By Francis Sadhere
Former Delta State Information Commissioner, Barrister Olivia Agbajoh and President, Itsekiri Language School Initiative, has solicited the support of the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Ikenwoli, in preventing the Itsekiri language from going into extinction.
In Warri, Delta State, speaking when members of her centre, Itsekiri Language School Initiative, paid the Warri monarch a courtesy call in his palace, she disclosed that the courtesy call was to pay homage to the king and to intimate him about the centre and what the centre stands for.
The former member of the House of Representatives in the Second Republic said the Olu of Warri being the rallying point of all Itsekiri people needed to know that the Itsekiri language was gradually going into extinction, adding that the centre is set to teach the Itsekiri language to the young and elderly who
cannot speak the language.
She said; “We are here today to pay a courtesy call to the Olu of Warri and to
inform him about what we are doing and we are going about it. The Olu of Warri is the rallying point of all Itsekiri people and we felt that we need his support if we want this project to succeed. When we spoke to him about what we are doing, the Olu was very happy and he told us that what we are doing is very good for the Itsekiri nation. He assured us that we have his support any time any day.”
The former Governorship aspirant in Delta State also used the opportunity to appeal to all well meaning Itsekiri sons and daughters to support the centre financially and otherwise, adding that the project is not something that they can do alone.
She lamented that most parents in Warri no longer speak the Itsekiri language to their children thereby making the language to be going into extinction
gradually.
According to her,this was the reason members of the Centre decided to take the bull by the horn by opening an Itsekiri language School in and around Warri.
“The vision of the Centre is to preserve the Itsekiri language by ensuring it does not go into extinction. We want to teach both the young and old how to speak
the Itsekiri language because we have discovered that even in Warri, parents do not speak Itsekiri language to their children and as a result of this, the language is gradually dying and we do not want this to happen. We have qualified teachers who are going to teach the Itsekiri language to our children and even the older ones who do not know how to speak the language,” she said.
In its efforts in ensuring that the message is taken to all the nook and cranny of the Itsekiri land, she revealed that the Centre has intensified its awareness campaign programme and is taking the message to the doorsteps of Itsekiri people, telling them the importance of speaking the Itsekiri language to their children.
Also speaking to our correspondent shortly after the courtesy call, the Vice President of the Itsekiri Language School Initiative, Mr. Macaulay Eyeoyibo said the Centre came into existence due to the fact that most languages in the world are becoming extinct.
While stressing that language was the basis of all culture, Mr. Eyeoyibo called for the teaching of Itsekiri language in public primary schools in Warri.
He commended the zeal of Barrister Agbajoh in trying to revive the Itsekiri
language in Warri and called on other Itsekiri sons and daughters to support the laudable project.
On how to ensure that the Itsekiri language do not go into extinction like some other languages in the country, Mr. Eyeoyibo implored parents to always ensure that they teach their children how to speak the Itsekiri language.
He also frowned at the situation whereby some parents who live in Warri discouraged their children from learning Itsekiri language in public primary school in Warri.
He called on the state government to revive the teaching of Itsekiri language in primary schools in Warri.
