Group Organises Summer School to Boost Cultural Education
Paul Obi
A socio-cultural group, Obioma Ngwa Welfare Association has launched its summer school for cultural rejuvenation and education of its people in Abuja.
Speaking at the launch of the programme, the Chairman, Mr. Eric Egwuibe, said the loss of cultural norms by the youth portends great danger to the national identity of the country.
He explained that “the motivation we have in organising the programme is that we have looked at the society and the way it is going, seeing that the indigenous language is becoming extinct, so we decided that we want to preserve the Ngwa dialect and culture.
“We discovered that most of the problems are coming from those who are not residing in their homeland. For us in Abuja, we have experienced that most of our children no longer speak or understand the dialect, identifying it as a problem, we made this move.”
Egwuibe noted that: “As it is said, charity begins at home, invariably one thing is that 50 per cent of Igbo’s understand Ngwa, no Igbo man that has touched ground in Aba, which is the commercial base of Igbo’s that do not speak or understand Igbo dialect.
“So studying it, we start from there first to make Igbo Language easier for you to speak. Even now when you tell someone that you are from Ngwa, he switches and starts speaking Ngwa, It shows that the language is important in the Igbo Language.”
He stressed that language is a powerful tool, adding that the orientation to speak the native language is important; “if you speak your language, there is a consciousness that you are from somewhere, and if you are from somewhere it means you should model your root, line and behaviour, and conform with the behaviours of your people.
“That is why we are going for the reorientation of our children, let them start thinking home, start thinking that they have a base that is formidable and good.”
A parent, Mrs. Onyinye Ahuchaogu expressed delight about the programme and its importance to the youth.
“We want our sons and daughters to grow up appreciating Ngwa Language. We are proud of the language and our culture; the only way we can do that is to ensure that our children can speak the dialect very well.”
The Lead Facilitator of the programme, Ugwum Amaechi, explained that the learning process involves starting from the known to the unknown. “We start teaching in English Language and we start translating, teaching the basic things they should know in Ngwa.”
A student, Chinyere George, from Obingwa Local Government Area who barely speaks Igbo Language or travels home said: “I am proud to be here because I can at least learn my language and dialect, know what my culture entails.”