The Creation of a Pan-Nigerian Typeface: A Postcolonial Episode in the Evolution of Nigerian Languages

Samuel Crowther's efforts to standardize Nigerian languages in the late-nineteenth and early- twentieth century are well known to scholars. This research note discusses a lesser-known postcolonial episode in the history of Nigerian languages—the 1983 Pan-Nigerian typewriter project of the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Education's National Language Centre. Drawing on a "shadow archive" of documents, it explores the efforts of linguists, civil servants, and printers to design and then implement a unified typeface for Nigerian languages between the 1980s to 2000s. This article argues that the absence of widespread adoption of the Pan- Nigerian typeface showcases the negative impacts of neoliberal policies and corporate colonialism and the enduring influence of religious organizations on African language policies.