3 June 2011
editorial
Worried that Igbo language is becoming endangered in schools, market places, public places and in homes, Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi recently established schools for the teaching of Igbo language and inculcation of Igbo core values.
In laying the foundation for the establishment of the schools, Obi said the Igbo language “is a language of a great people who have contributed to the progress of Nigeria in every facet.
We want to do things that will recall to memory the gallant contributions of our heroes past like F. C Ogbalu. It is necessary for the Igbo to go back to their roots and identify with their language and culture.” He said government would henceforth give annual scholarship to the best three students of the language as well as organize an annual quiz in Igbo with the first three winners receiving cash rewards of N200, 000, N150, 000 and N100, 000 respectively.
The Obi initiative, no doubt, is commendable and worthy of emulation. In an age plagued by erosion of cultural values and vanishing identity, the revival of Igbo language spoken by a major tribe in Nigeria is, to say the least, a veritable anchor on which the succeeding new generation could hang on in rediscovering their root. A language transcends the mere spoken words.
The mother tongue or native tongue, in particular, accords a cultural identity to a people. A people without identity are an unfortunate lot. The native tongue is an eloquent expression of the existential value of a people.
That probably explains why some Nigerian political figures take pride in communicating well in their respective native tongues. For example, basking in the euphoria of the Golden Fleece from the United States, first President of Nigeria , Rt. Hon. Nnamdi Azikiwe remained a brilliant Igbo orator until death came calling. Cicero Bola Ige was highly distinguished for his oratorical power in Yoruba, Hausa Igbo and English.
Unfortunately today, the mother tongue is dying in Nigeria. Many Nigerian adults have stopped speaking their local languages. Many Nigerian children born and bred in big cities cannot speak in their mother tongue.
They may be proficient in English, French, Spanish and German, but they shy away from speaking in their native tongue. Most Igbo children, for example, born and bred in Lagos can rarely communicate effectively in Igbo. Some parents today prefer to communicate with their children in English language ostensibly as a sign of affluence and progress. They enroll their wards in Ivy-league schools where speaking in vernacular is forbidden.
During summer holidays, they whisked off their kids to America or Europe where the native language is not spoken. Consequently the child grows up without any clue about his language and culture.
Therefore, we join Governor Obi in canvassing the revival of Igbo language and tradition. We urge other governors to take a cue from Governor Obi’s good example. Beyond teaching or learning the local language in schools, parents should make efforts to communicate with their children in their mother tongue at home. A local language that is not spoken, sooner or later, dies.
Granted, English language is our Lingua Franca. In a global world like ours, it serves as a medium of communication of great social, educational and political ideas. But the native tongue of a person expresses his or her essence and identity. The native tongue strengthens the linguistic heritage and cultural identity of a people.
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Reviving Igbo Language And Culture