Journal of Black and African Arts and Civilization 3(1), 183-197
Volume 3, Number 1, May 2009
Endangered Language and Identity:
The Case of Igbo People in Ibadan
by SOLOMON C.
MADUBUIKE *
Abstract
This paper is based on an ethnographic study carried out among
some Igbo families, town associations and traders resident in
Ibadan, Oyo State. The problem centres on the awesome
destructive power inherent in the subjects'preference for speaking
the host language (Yoruba) instead of Igbo in their homes, family
meetings and other Igbo cultural meetings. This is expected, since
language is the bedrock on which a society is built and its people
identified as a distinct ethnic group; one notices an overarching
significance of the Yoruba language in the lives of many Igbo
families as survival mechanism, even, in giving Yoruba names to
Igbo children born in Oyo State. Also, some other ethnic groups
perceived the Igbo language as insignificant at the end of the civil
war in 1970. The effect of this is seen in the low number of students,
both Igbo and non-Igbo, who registered for the Igbo language in
secondary schools in Ibadan, (0.5%) when compared to the number
of students of Igbo origin in Ibadan who registered for the Yoruba
language in WAEC/NECO examinations between 1995 and 2000
(99.05%.) While there is no denying the poor quality of the Igbo
language spoken in the Diaspora since the end of civil war, the
preference for the host language does not solve the problem of the
Diasporas. This paper, therefore, considers the implications of
endangered Igbo and ethno-cultural identity in the Diaspora.
Igbo indigenous knowledge, values and morality, personality
development and ethnic-identity, may continue to depreciate if
the Igbo language continues to be endangered. Moreover, the quest
for Igbo unity and development will remain an agenda for some
distant future unless the Igbo language is bailed out.
Key words: Endangered, language, Identity, Development, Igbo,Diaspora, Ibadan.
Sociological Applications Department Bowen University, Iwo,Osun State, Nigeria.
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Journal of the Black and African Arts and Civilization
Introduction
is the spirit of the cultural identity of human beings,
LANGUAGE
but we often take it for granted and pay little attention to its role in
maintaining peace, unity and development.
As Williams Beardmore Beveridge argues:
Careful and correct use of language is a powerful aid to straight
reasoning and development of a group of people identified within
a language culture (as quoted in Copi, 1982:61).
In other words, one is content to say that a science of socio-cultural life
and group identity is based on a uniquely assembled language, which
thereof gives meaning and identity to every other aspect of life. This
point is well articulated in the biblical account:
God said, let there be light and there was light, and let the earth
bring forth living creatures according to their kinds, and man
should identify each and give meaning to each accordingly
(Genesis 1:3; 14 and 24).
What is noteworthy in the above statement is that language and
identity have been important to God from the beginning of creation.
Similarly, Achebe (1999:48) locates the mystery of language in God's
creation by saying that a language is sacred, mystical and mysterious;
it lives and breathes, provides the differentiation between human
beings and fellow animals of other species. In addition, language
differentiation between one ethnic group and another must be viewed,
as a matter of fact, as the foundation of cultural existence that gives
an individual a sense of belonging as well as cultural identity in the
society and a relationship to other members of the society.
The logic of articulating a cultural language and its rituals helps a
group of people to gain a high sense of identity, pride, prestige and a
feeling that life is meaningful within their worldview. Language creates
a great sense of solidarity, perfects social order and develops high moral
values amongst its users. This is because the science of development
is built in the language of the people whose values are expressed
through their indigenous language. Hence, Oliver Wendell Holmes
proclaims: "language! the blood of the soul, sir, in which our thoughts
run and out of which they grow" (as quoted in Copi, 1982:72).
Endangered Language and Identity: The Case of Igbo People in Ibadan
185
Language is the meaning of meanings; it identifies the relationship of
meanings. For instance, the social identity of a speaker, the addressee,
and the social context in which communication takes place, is language.
Language is important in the socialisation process because it helps
individuals to develop their identity and acquire a personality
(Madubuike, 2005:326). Hence, a major factor constraining Igbo
language development in modern times is the risk faced by the Igbo
living outside their homeland, of losing not only cultural identity but
also the values promoted by their language. Even in Ibadan, Oyo State,
Nigeria where Igbo people have grown in population considerably, the
Igbo language and identity among the diasporas have been abandoned
for the Yoruba language and cultural values. Reacting to this, Mrs.
