The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Language

  • Their language, their pride

    Their language, their pride

    For a people with the same culture, language is believed to be a force binding them together. This seems to be the case with the Igbo-speaking people in the eastern part of the country. To make Igbo a perfect language of communication among Easterners, Chief Samuel Maduka Onyishi, the Chief Executive Officer of Peace Mass Transit, is promoting the language through a debate contest.

    The South-east Undergraduate Scholarship Igbo Debate among Igbo students in tertiary institutions, is aimed at encourating them to take pride in the language.

    The competition, which was held across Igbo-speaking states, started with five students selected from different institutions from each state. Twenty-five contestants from Imo, Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi and Anambra states slugged it out to qualify for the next round.

    The Faculty of Law auditorium of the Enugu campus of the University of Nigeria (UNN) was filled to the brim last Saturday when students from participating institutions gathered to witness the cultural debate. The second and final stages were held in the institution. The topic was: Odida asusu igbo osi n’aka ndi ocha, ka o si anyi n’aka, which translates to mean: “The fall of Igbo language: Is it the fault of the white men or ours?”

    The event was declared open by Chief Gary Enwo Igariwey, President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, who chaired the occasion. After the chairman’s speech, cultural troupe of the Federal College of Education in Ikwo, Ebonyi State, took the stage to entertain the participants with traditional dance.

    He explained that the contest was organised at the prompting of Southeast students, who visited him in 2010 with an agenda to prevent Igbo language from becoming irrelevant.

    He said: “Igbo people have supported me in my business and I believe in the saying that charity begins at home. I belong to the masses and they patronise my business. Before the maiden Igbo Debate scholarship in 2011, I have been assisting Igbo tribe students through scholarship.”

    The President of National Association of South East Nigerian Students (NASENS), Peter Edeh, who spoke at the event said, said: “We are overwhelmed with joy and appreciate Chief Maduka for this programme. It our wish that the scholarship scheme is maintained to send a strong message to highly-placed Igbo people that there is need to make the language a priority.”

    After the contest, the panel of judges, which was headed by Dr Ikechukwu Okodo of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka shown the results to Reuben Okoro, Vice-President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, who called out the winners.

    The best 10 students were given scholarship. Blessing Nwuizugbo, 100-Level History and International Relations of Ebonyi State University was adjudged the overall winner of the contest. She was followed by Davidson Ebere, HND 1 Office Management and Technology student of Federal Polytechnic, Nekede.

    Blessing, who was given scholarship to further her studies abroad, said: “I am more than happy to have won the debate. I thank God, who saw me through the journey. I also pray that the sponsor of this programme be blessed because he is really promoting our language through this medium.”

    Other students, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE, praised Maduka for putting up the programme to motivate them in seeing the pride in Igbo language.

  • Don urges use of local language for teaching

    A former Executive Secretary of National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Prof Kabiru Isyaku, has advocated the use of local languages for teaching in schools.

    He said it would be an innovation capable of bringing development to the sector.

    Speaking at the yearly National Conference of the Institute of Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, (UNN), Prof Isyaku said the use of English language for teaching was inimical to innovation and impedes students’ ability to understand.

    Delivering a lecture titled: Teacher education in Nigeria: the need for quality, relevance and sustainability in a globalised world, Prof Isyaku said poor implementation of educational policies, inclusion of extraneous contents into teaching curriculum and the poor attitude of teachers to professional training were the bane of education. He advised government to implement the National Teachers Education Policy and increase the remuneration of teachers to make the profession attractive, adding that local languages should be encouraged.

    He said: ‘’A substantial part of students’ reasoning is usually lost trying during translation from English into meaning. This hinders students’ learning capacity greatly.’’

    The Vice Chancellor, Prof Bartho Okolo, represented by Acting Dean of the School of Postgraduate Studies, Prof A. A. Ubachukwu, commended the institute for using its yearly conference to promote teaching standards, research and innovation in the country.

    ‘’The problem of educational policy implementation has grave consequences on the quality of our teachers. A country without qualitative and skilled teachers is not prepared to compete in the 21st century education system. Skilled manpower is needed to drive our education sector with entrepreneurial and problem solving skills. That would form the crux of our development as a nation.’’

