Cyriacus Nnaji:
She
disclosed how the cord of collaboration between her and IWA started. “They came
to me with the project that something needed to be done to save the Igbo
language from extinction. They also averred that children of Igbo extraction
cannot speak their mother tongue, and that something must be done to stop the
language from becoming extinct; and I was very happy to hear that. This is the reason I joined them to promote
and sustain Igbo language.”
She decried
the steady decline in the number of those who apply to be admitted into the
department of Igbo language. “Looking at it, those studying Igbo language in
the university are no long many, the number keeps reducing on yearly basis. Those
studying the language, they don’t even speak the language, so what we do is to
teach in both English and Igbo in order for them to understand what they are
taught. Some of them would tell you they don’t understand what you are saying. Of
course many of them did not apply for Igbo language in their JAMB examination,
those that study it, are basically those that were unable to get admitted via
their choice courses like Medicine, Accounting, Law, but because they wanted to
go to school and because they bear Igbo names, they are offered Igbo language,
and because we don’t receive applications, we no longer pay attention to cut
off mark, so that is how we get candidates to study Igbo language in UNILAG, and
when they come and we speak Igbo, they would be moping because they don’t speak
the language.”
According to
Dr. Okafor, the students are first positioned psychologically to understand that
the fact that they are studying Igbo language does not make them lesser human
beings. “Now before we start lecturing them, first of all, we tell them that
studying Igbo language does not make you a lesser person, it doesn’t show you
are not intelligent, it is just that you were unlucky to get your choice course,
pay attention and learn because the language is good, it would take you to
anywhere you want to go or do.
“So we start
from the basics, the Igbo Alphabets: a b chi di; otu, abuo, ato, ano, etc. We
teach them where they come from, we teach them Igbo culture, like marriage,
burial, breaking of kolanut, chieftaincy matters, and, in fact, when we teach
them, you can see their faces blossom with joy and excitement, especially when
we talk about Igbo families. They feel free to talk about their families. It
gives them joy. But when it comes to reading of books written in Igbo language,
it becomes difficult. What we do is to let the read paragraphs; another would
read another paragraph; that is what we do until they understand that
paragraph. That is how we battle it. However, many of them, when they complete
the first year, they leave; they sit for another JAMB and go for their courses
of choice. It is just a few that sit back and complete their course, that is how
it is, in a year we graduate about five or seven students, but as it is today,
we don’t have any person studying Igbo language in the University of Lagos.”
Speaking on
the opportunities available for graduates of Igbo language, she said “A
graduate of Igbo language has so many opportunities like human relations, when
you see you fellow Igbo person, you recognise him or her as your person, it is
security, when you are among strangers and you want to discuss with your
brother privately, language would enable you hide secret from outsiders, but if
you don’t speak Igbo, it becomes a very big challenge. When you speak English
everybody would understand what you are saying. It is self-preservation and
self-security. When you study Igbo you can get job as an interpreter,
translator; the Nigerian Constitution, we translated it into Igbo language,
Microsoft, we did same, Chinese film we translate it into Igbo language. Many
documents, written in other languages, we handle them and translate them into
Igbo language. Those of them that work as interpreters to foreigners, they are
paid in dollars, pounds; they return to thank us that they didn’t know there
are opportunities like that.
“Many work
in the banks, oil companies. The in-thing now is in service training, because that
you studied Igbo language doesn’t mean you don’t have brain, if you pay
attention and complete your programme in Igbo language, there is nothing in
this world that you cannot do. One, Igbo would make you to be humble, you are
painstaking in everything you do, if you study the language you can become a
lecturer, a teacher of the language, because as some people are going there is need
for others to replace them, those that teach in the university are those that
studied the language, I studied Igbo in the university, up to PhD. There were a
lot of them that taught me and they have all left, I am there now, and one day
I will leave, so we also employ our students to also teach the new ones.”
Dr Okafor
spoke further on opportunities awaiting those who studied Igbo language. “If
fact many work in radio houses, Television, media, a lot of them and they are
doing well. We relate with our graduates and they tell us they are making money
in their chosen fields. With Igbo language your employment is guaranteed. In
foreign countries Igbo is being taught in their schools, there is opportunity
in Michigan State University, another is Chi University in US; it is solely
designed for Igbo language, established by an Igbo woman. Igbo is taught in
China, Oxford, Harvard, the language that is said to be going extinct other
climes want to learn it. So a lot of opportunities abound when you study Igbo
language. People should enroll for the language, we have those that do Igbo
under Sandwich, Lecturers teaching other courses, they come and we teach them
Igbo language, some come for evening programme, there are businessmen, they
come and undergo Igbo language programme. I taught somebody under Sandwich and
today he is teaching in Open University. He was teaching in secondary school
and then underwent the Sandwich programmee, First degree, Master, and then PhD;
now he is fulfilled that he pursued such a course. So we are calling on
everybody, young, old, man, woman to play a role in the promotion and
sustenance of the language, but the most important is for our parents to speak
the language for their children so that they can develop interest to study the
language especially studying it in the university.”
She decried a
situation in which parents refuse to pay their children’s school fees solely
because their children chose to study Igbo language. “Many of the students
studying Igbo language pay their school fees by themselves because their
parents don’t want them to study the language, especially the fathers, they deny
them financial support to undergo the programme. Many of them beg us for school
fees, so it is part of what we are doing today, for our people to come to our
aid, any child that wants to study, let our people grant them scholarships;
they should also support the teachers.
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