…Urges parents to make Igbo compulsory at homes
Cyriacus Nnaji
Mrs Nneka Chimezie (MadamPinto), publisher of an Igbo language newspaper, Ekwe kuo Amagbaa and a Real Estate Consultant, has hinted of her readiness to establish Igbo language schools in all the nook and cranny of Nigeria.
She also urged parents of Igbo extraction to make Igbo language compulsory in their various homes irrespective of where they find themselves.
Mrs Chimezie made the disclosures at the maiden edition of the New Yam Festival and Award ceremony organized by Bond FM, Lagos, on Saturday, 18th September, 2021.
Chimezie, who bagged an award in recognition of her enormous contributions in the uplifting and sustenance of Igbo language, culture and tradition, said revealed all that she is doing presently so that Igbo language does not go into extinction said, “Before the end of next year, we are going to establish Igbo language schools, we see these schools as a yardstick to overcome this language problem, just as our children go to school to learn English language on daily basis. If we can teach them our language, not just the language, we want to bring our culture as a subject, our tradition as a subject, and teach them the way it is.
“We are raising a campaign, we are encouraging parents to make it mandatory for Igbo language to be the only language to be spoken at home, if it means making a law, like in my house, if you speak English language you pay N50, in my office, if you are an Igbo person, if you speak any other language other than Igbo language, you pay a fine of N50. This has forced my children to consciously put their energy in speaking Igbo language. So we want to task every parent, because you are telling them the danger of these children not speaking the language, some of them will tell you my children can hear, they can’t speak, it is as good as not speaking, because their children will not even hear. What you can hear and can’t speak, of course, you cannot transfer to your children, remember, language is something you transfer from generation to generation, now if our generation can only transfer hearing, and not speaking, we are contributing to it going into extinction, so which means the generation to come, they will not speak, so it is dead and buried,” Mrs Chimezie said
She went further to say that her organization has taken it upon itself to raise a campaign, call press conference, to create awareness, “We are using the press to get serious awareness on this campaign.”
A businesswoman of repute who deals in Industrial Materials, Mrs Chimezie, while expressing his passion for Igbo language and sustenance also spoke on UNESCO’s prediction that Igbo language will be extinct by 2025, she said “I promote Igbo language, culture and tradition, I don’t joke with it. There is this prediction by UNESCO that Igbo language will go into extinction by year 2025, having heard that as an Igbo person, I know that my identity is my language, without your language you are a lost human being. The only thing that places you where you come from is your language. Once you miss that language you are a-nobody, for instance our brothers, the African Americans, so many of them are striving to trace their roots, but they cannot, because their forefathers lost their language. It is that language that would say who you are. God made it that way for people to identify themselves, for people to see themselves as kits and kin, for people to see themselves as one. For a language that is spoken by over 6million people to go into extinction, I think for me to be an igbo person, and stand by and watch, my language go into extinction, am not worthy to be called a human being.”
Mrs Chimezie said she has put her resources into supporting the growth and development of Igbo language, saying it was part of the reasons she was invited for an award “So I took it upon myself to do whatever it takes, I put my energy to it, my resources to it, to make sure that my language does not go into extinction. That is what I have been doing and people and organisationslike Bond FM saw it and found it worthy to honour me with an award, to encourage me, I think that is what award is all about. When you see people doing good for the society, sacrificing their energy, their resources to promote good for the society, you give this award to say thank you so that others would emulate, and then follow suit, so that is why I am here.”
She said she belongs to a group that promote Igbo language “I have another organization I am affiliated to, that is Indigenous Language and Culture Initiative, we celebrate mother tongue day, we try to create awareness, we organize press conferences, we organize so many programmes, visit schools to ascertain how much Igbo language is being taught, how much Igbo language is being spoken. In fact, it was in the course of our work that we discovered that 90% of the children that attend Private Schools are Igbos. And you would as well know that Lagos State Government banned teaching of other languages in Lagos State other than Yoruba Language. We are raising a campaign against that declaration and we are telling them that it is unacceptable.
“When you hear that some people went into extinction, not that the people as a people went into extinction so to speak, it is the language, once you don’t have the people speaking their language, automatically you vanish from the surface of the earth, it is your language that places you at a particular place, that identifies you, that defines you. So we cannot stand by and watch, so these are one of the achievements we have made to make sure that we sustain Igbo language.”
Other efforts she has made in order to encourage Igbo language is the establishment of Igbo language newspaper Ekwe kuo Amagbaa “We have an Igbo Newspaper, Ekwe kuo, Amagbaa, a newspaper we write in Igbo language. I can assure you that ever since I started this newspaper, I have not sold it. In fact, it is this very edition that we want to start selling, and we don’t care how many we sell. What is important is we keep printing and I know that over time people will embrace it.
“Again we have a plan, I have this organization I belong to, Igbo Women Assembly, we are not resting, we also have plan to establish Igbo language all over the world, so that every five minutes walk we are going to have a centre where Igbo language is taught on daily basis, when our children come back from school, they are going to go there. If you look at Moslems, they have something like that, there are schools where they visit every evening, that is why you see their children, their culture is embedded in them, that is why because we don’t have such a thing our children have no means of learning our culture, language and tradition, what do we do? Because the father works, the mother work, the children go to school, comes back and that is it, sometimes you don’t blame them for not embracing the culture and tradition, and the language and we want to right the wrong we have done, and I have to say that it is our fault that our children are not embracing our language. They are not speaking the language, so we want to do all it takes to right the wrongs, things we failed to do before, we want to start doing them.”
