Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Worried by the gradual extinction of Igbo language, Igbo Women Assembly, IWA, has appealed to South-East Governors to, as a matter of urgency, establish special schools for the teaching and promotion of Igbo language in their respective states.
IWA made the advocacy during a press conference in Umuahia, the capital of Abia State.
Abia State Coordinator of the pan-Igbo women’s group, Mrs Ugochi Chibueze, who spoke on behalf of the IWA National President, Lolo Nneka Chimezie, decried the craze for other languages among Ndigbo, to the detriment of their mother tongue.
She regretted that Igbo language is already on stage eight out of 12 predicted for any language to completely go extinct.
According to her, if no urgent measures were taken to forestall the prediction, Igbo language will soon go into oblivion.
She noted that IWA had already announced scholarship for anyone wishing to study Igbo in the Lagos State University, UNILAG, and urged the South-East governors to complement the group’s efforts to revive Igbo language and culture.
The IWA Coordinator expressed wonder that most of the young Igbo mothers prefer communicating with their children in English language instead of their mother tongue.
“You lose nothing by communicating with your children in Igbo. Any day your language dies, you lose your identity,” she said.
She also urged Ndigbo in the diaspora to communicate more in Igbo language so that their children would not be lost to their host countries.
IWA further appealed to First Ladies in the South-East, to take up the promotion of Igbo language as their pet projects, saying that “history will not be kind to us if we fail to preserve our language as our cultural identity. “
She also urged monarchs and President Generals of various communities to join the campaign to revive and promote Igbo language and culture.
IWA commended the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu; and other stakeholders that identified with it during the United Nations Mother Tongue Day held recently in Owerri Imo State.
She appealed for support from patriotic Igbo sons and daughters to enable the group execute its programmes and projects.
