Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
The National President of Igbo Women Assembly, Lolo Nneka Chimezie, has posited that the white man deliberately imposed his language on others to manipulate, depopulate and make them look inferior.
Lolo Chimezie made the assertion Thursday night while featuring as a Guest Speaker at the Ikengaonline monthly virtual Townhall meeting.
She said that the white man understood the enormous power of language, and carefully designed an education system that imposed his language on others as a means of communication.
The IWA President who spoke on the Theme: Saving Igbo Language from going into Extinction: What Must Be Done,” regretted that majority of Ndigbo home and abroad no longer communicate in Igbo language.
She argued that there was nothing that suggested that the white man’s language was superior to Igbo language which our patriarchs used in communication even before the arrival of the white man.
According to her, the imposition of English language on the Igbo nation as a means of communication was only a subtle and smart way of enslaving the the Igbo.
She argued that any people who lose their language had lost their cultural identity, hence the white man deliberately imposed his language on us to enslave us and gradually erode our cultural values.
Lolo Chimezie regretted that the younger Igbo generation who now prefer English to Igbo language, are gradually losing their Igbo identity.
She also said that the craze for Western language in lieu of the mother tongue would further depopulate the Igbo nation, and make them lose a big chunk of their citizenry to the Western countries.
The IWA President queried the erroneous understanding of education which gave people the wrong mentality that “literacy is fluency in English language.”
She rather argued that education or literacy is more than having the ability to communicate effectively in English language.
According to her, Igbo artisans who are thriving in their various trades should not been seen as illiterates probably because they lack the ability to communicate in English language.
For her, the right definition of education is one’s ability to posses the skills to successfully ply ones trade and effectively communicate in mother tongue.
“The West designed and positioned education to control us. Their language is not better than ours. It’s a scam to depopulate us because you are a slave to the language you speak.
She encouraged Igbo parents to speak Igbo language to their children to help save Igbo language from going into extinction.
“Parents who fail to speak Igbo to their children deny them their right of existence,” she lamented.
The IWA boss who regretted that the Igbo language is already on stage eight out of 12 stages for any language to completely go extinct, urged Igbo parents to help revive the language.
The explosive townhall meeting was co-anchored by Dr Osmond Agbo, a US-based medical practitioner and author; and Dr Chido Onumah, a veteran Journalist and renowned author.
Ikengaonline is a South-East-focused online media outfit which aims at giving voice to citizens of the South-East, parts of Rivers and Delta states, and highlights the challenges facing the region.
Ikengaonline is a publication of Ikenga Media and Cultural Awareness Initiative (IMCAI), a non-profit entity that seeks to promote positive socio-cultural values, accountability and good governance through media and public education.
It is part of the Collaborative Media Engagement for Development Inclusivity and Accountability Project, a multi-level intervention for media independence and government accountability, managed by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) and supported by MacArthur Foundation.
