The lecturer who noted that some of these linguistic alterations in the variety of English which he called ‘Globalised English in Nigeria’ said that this variety of English is used by the chieftains of globalised industry and trade adding that the variety has offered new concepts that are agreeable to the ideology of capitalism. “In this variety, lexical items like democracy, equality, freedom, liberalization, non-discrimination, appropriate pricing and so on are given meanings which turn the semantics of common quotidian English upside down. Hassan (2003) calls the variety glib speak”, he said.

Illustrating the concept of glib-speak with democracy and appropriate pricing which have been so bastardised in Nigeria, he pointed out that the global concept of democracy is that government should be by the people and for the people with absolute power residing on the people, Oyeleye noted, “…Therefore, elections and voting are orderly processes of effecting a change; and our experience of democratic government is of one that has been elected by the people. Social equality implies the right to elect a representative governing body; to participate in decision- making, to have equal rights to justice, education, healthcare, freedom of belief, freedom from coercion, right to personal dignity, right to property, etc”.

He continued, “Nigeria is glibly referred to as a democracy, but how many of these rights do we enjoy as citizens of this country? Which of our democracies has not been characterized by subventions and distortions? Which of our elections has ever been free of rigging, ballot snatching, ballot box stuffing, violence, specious legalisms, and other forms of irregularities? In the hands of the powerful, the chieftains of globalised industry and trade, democracy through glib speak, changes its semantic colour like a chameleon in Nigeria! In similar vein, appropriate pricing of petroleum products in my father’s house has meant a regular, sustained and unjustifiable increase in the pump prices of petrol, kerosene and diesel. The only appropriate thing here has been the continued pauperization of the people. In addition to the necessary semantic extension stated above, globalization also exposes the English language to alterations that arise from interaction with other languages. Globalization has, to its credit, the platform that promotes the spread of different cultures and global access to different heritages”.

Treating the second aspect of the title, linguistic pluralism in Nigeria, the lecturer was quick to submit, “A complex Babel of languages is very characteristic of the multilingual context of ‘My father’s house’ (i.e. Nigeria). Thus, I have noted in my earlier research that the Nigerian language situation is considered multilingual in the theoretical sense, but is described as bilingual in pragmatic terms. That is, it is English versus all the languages in the country whenever one is faced with the issue of language choice”.

Oyeleye further averred that English is not a monolithic language; rather, it is a conglomeration of several languages stressing, “English, one would be correct to say that the language does not belong solely to a particular ethnic group, nor to a particular geopolitical entity. Giving the spread, status and role of English in many parts of the world today, the language has become a ‘global language’. Yoruba is the language of Yoruba people of South –western Nigeria and Benin Republic; Igbo is the language of Igbo people of Nigeria, but Britain cannot claim the sole ownership of the English language. It is not surprising therefore, that English has multiplied into many varieties both in its mother tongue and second language environment”.

Pointing out three reasons reasonable for the implantation of English in Nigeria to include: colonization, commercial activities, and missionaries activities, Oyelese concluded, “After the assessment of the impact of globalization on Nigerian English, I concluded by affirming that globalized variety of English has come to stay in Nigeria because Nigeria users of English are aware of, and have accepted, the influence of globalization on Nigerian English; many Nigerians have positive attitude towards a global English in spite of the detrimental effects of economic globalization; and many users of English in Nigeria readily identify with the gains of globalization and therefore adopt some of the words and expressions which the process of globalization brings to Nigerian English”.