It is an understatement to say that the French colonialism weakened and slow the development in French colonies but rather destroyed and uprooted the indigenous languages of West Africa through the policy of assimilation. The reverberation of the assimilation policy is a loss of sense of belonging among the indigenous people as well as destroying the only means of African cultural, economic and technological development. Language constitutes the basis of the people’s personality while contributing to their creative genius. African leaders failed to learn from Japan and China where the teaching of science and technologies are being carried out in indigenous languages which necessitated their economic fortunes and Technological advancement. This paper argues that no meaningful development could take place where indigenous languages have been relegated to the background. The interview conducted shows that Benin languages are suffering from extinctions due to the negligence of the government after France departure. The article therefore provides measures by which the Beninoise government and concern stakeholders should apply to revitalize the dying languages and checkmate the extinctions of these languages for African development.

Keywords: Assimilation, Indigenous Languages, Beninoise, Extinction, Development