DEAD IN THE HEAD
I have met too many nd'Igbo, especially in Lagos, Abuja and other non Igbo states, who don't know how to pronounce bia ( come) in Igbo language. But then it got more interesting when I enquired if they know how to speak Igbo, if not fluently, but reasonably. I discovered that these people are not just ignorant of their mother tongue, they also derived pride from the fact that they only speak English.
Aluu! (Abomination).
I also realised that these people were mainly raised by uneducated parents who were once made to believe in their time that being ignorant of how to speak English language was a sign of inferiority, barbarity and backwardness. Now they want to ensure that their children know the language of preeminence (English), as alleged.
My father schooled in the fifties, and when he wrote city and guild of London, he was the best in the entire African continent, outclassing even white people in South Africa, Mozambique, and other white settler countries in Africa. He is an engineer and a rare genius in that field, some people actually call him engineering encyclopedia. He never used a calculator since he started school till date, all mathematical tables, equations and signs are all contained in his brain.
What about the English language, I always know him for refusing to listen to pastors preach because in his words "They abuse and murder a hell out of the language". He can't just stand wrong English both in speech and in writing. He is the true old school.
But then, while we grew, it was a taboo in our house if you can't speak not just the Igbo izugbe (central igbo) but also our Olumba (our dialect). It was so serious that we were threatened with the denial of school excursions and parties if you are unable to speak our olumba.
To put nothing to chance, I was severally sent to the village during holidays to spend time with grandma.
I MUST SAY IT WAS ONE OF MY BEST CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES.
I learnt to hunt with village hunters, learnt basic farming, cooking, and rural leaving. Today, I am proud I have became a sophisticated fellow.
Many things are certain about our brothers and sisters who are culturally and mentally subjugated and imperialized; most of them can hardly speak proper English, and when you ask them to write, it's an apology.
And by the time they travel abroad and acquire more exposure, they will ultimately realise that the English man sees them as a two-third human, a monkey, an inferior or a nigger. Then do they realize that they have been fooled.
If you are a young African parent who only speak English to your children, thereby denying them the knowledge and language of their roots, repent from your atrocities.
-IZU CHIGBOLUMOGU