Uche Nwosu, aged 45, (a trader in Mokola market, Ibadan) explained:
"Yes, we speak Yoruba in my house, at the market and even in our
town meetings here because that is the language we use for our daily
bread. My children grow and understand only Yoruba and English
because of their school" (Personal Communication, March 2000).
The Problem
The problem of this study touches on the risk Igbo language, has been
exposed to, beyond the scores of Igboland and the identity question it
creates. I will argue that Igbos, outside have lost a great deal of their
indigenous cultural language values by preferring to speak their host
language and imbibing its value system (as their circumstance
inevitably dictates); it is inevitable that they also lose their cultural
identity. The possible implications are, first, the Igbo language is
exposed to underdevelopment and consequent loss of its values in
politics, economy, religion, education, family solidarity and moral
development. Second, and as a result of the above negative implication,
the Igbo group identity and solidarity (Igbo kwenu) would be dislocated.
This raises fundamental questions of language and identity within the
context of the aspiration of a cultural group, especially in a multicultural society like Nigeria where each cultural group wants to
dominate the other and impose its cultural values, particularly its
language, as a matter of cultural superiority. Again, I will argue that
Igbos outside have been victims of endangered language and identity
since the period of the transatlantic slave trade in America and Europe
on the one hand and the end of the Nigerian-Biafran Civil War in 1970
on the other. These epochs in the history of Igbo cultural group have
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Journal of the Black and African Arts and Civilization
raised serious theoretical and practical questions for the development
of the Igbo language and genuine national integration.
Methodology
This study is based on a field work carried out, between March-June
2000 and September-November 2004. A stratified random technique
was used to cover six identified residential areas of Ibadan where Igbo
people were numerous. The areas are Agbowo-UI-Ojo areas, and
Mokola-UCH-Oke Bola areas. Three hundred households, were sampled
with fifty each from Agbowo, UGH, UL, Ojo, Mokola and Oke Bola. Both
interviews and participant-observation techniques were used to obtain
data. It is estimated that there are about 1,500,000 Igbo people living
and working in Ibadan. It should be noted that, out of this estimated
number, 500,000 are people who have integrated into Yoruba cultural
values, specifically, the spoken language, food habit, mode of dressing
and naming of their children.
The Concept of Endangered Language and Identity
In this paper, endangered language is defined as the process by which
some members of a cultural group lose the values of their indigenous
language to those of their host languages after a long period of stay in
their host societies. In most cases, this was achieved through a forceful
imposition of foreign cultural values during the colonial period, the
transatlantic slavery epoch (1400 — 1800), and the period of war like
the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War between 1967 and 1970, which led some
Igbo people to leave their hometowns for good with determination not
to come back again.
However, several components of this definition merit elaboration. First,
language is more than common communication (Oke,1984:81).
Communication refers to sharing and imparting that which is common to
a group; it includes what we say in writing, in action and in words. This
is because communication is not unique to man alon;, it is also used
by other animals for survival within their habitat. But the
communication component in human language includes symbols like
names of people, places, objects, things, feelings, fears, love, values and
wise sayings of the people which constitutes the philosophical foundation
of their culture. The philosophical component refers to moral values of
the culture necessary for sustaining the society. For instance, the
philosophical moral values of the cultural language of any society is
Endangered Language and Identity: The Case of Igbo People in Ibadan
187
expressed through identity. Put differently, Makinde (2002) argues that
when some members of a cultural group lose their moral values to other
cultures, it manifests in their behaviour and attitude towards life. In
other words, when some members of a particular culture abandon their
language for another language whose philosophical moral valves they
have no basic understanding of then their identity becomes inevitably
questionable. According to Achebe (1999:49), language and identity have
their natural channels: sometimes, the attributes of language and
identity are clear to us; at other times, they are confusing. This is true
when we take a close look at the language and identity of the diasporas
who tried to relocate their root. As Achebe (ibid) argues, once a language
is being infected by other languages through intermingling of other
cultures, it risks losing its essence entirely such that the identity of the
person(s) would be subjected to questioning. However, it is important to
emphasise here that it is the condition outside the homeland that dictates
the language spoken as a survival mechanism.