She also spoke on the marriage in Igbo land and how it is been eroded by other cultures and called for introduction of marriage counseling for children. “Look at the issue of match-making, which was a way of marriage for Igbo people, then you have solid marriage, but these days, because you see our tradition as not good enough, we started on you can’t find a wife for me, I need to find it myself, 80% of Igbo marriages is shaking today, because you don’t know the root of who you are marrying. We want to teach them and again we want to embark on marriage counselling at a very tender age, so that when they grow up, you know, Igbo marriages were being envied in those, they give references to Igbo marriages, other tribes struggle to marry Igbo ladies, and they struggled to marry Igbo men, because we are decent, but in the present time it is no longer the case. That is why we believe that the only way to arrest this is the establishment of this school to help our children.”
She thanked the organizers of the Iriji Festival and for the award “I have to say a very big thank you to them, and I will encourage them in any way I could, because what we are doing today reminds us of who we are. If you look at, in those days when we were growing up, every home celebrated new yam festival, but today, birthday party, it might surprise you we don’t celebrate birthdays, it is not our culture, we don’t know what birthday is but today, because of the way we despise our culture, and buy into other people’s culture, that is why you see us celebrating birthday here and there. We want to encourage Bond FM; thank God they are a media house, to also preach it so that every household in Igbo land will celebrate new yam festival like we celebrate Christmas, like we celebrate birthdays. We also want to encourage them to continue to propagate, to encourage our people to bring our own culture into limelight, but because we put our own culture in the coolers, like the new yam festivals, there are other festivals, like where I come from, I am from Orlu, we have the Okonko Festival, Nkeriji, very lovely festival, we have Okorosha festival, beautiful things that if we showcase them to the world, they would know who we are, so I want to encourage them, to o a step further, not just the new yam festival but also, maybe we can team up to embrace other good festivals that we can showcase to the world to show who we truly are.”
Charity Richard leader of Igbo Women Assembly in Asuwani Market, Lagos said “We have Igbo Women Assembly (Onye Aghana Nwanneya) it is established to bring Igbo women together of which I am the Chairlady in Aswani Market. Our aim of establishing the association, apart from getting Igbo women together, it is also to ensure the sustenance and promotion of Igbo Language at our various homes.”
Mrs Chibuzor Nwanedo, a media practitioner with Voice of Nigeria, Lagos Office, she said the award being conferred on Mrs Chimezie today is well deserved. “She does not take no for an answer; she is dogged and loves everything Igbo language. She is the Founder and Chairlady of Igbo Women Assembly to teach women the significance of speaking and promoting Igbo language in our various homes, because of the fact that Igbo language is said to be going into extinction, so we need to promote it and sustain it.”
Mrs Nkechi Nwagu who introduced herself as a business woman, a consultant in health and nutrition, and also a woman of God speaking on the prediction that Igbo language is going into extinction said, “It is fearful, why do I say so? Is because, now when you meet an Igbo person, and you are speaking Igbo language, a lot of us just start speaking English, even in our families, we speak English to our children, a number of us, families today that have been in Lagos, other cities even down to Igbo states, when you go into this families you find out that the children, all of them are speaking English. And when you ask a child, Kedu, Kedu Afa gi? He will just be looking at you and smiling. So that assertion that Igbo language is going into extinction is fearful, it is really a fact, but I believe it is something that can be remedied.”
On award conferred on Mrs Chimezie she said “What we are doing today is come around and celebrate with our own Mrs (Lolo) Nnneka Chimezie on this grand occasion where Bond FM is awarding her for her immense contributions in ensuring that the Igbo language and culture is promoted, with consciousness, we will begin to create the consciousness and awareness and everyone is sensitized and we go back to our drawing board, drawing board is the home. Go back to the home front, start speaking Igbo language to our children, to everyone of us, wherever we meet, we are speaking igbo language and also, not just the home, wherever we meet ourselves out side.”
Elder Prince Kelechi Ulutoti, a prince from Ihechiowa in Arochukwu Local Government of Abia State, a comedian, with the stage name MC Oxygen, he is the content provider for the Great Oxygen-YouTube. He also anchors and presents a programme in Bond FM, called Ikemba, which deals with essentially family issues, an inspirational and motivational programme.
At the event where over 38 illustrious Igbo sons and daughters were honoured, Ulutoti said “The theme of this event is ‘Upholding the Igbo Culture and Tradition even in the Diaspora.’ Normally Iwaji is supposed to be done in the village, but because a lot of us don’t travel home, but the truth of the whole matter still remains that an Igbo man is supposed to be an Igbo man no matter where he is. So we decided to have this iwaji festival and at the same time appreciate and honour some prominent Igbo people that have really helped our people. The sole reason is to uphold our culture and tradition here in Lagos.
“These awardees were choosing for what they have done in the society where they live, here in Lagos and in their towns, he or she must have touched lives,” he said.
