Revisiting The Call To Revive Igbo Language And Culture

By Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu

There is a bill before the Lagos House of Assembly tagged “A Bill for a Law To Provide for the Preservation and Promotion of the Use of Yoruba Language and for Connected Purposes’’ that seeks to make Yoruba language a core subject in schools and also to enhance the preservation of the language. The bill further recommends the translation of all the laws in the state into Yoruba language in order to get to its target.

The above move by the House is not in isolation. Previously, the Assembly had made moves to make teaching and learning of Yoruba Language compulsory in both public and private schools in the state. The measure was aimed at preserving and promoting the indigenous language of the South West from going into extinction.

The bill is not sparing the incorporation of the tertiary institutions in this move to reinvigorate the Yoruba language as it seeks that all state- owned tertiary institutions should incorporate the use of Yoruba Language in the General Studies (GNS) curriculum. Furthermore, the bill seeks to make the use of Yoruba Language as an acceptable means of communication between individuals, establishment, corporate entities and government in the state if so desired by the concerned. To give the bill a teeth when passed to law, “any school that fails to comply with the provisions of Section 2 of the law commits an offence and is liable on first violation to issuance of warning and on subsequent violation be closed down and also pay a fine of N500, 000.

The bill by the Lagos House of Assembly to revitalise Yoruba language has reopened debates on the need to revive the Igbo language and culture. There have been several calls and efforts recently in this direction. Unfortunately, the efforts seem not to be yielding the desired results. On this note, there is urgent need to give these efforts a legal teeth as a former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi did, and as Lagos House of Assembly is striving to achieve, so that these efforts would be enforceable.

It will be recalled that Mr. Peter Obi. Obi during the launch of Sukawa Igbo initiative at the Women Development Centre, Awka, Anambra State introduced far reaching measures to revive Igbo language and culture. Part of the measure was the annual cash award of N250, 000, N200, 000 and N100, 000 to the best three Igbo language students in secondary schools in Nigeria.

Mr. Obi also gave cash donations as well as university scholarship to the best two Igbo language students in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), Messrs Kevin Anozie and Chika Echeta, of Holy Child Secondary School, Isuofia and Bishop Onyemelukwe Secondary School, Onitsha respectively. Before now, the former governor had signed into law a bill to enforce the speaking and writing of Igbo language among Ndigbo in Anambra and Diaspora, and also stopped meting of corporal punishment to students who speak Igbo in schools in the state.

Like English Language and Mathematics, Mr. Obi strived to make Igbo Language compulsory in all educational institutions in the state, and also sent a bill to that effect to the State House of Assembly as well as making a pass in Igbo Language mandatory for employment in the state. To sustain the renewed interest in Igbo studies, the state government has commenced the building of Chief Chidozie Ogbalu Igbo Language School at a cost of N50.5 million for specialized and holiday programmes in Igbo.

Notable Igbo groups such as Igbo World Union (IWU) have been emphasising the need Igbos to exert efforts in reviving Igbo Language and its earlier cultural activities. The group is also harping the need for Igbos at home and those in Diaspora, especially parents to cultivate the habit of inculcating in their children Igbo culture and tradition. The group has also succeeded in setting up an Igbo school in South Africa, France, Spain and United States.

Despite the above efforts, much needs to be done to forestall Igbo language and culture going extinct. This is because, to the average Igbo, it has become more fashionable to speak English and other languages except Igbo. It is also regrettable that most Igbo hold their town union meetings in English. Government business in Igbo states is entirely conducted in English. This attitude is not only pathetic but funny attitude and must change before Igbo language regains its lost glory.

While we commend Mr. Peter Obi for his foresight in introducing the far reaching measures to revive the Igbo language and culture, we appeal to Igbo speaking states governors measures to revive Igbo language now that the language is among those predicted to go extinct in the near future if nothing drastic is done to promote its usage. Huge funds should be made available to encourage people to study and research Igbo and also a lack of incentive for teachers to specialise in Igbo.

All the government cultural agencies in the Igbo speaking states should be involved in the promotion of Igbo language. Why can’t we use the local languages in our state legislative houses like Lagos State House of Assembly now conducts its business once a week in Yoruba?

Research by former Education Minister, Professor Babatunde Fafunwa, established that a child learns better and faster in his indigenous language. It is worthy to note that most industrially developed nations reached their technological heights through their local languages. We too can do so by deploying the resources of our local languages to bear on the study of mathematics and the sciences. The time to key into this initiative of reviving Igbo language and culture is now.

There is no cultural feature that is peculiar to a people and distinguishes from other cultural groupings than language. We should all note that a lost language is a lost culture and a lost identity. Igbo culture is our heritage and pride, and we must strive strongly to protect it from going extinct.