BNW Magazine: Hip Hip Hurray, Igbo Language Now Compulsory in Igbo Schools!, Commentary by Odo Akaji, Biafra Nigeria World, Nigeria: Biafra NigeriaWorld, Naija Blog

Chukwu gọzie asụsụ Igbo

Mee k'ọ na-agawanye n’iru

Wepụta ndi ga-ede akwụkwọ

Ndi g'ede ihe gat'ụtọ

Mee k' anyị si otu a mụta

Ihụ asụsụ anyị n'anya

~~ Mazi F.C. Ogbalu July 20, 1949

I would like to sincerely thank the Igbo governors for the apt decision reached at their August 12006 conference to make the Igbo Language compulsory from primary to Junior Secondary level in all the educational institutions in ala Igbo. According to Daily Champion of August 3 2006, chairman of the conference and governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, said in a briefing with reporters that the

Igbo Language is critical and we have agreed to make Igbo Language compulsory in all the elementary and junior secondary schools in the South East zone. We think that Igbo is not being practised enough and our younger ones are not learning that language enough, so we want to make it compulsory. It is compulsory in other zones and we are saying that is how it should be

In my presentation at the 2004 Odenigbo Lecture entitled “Ọkpụrụka Gbata Ọsụkwụ Gbata (All Hands on Deck!),” I challenged the political leaders in ala Igbo to “enact laws that make the Igbo Language mandatory along side the English Language to senior secondary level.” It is true that Mr Peter Obi’s statement on behalf of the Igbo governors only made the study of Igbo Language compulsory to Junior Secondary, yet it is a great start and for that, I am thankful. In Igbo we say “etoo dike n’nke omere, ya emee ọzọ” (meaning appreciation often spurs the noble to greater accomplishments). Nd’Igbo in the Diaspora can now send their children to schools in Ala Igbo secure in the knowledge that they will graduate with a decent mastery of the Igbo Language.

This is just the beginning. Ma ejerubeghi, aga n’eje! (Meaning Nd’Igbo will keep pressing forward until we attain the lofty objective. The Igbo governors must continue to meet and rub minds, sharing best practices in the process. At least two days within the working week should be set aside when all the transactions in the house of assembly in Ala Igbo must be conducted in the Igbo Language. This is in line with my earlier reasoning at the Odenigbo Lecture that creating the need and forum for the use of the language will definitely engender passion for learning the language. Seeking to promote Igbo Language by the exclusive use of a foreign language is akin to advertising Igbo costumes by wearing a smart Armani suit. Having Igbo words in road signs and public places will arouse a healthy curiosity in learners and non-speakers of the Igbo language. It is because we believe that part of the potency of Achebe’s Things Fall Apart was in his copious use of Igbo Language albeit italicised, we of the Igbo Heritage Foundation have deliberately sprinkled every intellectual article with Igbo Language regardless of the topic. It may be well worth considering by Igbo journalists especially those in the print media.

In order to encourage the Igbo governors and as our widow’s mite towards the promotion of the learning of Igbo Language, the Igbo Heritage Foundation is currently consulting with the various Igbo state governments with a view to establishing an annual award for the best JSIII student in Igbo Language in each state.

The Igbo Language project will require intuition and dogged determination until the Igbo Language becomes the indisputable language of choice among Nd’Igbo.

Fortunately, the Igbo governors have a shining example in creativity, commitment and tenacity in the person of Bishop AJV Obinna, founder of the Odenigbo Lecture Series. Igbo Heritage Foundation has continued to invest and raise the profile among the Diaspora Igbo in support of that laudable programme. The head of Igbo Heritage Foundation’s Technology Committee, Dr. Sampson C. Enwere, will travel from Europe to this year’s lecture in Owere, where he will renew the Heritage’s commitment to sponsor both the hardcopy and online publishing of the Odenigbo Lectures.

When I travelled for the Odenigbo 2004, I had only the deputy governor of Enugwu state for distinguished company. But, in 2005, three more deputy governors had graced the event. In the intervening years, the Igbo Heritage Foundation has funded the printing and publishing of the Odenigbo Lectures, so the Catholic Archdiocese of Owere could channel its meagre resources to other areas of need.

However, the increasing participation of governments in Igboland in the Odenigbo Lectures ceremonies leads to the question whether the time is not ripe for a more meaningful involvement by Igbo governments in the Odenigbo project, including in the area of funding.

Igbo Heritage Foundation is pleased to have spurred a growing number of projects and outlets for the teaching and advancement of the Igbo Language. Indeed, we are proud to have inspired the formation of Igbo studies associations and various Igbo-focused organizations. From our acclaimed online Igbo Language Course, through our sponsorship of the Odenigbo Lecture Series, to our ongoing web publishing of both the Ahiajoku Lecture Series and the Odenigbo Lecture Series, Igbo Heritage Foundation has brought the Igbo centre-stage among world civilizations and cultures.

The Heritage has in the past identified several broad areas in which Igbo Diaspora could assist in the advancement of Igbo Language, culture, and traditions. Potentially, the greatest obstacle to progress is the obvious inability of the leaders of groups such as WIC, the so-called “World Igbo Congress,” to correctly grasp and apply the teaching contained in the various materials that the Heritage has placed in the public information stream. Instead, what has become rampant among many Igbo Diaspora groups, including WIC, is the unauthorized copying, recording, republishing or retransmission of materials, including copyrighted or otherwise protected materials found at the various Igbo Heritage Foundation outlets. As we in the Heritage strive to create an enabling environment for Igbo traditions, we are aware that a counter-culture of plagiarism, dishonesty, and illegality poses a threat to the creative process.

Making the Igbo Language compulsory from primary to Junior Secondary level is an important first step. In the next stages, our consultations with the various Igbo state governments will focus on ways in which the interests generated through compulsory Igbo Language learning to the JSIII level could be translated into interest in more advanced studies of the Language at tertiary institutions. Ultimately, the production of serious materials for studies in the Igbo Language in the future will depend on successful studies and academic work at levels beyond the Junior Secondary. That is a goal that we as Nd’Igbo must set for ourselves.

Chukwu gọzie asụsụ Igbo (May God bless the Igbo Language)!

Iseee!