IWA President Joins UN To fight Against The Extinction of Igbo Language

A group, under the aegis of Igbo Women Assembly (IWA)in collaboration with the United Nations has called on all Igbo sons and daughters to join in the campaign to save the Igbo language from going into extinction as predicted by the western world.

The call was necessitated ahead of the United Nations 2025 Mothers Tongue Day celebration slated for Friday, February 21.

Addressing a press conference in the Abia state capital, Umuahia, the President of Igbo Women Assembly, IWA, Lolo Nneka Chimezie, said, prediction from the United Nations in 2006 revealed that Igbo Language will go into extinction in the next 25 years, expressing worry that with the outlook of things, it seems the prediction will happen.

“If you look at what is happening, it is as if that prediction by the United Nations will come to pass if nothing is done,” Lolo Chimezie reteriated.

Lolo Chimezie held that mothers are basically the custodians of the language as learning process begins at 3 months to 3 years.
She ,therefore, encouraged mothers, to introduce the mother tongue to children at their early formative years, so they can be well grounded in their language and culture

According to her, children relate more to mothers from 3 to 5 years, hence the need for women to take the responsibility to save the Igbo Language.

She further queried how a tribe with over 40 million people would watch and allow their language to go into extinction, maintaining that the Igbo Women Assembly are taking the bull by the horns to raise the campaign that Igbo Language will never go into extinction.

Lolo Chimezie, however, admonished Igbo mothers both home and abroad to emulate the other tribes of Yoruba and Hause that promote their own language as their identity.

She added that activities lined up to observe the UN Mother Tongue Day at the International Conference Centre will feature many lectures by notable Igbo personalities, Discussion session to create room for interactions.

The President also frowned at the extra judicial killings in Anambra and called on the Governor,Chukwuma Soludo to checkmate the activities of his recently launched security outfit, Agunechemba that has gone ahead to decimate the population of our youths.

The IWA group is against crime in Anambra but condemns the killing of suspects without proper investigation or prosecution.

According to her, two young men who were working in a site in Anambra were allegedly shot and killed by Agunechemba operatives, without being given the opportunity to prove their innocence or otherwise.

“We are using this opportunity to call on the Governor of Anambra State, Governor Chukwuma Soludo to please look into the activities of Agunechemba.

“We are happy about the cleansing and trying to fight crime in Anambra State. But for any innocent human being to die , I don’t know the type of crime they are fighting,” the IWA President said.

She advised that the Agunechemba personnel should hand over every arrested suspected criminal to the police for prosecution and not to take laws into their hands.

The IWA president lamented that the South-East has lost many youths in the past few years and wonders whether there will still be youths remaining as we cannot continue to lose more.

According to her, an arrested suspect can still be rehabilitated to become a good citizen, rather than killing such suspect without proper investigation and prosecution.

South-East Governors’ wives; the newly-elected President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, SenatorAzu-Mbata; Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe; among others, have been identified as some of the dignitaries to attend this year’s Mother Tongue Day in Umuahia Abia State.