President of the Ika Association in Germany, Mr. Obiazikwor Egbede, has raised the alarm that Ika language might go into extinction if drastic actions are not taken to preserve it.
Ika is spoken by the Ika people, found in Ika North East and Ika South local government areas of Delta State, as well as other locations in Delta and Edo states where they are domiciled.
Egbede, who spoke with Cornerstone news in Lagos during his visit to Nigeria recently, said he was unhappy with the prevailing trend whereby the use of the Ika language was declining.
He said: “I am sad the way our language is not being spoken the way we used to speak it. Parents are not helping matters as they speak foreign languages such as English, Dutch and so on to their children. When we noticed that our language was in the process of going into extinction, we decided in Berlin to start organizing Ika Language tutorials for our children.
“The shocker was when I arrived in my hometown and I met people speaking pidgin and English language to their children. The shame was further enlarged when I went around the state, looking for a book written with Ika language, but I couldn’t find one.”
As is becoming a common predicament for many Nigerian languages that are more oral in orientation, with little or no written text, the Ika association president lamented that written forms of his mother tongue have been very hard to find.
“I was told that there is no such book. I am still saddened that we have professors, doctors and so many teachers of foreign languages, but none of them has written a book on Ika. It is a serious challenge for us.
So, we resolved to start teaching our children Ika language, because there is no place like home. If our children return home for any reason, how will they communicate with the people at home?
“I am angry because when we meet some of our people and speak our language to them, they would respond in English. Do some of us think that other languages are better than ours, Ika? Our language is unique and beautiful and we must impart to our children. We should not allow it to go into extinction,” he said.
The culture activist added that he was “particularly pained because there are some expressions that are more accurate in our native languages than foreign languages. Language is part of our culture and we won’t allow our culture to die. All hands should be on deck to save Ika language from going into extinction, as posterity will not forgive us if we don’t save our culture.”
He said, “Saving our language is a project that must be accomplished but we need to put down our language and vocabularies in books. I am challenging our intellectuals to do something urgent to save the situation by writing down our language in books. We need books to guide our children. We will start teaching them with whatever means we have until a real book is written.
“In a few weeks’ time, we are gathering our children in Berlin to organise language training sessions for them. I am appealing to all Ika indigenes in the diaspora to start teaching their children our language. When you see an average Yoruba or Hausa, his or her children must understand and speak their language. Why are we ashamed of our language?”
On the activities of the Ika Association in Germany, Egbede said, “Our association was formed to unite all our brothers and sisters in Germany. We use the medium to assist ourselves. We rally round each other in times of trouble. Our association is registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, called EV. We don’t assist criminals, only sincere and genuine people.”
The socio-cultural organization was formed to be a home away from home for all Ika people in Germany. It seeks to protect the interests and welfare of its members.
“Once you are genuine and you are being intimidated, we will step in and assist. We are progressives and I am very happy that we are moving forward. My dream is for every Ika person to be comfortable in Germany. I thank God that, so far, our people are making us proud,” Egbede said.