    Dean of the Faculty of Education, Prof Ike Ifelunni, said teachers education in Nigeria should be tailored to quality teaching in line with global best practices, adding that the quality of teachers also reflect in the quality of their graduates.

    Director of the institute, Prof Nkadi Onyegegbu said the school was ready to address problems in the education sector, explaining that it had embarked on research initiatives and partnerships with international education research firms.

     

  • Most languages are facing extinction’

    What inspired African Writers Forum (AWF)?

    I have toyed with this idea for a while.  I believe the associations I have belonged to and served for several decades have not gone far enough in these areas.  Yes, I had a chance to further these ideas as General Secretary for two years, but that was not enough time to touch on these, including the other roles I had to play, not to talk of the funding.

    How long did it take you to put it together?

    I assure you that it has taken us quite some time.  You have to find a Board of Trustees who believes in your vision, an interim exco that believes in your ability to deliver and then comes the finance!  If I had my way, this group would have been here half-a-decade ago or a little less.

    As a publisher and exco member of ANA, how do you intend to manage all roles; won’t there be a conflict of interest?

    As a publisher, and going by the kind of publishing I do at Hybun, there is much time on my hands and that is why ANA enjoyed so much of my attention for so many years, and I enjoyed giving it that time.  Today, however, things are different in ANA.  There is a new ‘pharaoh’ who does not know Joseph!  Besides, I am only an ex-officio member, an advisory position.  I stay back and listen and then advise as I know from experience.  The General Secretary and his team do the work.

    You are the president, your wife the secretary, is it a family-inspired organisation?

    I expected this question! I think it was Bazuaye, who once coached the famous New Nigerian Bank of Benin, and later one of the national teams that brought in his son to play for and was accused of nepotism.  He said he would pick a thousand of his relatives if they were the best ‘he could find at the time’; (or so).  No, it is not a family thing.  Just those I can find at this time who share the same dreams. If you noticed, this is an interim team. As time go on, one or two may drop and new ones take their place.

    With other writers’ associations such as ANA and Abuja Literary Society (ALS) already in existence, what new thing is your organisation coming to add?

    I have the greatest love and respect for ANA and its officers, ALS is doing much for poetry, but I assure you, there is so much more that have been left undone through the years that we have come to do.  Even after us, there will still be so much more left for other organisations to come and do for Nigerian and African literature.  We need do so much to begin to try to catch up with the rest of the world, in spite of our strides so far, which in all modesty, I lay claim to have done a little bit to help along.  Thanks to Professor Olu Obafemi, Professor Femi Osofisan, Dr Wale Okediran and of course many others, including Mallam Denja Abdulahi.

    Linguists are of the view that most Nigerian languages are gradually gravitating towards extinction. What do you think?

    I do believe in this!  Wholeheartedly.  If you recall, as a National EXCO member of ANA, we did do a couple of programs in this direction.  It is our idea in AWF to continue and save what we can of our languages that are endangered.  In this regard, we have ideas of colaborating with the Moses Tsenongu’s of Nigeria.

    Since one of your objectives is to promote literature in local languages, given the multi-lingual status of d country, how do you intend to ensure all groups are carried along?

    No!  We do not intend to do the impossible!  We cannot carry all groups along.  We said earlier in this interview that we will do what we can and leave the rest for those already on ground before us and those coming after to take up from where we stop.

    Most literary associations name funding as a major bottleneck, do you have any secret modality in place with which to use to over this challenge?

    No hunter goes hunting without his strategy in mind!  We do realise from over three decades in the book industry what the problem areas are and we have our strategy to deal with them.  All we can tell you at this time is that we do not believe in impossibilities!  Ask the Presidents we worked with in ANA, and they will tell you so!

  • 12 shocking facts about Nigeria

    12 shocking facts about Nigeria

    Some years ago, a brilliant lecturer of mine (now late) said something about Nigeria that I waved aside as an exaggerated expression of patriotism. He told my class then that he had travelled to many places in the world and had finally come to the conclusion that Nigeria is the most blessed nation on the planet. I knew Nigeria was blessed but I couldn’t understand how he could boldly claim that top position for Nigeria: yes we have oil, gas, landmass–in fact, abundant natural and human resources, but was that enough?

