NDI IGBO CANNOT SPEAK IBGO AGAIN O

I had just entered the sitting room and could see some secondary school students through our old 1988 national television “omo this TV don old o” I knew . The time was 4.55pm and it was almost the end of the programme, “so students we have come to end of this wonderful educational TV programme, please reintroduce yourselves and say goodbye viewers in your native language” the beautiful presenter said. “My name is Opeoluwa Bamidele”, the young girls by her right said, then muttered some words which I believed meant goodbye viewers in Yoruba, “ My name is Akpan Joseph” the other boy said, spoke some words in his language I guess. I felt my tummy rumbling, stood up from my chair and moved towards the kitchen, opened the pot, “kai! this people no remain food for me” I shouted. I could hear another student. I felt vexed and I was hungry, this boring programme sef and this ajebo, phonee speaking olodo students, I picked the remote and pointed it toward the television “my name is Uzochukwu Obinna Charles” another young boy had just said, I paused, felt concerned because his name sounded familiar, “na Igbo boy” I thought. “Now say goodbye viewers in your native language” the presenter asked, but the boy just kept smiling, with his white close-up teeth at the camera, he couldn’t say it, obviously.”I am Juliana bent, see you same time …”She was saying. I changed the T.V station. “This guy has just embarrassed himself, why was he smiling and did that question carry any note of humour” I thought, bia kwa o this guy embarrassed me o chai, mba this just embarrassed millions of people that call themselves Igbos.

This issue isn’t funny at all. My people dey fall hands and it’s really infuriating. That boy might be the product of a village brought up dad, grew up in Enugu mother and they probably met at the university of Nigeria, Nsukka and they both speak Igbo o, fluently. Or, the dad may be a trader at Idumota and the mum a cosmetic seller in isale-eko, both with difficulty in constructing a simple sentence in English. But their kid, phonee speaking ajebo ‘who is fooling who’ my aunty would say. I never took this issue serious until I saw that TV programme. Here in Lagos where I reside, I can tell you that 95% of kids born and brought up in Lagos cannot make a simple sentence in Igbo. It’s really disgusting. Having travelled to so many states in Nigeria, I must say that I’m impressed with other tribes, most especially the Yorubas and I guess my little survey has made the issue more of an ‘Igbotic’ problem most especially with those that reside in Lagos. I could remember when I went to the university of Lagos with a friend to see a professor, the moment the Prof learnt that my friend is a Yoruba boy, omo the prof begin dey speak Yoruba with immediate alacrity o, forgetting his status and prowess in English language. But If I were in the office with a prof who is an Igbo man and I want to ask a favour, probably I don’t want my Yoruba friend to know, walai the prof go answer me for English. My people I lie? All these is no bluff, it’s true and must be said. If you walk into a Yoruba man’s home, everybody speaks Yoruba even their dog sits when you say ”bingo jo ko”, and I really admire that. They could be as rich as Femi Otedola, Mike Adenuga or as poor as whoever but they speak Yoruba well. For me o, I’ve decided that when I get married, whenever, my wife and I go bombard our kids with Igbo language fussed with diphthongs, mofims, idioms, irony, simile every ingredient that will make them speak less like a white man but outside they can speak phonee o, hopefully they’ll attend a good school and will speak all the oyibo over there. But in the house, na Igbo o

It’s about time that Ndi Igbo retrace their steps, redefine the real meaning of culture which can best be propagated by language, which remains the most important medium. Let’s inculcate Igbo speaking in our homes, with families. Trust me it will not affect your English nor make you heavily accented and even if it does, how does your president speak.