual identity.
Learn more about Ukachi via: LinkedIn and Twitter
Reviving Nupe: Preserving a Language, Protecting a Legacy
For Umar Baba Umar, preserving the Nupe language and its endangered dialects; Dibo and Kakanda, is both a personal mission and a professional calling. Despite having millions of speakers across Niger, Kwara, and Kogi States, Nupe remains digitally invisible and under-documented. “As a native speaker and researcher, I want to make sure Nupe isn’t left behind in the digital future”, Umar explains. “This language carries stories, wisdom, and culture that deserve to be heard and passed on.” Through the Speech Data Collection for Nupe and its Endangered Dialects project, he is building a 3-hour, high quality speech dataset. With the help of 10 native speakers and mobile based tools, the project will transcribe and publish audio materials that reflect Nupe’s rich oral traditions, ensuring they live on for generations to come.
Learn more about Umar via: LinkedIn and Twitter.
Preserving Tyap: A Voice for the Atyap Identity
Raphael Afana Musa is using the power of language technology to preserve Tyap, the heart of Atyap identity in Southern Kaduna. Through the NaijaVoices Micro Grant, his project; Atyap Afwan: Preserving Tyap Through Community Driven Speech Data, aims to build a foundational speech dataset that keeps the language alive in our digital world. “Tyap is under serious threat, not just from underdocumentation but from insecurity and the dominance of more widely spoken languages like Hausa” Raphael explains. Motivated by deep personal ties to the Atyap community, he believes preserving the language is essential to preserving its culture. The project will create a 1-hour Tyap speech dataset, showcasing the language’s unique tonal qualities and helping support future language technologies. By gathering voices from native speakers, Raphael is ensuring that Tyap’s rich linguistic heritage is not only remembered but heard by generations to come.
Keeping Language Alive, Strengthening Identity
In a nation rich with over 500 languages, Gamaniel Adeyemi is championing the future of the Gbagyi language, widely spoken in Kaduna and Niger State. Through the NaijaVoices Language Heritage Micro Grant, he is making sure this language is not left behind in today’s tech-driven world. According to Gamaniel Adeyemi, his passion for preserving culture led him to focus on the Gbagyi language. “Since I started working with NaijaVoices, I’ve come to discover that a culture can be preserved by future-proofing its language, because within every language, culture is embedded,” he shared. His project, titled: Future-proofing Gbagyi: A Community-centered Approach to Language Data Collection, focuses on gathering authentic voice data from native Gbagyi speakers to create a lasting digital archive. Although Gbagyi currently has over 1.29 million speakers, it remains endangered due to factors like limited institutional support, absence from formal education, and underrepresentation in technology. This project aims to safeguard the language for future generations and boost its digital presence.
Learn more about Gamaniel via: LinkedIn and Twitter.
Where Language Meets Legacy: A Journey of Preservation
In a nation teeming with rich cultural heritage, Dr. Uwuma D. Ugwu is on a heartfelt mission to preserve the Ekpeye people’s oral storytelling tradition through her project titled “Documenting Ekpeye Folktales – Preserving Cultural Heritage.” Supported by the NaijaVoices Micro Grant, Dr. Uwuma is capturing the timeless folktales passed down by elders, stories she grew up hearing from her grandmother. For her, this is more than research; it’s personal. She understands how these narratives shape identity, preserve history, and transmit wisdom. However, as urbanization and global media erode traditional practices, many custodians of these stories have passed on, with only a few remaining. Without systematic documentation, an entire cultural legacy could vanish. Through this initiative, Dr. Uwuma is creating a lasting digital archive of Ekpeye folktales, safeguarding them for researchers, educators, and generations to come, and ensuring that the cultural memory of the Ekpeye people endures.
Learn more about Dr. Uwuma via: Facebook and Twitter
Giving Voice to Ibono and Obolo: Everyday Interactions Preserved
In Nigeria’s richly diverse linguistic landscape, Rogers Katelem Edeh is championing the preservation of two underrepresented languages – Ibono and Obolo. With support from the NaijaVoices Micro Grant, his project focuses on capturing and transcribing 600 minutes of natural, everyday interactions in both languages. These recordings will be made accessible under an open license, creating valuable resources for education and research. Katelem’s passion stems from a personal connection to the languages spoken in the communities where he grew up. “I feel a sense of satisfaction when I do things that help preserve and advance a minority language”, he says. While Obolo is slightly more developed, it still faces endangerment, and Ibono has no digital resources. By building a new keyboard for Ibono and using an existing one for Obolo, the project also supports digital inclusion. Through this work, Katelem is not just archiving sounds, he’s preserving culture, history, and identity, one conversation at a time.
Learn more about Rogers via LinkedIn.
The NaijaVoices Knowledge Sharing Sessions
We also want to tell you about our knowledge sharing sessions ending of July. These sessions are an opportunity to learn about initiatives and projects that are transforming the digital space for indigenous languages, from the North American continent down to the Global South.
On 28th July, we will host Miguel Morachimo, Partnerships Manager, Mozilla Data Collective, Mozilla Foundation. He will walk us through the Mozilla Data Collective.
On 30th July, we will host Del Torkonoo, Applications Development Specialist, Digital Technologies Research Center, National Research Council Canada, who will share the ReadAlong Studio tool. We are excited for this, and sure you will be too.