    Fast-forward to September, 2011. By this time, my doubt had given rise to a burning desire to know the specific things that make us great as a nation–that make us the most blessed people on earth. I felt if I did find these specific facts, they would need to be shared with Nigerians and the world in spectacular ways. To achieve this aim, I discussed the idea with my friend, George Okewih, and our subsequent brainstorming led to the birth of The Green Heritage page on Facebook to promote our cultural and natural heritage to Nigerians and the world. It’s been eighteen months of rigorous research since, and now I am convinced that my late lecturer was right.

    Here are some facts from our common heritage that should make you proud to be called a Nigerian:

    1. Nigeria is home to seven percent (7%) of the total languages spoken on earth. Taraba state alone has more languages than 30 African countries. The importance of this fact is appreciated when one understands that language is the “soul of culture” (as Ngugi wa Thiongo famously said). It is language that births the proverbs, riddles, stories and other aspects of culture that give us identity. UNESCO puts forward that the world’s languages represents an extraordinary wealth of creativity. Linguistic diversity correlates with cultural diversity. This means Nigeria can look inwards and drive itself to become the greatest hub for cultural tourism on earth, and consequently empower its citizens tremendously in the process.

    2. The Walls of Benin (800-1400AD), in present day Edo State, are the longest ancient earthworks in the world, and probably the largest man-made structure on earth. They enclose 6500 square kilometers of community lands that connected about 500 communities. At over 16000km long, it was thought to be twice the length of the Great Wall of China, until it was announced in 2012 (after five years of meticulous measurement by Chinese surveyors) that the Great Wall is about 21,000km long.

    3. The Yoruba tribe has the highest rate of twin births in the world. Igbo-Ora, a little town in Oyo state, has been nicknamed Twin capital of the World because of its unusually high rate of twins that is put as high as 158 twins per 1000 births. In a video I watched last year on YouTube presented by Titi (a white lady who speaks Yoruba), and which was centred on twin births in Igbo-Ora, one of the locals boasted that every family in the town has at least one twin!

    4. Sarki Muhammad Kanta The Great of Kebbi, was the only ruler who resisted control by Songhai, West Africa’s greatest empire at that time. He founded and ruled the Hausa city-state of Kebbi around 1600 A.D and built Surame its capital, a planned city which was almost impossible to penetrate during war. In fact UNESCO describes Surame as “one of the wonders of human history, creativity and ingenuity”, and probably the most massive stone-walled constructions in West Africa. He is listed in Robin Walker’s 50 Greatest Africans.

    5. Africa’s oldest known boat is The Dufuna canoe which was discovered in Dufuna village, Yobe state, by a Fulani Herdsman in May 1987, while he dug a well. Various radio-carbon tests conducted in laboratories of reputable universities in Europe and America indicate that the canoe is over 8,000 years old, thus making it the oldest in Africa and 3rd oldest in the world. The discovery of the canoe has completely changed accepted theories of the history and sophistication of marine technology in Africa.

    6. Sungbo’s Eredo, a 160 km rampart equipped with guard houses and moats, is reputed to be the largest single pre-colonial monument (or ancient fortification if you like) in Africa. It is located in present-day Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State and when it was built a millennium ago, it required more earth to be moved during construction than that used for building the Great Pyramid of Giza (one of the Seven Wonders of The Ancient World). The most astonishing thing is that Sungbo’s Eredo was the biggest city in the world (bigger than Rome and Cairo) during the Middle Ages when it was built!

    7. Sarki Abdullah Burja of Kano (ruled 1438-1452 AD), the 18th ruler of Ancient Kano, created the first Golden Age in Northern Nigeria and ushered in a period of great prosperity. During his reign, Hausa became the biggest indigenous language spoken in Africa after Swahili. He is on the list of 50

    Greatest Africans in Robin Walker’s wonderful book, “When We Ruled”.

    8. The Jos Plateau Indigobird, a small reddish-brown bird, is found nowhere else on the planet but Plateau state, Nigeria.

    9. The Anambra waxbill, a small bird of many beautiful colours, is found only in Southern Nigeria and nowhere else on earth.

    10. The Niger Delta (which is the second largest delta on the planet), has the highest concentration of monotypic fish families in the world, and is

    also home to sixty percent of Nigeria’s mangrove forests. You should know too that Nigeria’s mangrove forests are the largest in Africa and third largest on earth.

    11. According to the World Resources Institute, Nigeria is home to 4,715 different types of plant species, and over 550 species of breeding birds and mammals, making it one of the most ecologically vibrant places of the planet.

    12. Ile-Ife, in present day Osun State, was paved as early as 1000AD, with decorations that originated from Ancient America suggesting there might have been contact between the Yorubas and the Ancient Americans half a millenium before Columbus ‘discovered’ America.

    Now, what if we tell you seventy-five other amazing facts about Nigeria that The Green Heritage has discovered over the past eighteen months? Would you not be thrilled to watch a movie that resurrects and projects, in stunning visuals, the historical, cultural and natural heritage of Nigeria? This is the idea behind the movie project titled, “The Green Heritage 3D: 87 Marvels From Nigeria”. And the ball has begun rolling. A teaser that demonstrates some of the advanced 3D modelling and animation that would be partly employed to recreate parts of our heritage and project it to the world, has been uploaded on our YouTube channel. With a talented team of young Nigerian writers, programmers, artists, architects and producers, all given visual life to a massive amount of research about and for Nigeria, you can rest assured that this might just be the most important movie of our generation, from Nigeria.

    Samuel Okopi is the writer/director of The Green Heritage 3D: 87 Marvels, From Nigeria. He can be reached on 08066037453.

    Watch the teaser on YouTube: www.youtube.com/TheGreenHeritage

    Direct link to teaser: http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=plcp&v=UMzNjVE6aKU

    Join The Green Heritage on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheGreenHeritage

  • DJ Zeez drops Body Language

    DJ Zeez drops Body Language

    …to perform at Nigeria’s Independence Anniversary in China

    ADDING to his retinue of hit songs, Fokasibe crooner, Kingsley Elikpo, popularly known as DJ Zeez, has just dropped a new single, Body Language. A club banger, Body Language has enjoyed unprecedented download from the artiste’s official website. Report has it that it has also continued to trend among DJ’s in major radio stations across the country.

    Produced by Pastorschild, a UK-based producer, findings reveal that Body Language is DJ Zeez’s first song which he will not be producing himself. The new single is the third official single off his 3rd album entitled My Riddim which is due for release in January, 2013.

    The thirteen tracker album, according to the artiste, features a number of notable acts, currently making waves on the Nigerian music scene. While his fans are still savouring his new single and awaiting a bang come 2013 when his album will drop, DJ Zeez is gearing up for the 52nd Independence Anniversary of Nigeria in China which comes up on October 12.

    Organised by Jesse Oluwole Campell’s Faajihouse, Beijing, China in collaboration with Embassy of Nigeria in Beijing, frontline music merchants earmarked to headline the Independence show tagged Faajihouse Nigeria Musical Show include DJ Zeez, African China and DJ XGEE. From the host country, expected to thrill are popular Nigerian China based acts Emmauel Uwache, a.k.a Hao ge, and DJ Larry.

    Dignitaries expected to grace the event include, among others, His Excellency, Mr. Aminu Bashir Wali (Ambassador Nigeria Embassy in China), ambassadors of various countries, ministers, diplomats, Chinese government top officials and Africa’s top China-based Athletes.

    Following the Independence show, the stars are also expected to perform in two major cities in China; Shanghai, the largest commercial city in China and Guangzhou, the city with the largest population of Nigerians and Africans.

    With this and many more in the pipeline for DJ Zeez who recently launched is official website earlier this year, it is evident that the star is leaving no stone unturned in a bid to re-launch his career. Among his lineup of hit singles are Take it Easy, Fidodido, Same ni, Boobie.