The Igbo in the Diaspora
Historically, there are two periods that account for the presence of the
Igbo outside their homeland. The first period is the black slave trade
between 1650 and 1850 (Dike, 1956; Iniikori, 2002). This was the period
of the Atlantic World Slave economy and the development process in
England. The second period is the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War between
1967 and 1970. This was the period when many Igbo people fled their
native homes to other parts of the world, specifically to Yoruba towns
and cities like Ibadan, Lagos, Ondo, and so on, in search of livelihood
and survival. It is pertinent to emphasise that it was at this period
that the Igbo language and identity underwent a radical
transformation both in function and structure. However, this
unprecedented movement is captured by changes in spoken language,
life style, and value orientation of Igbo in the Diaspora, specifically in
Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria (Tables 1 - 2).
The Igbo in the Diaspora refers to the dispersion of some Igbo people to
other parts of the world, as a result of colonial-slave trade and civil war
conditions, which have invariably made them risk losing their language
and identity to their host language. However, it is pertinent to
distinguish between Igbo language and identity in colonial-black slave
Diaspora and the Igbo language and identity in the Diaspora (in
Ibadan) as a result of the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War. This distinction is
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Journal of the Black and African Arts and Civilization
necessary when we consider the negative impact the dispersion has on
the Igbo language and identity, and the dislocation of group
solidarity-"the spirit of be your brother's keeper", for which Igbo culture
is famous. According to Obiechina (as quoted in Edeh, 1985:151), the
collective conscience of the Igbo people was split after the
Nigeria-Biafra Civil War in 1970, Consequently, the community could
no longer speak with one voice. Similarly, Ekeh observes:
The inevitable result of the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War on the Igbo
people is manifest in the risk of losing their language and identity
to other cyltures as a result of a protracted series of conflicts and
confusion which accompanied the change in the way of life of the
people in the Diaspora as they struggled to assimilate the
language and values of their hosts (1985:151).
In other words, the language and identity of host communities tend to
change from that of their kins back home. For instance, Table 1 lists
Yoruba names given to Igbo children by their parents who live and
work in Ibadan.
Table 1 reveals preference for Yoruba names by Igbo children born in
Ibadan than Igbo names given to them by their parents. This preference
for Yoruba names is not unconnected with the fact that they want to be
identified as part and parcel of Yoruba culture in their neighbourhood,
school and workplace. In an interview with Mr. C. O. Nnaji, aged 50
years, and Mrs Betty Njoku, aged 40 years (civil servants in Ibadan)
on why the Igbo people who live and work in Ibadan prefer Yoruba,
they argue, "speaking Yoruba is the only way the people can accept us
and treat us well". For them, language is the brotherhood in the culture
and the society. (Personal Communication March 18, 2004).
For instance, the historical accounts of the lost tribe of the Jews, and
the black slaves in America and Europe, are good cases of risk language
and identity in the Diaspora. To that end, the study is limited in scope
to Igbo people living in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Table 1: Choice / Preference for Yoruba Names than Igbo Names among
the Igbo Living in Ibadan
Birth
Ibadan
Ibadan
Ibadan
Ibadan
Ibadan
ibadan
Preferred Yoruba
Names
English Names
Ajoke
Bimbo
Seim
Titi
Tunde
Joy
Janet
John
Comfort
David
Segun
Ronke
Bola
Wale
Oye
Bunmi
Paul
Edith
Grace
Sunday
Samuel
Julie
Igbo Names As Given by State of Origin
Parent (rarely used)
Chinelo
Nnenna
Ikenna
Chidi
Amadi
Ugochi
Uchechi
Onyechi
Nnamdi
Nkechi
Source: Fieldwork, 2004.
Place of
Residence
Abia
UI
Imo
Agbowo
Anambra
Enugu
Ebonyi
Abia
Mokola
Oke-Bola
Ojo
Mokola
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Journal of the Black and African Arts and Civilization
,~>
In 1999, while speaking at the Odenigbo lecture held in Owerri, the
Imo State capital, Achebe called for cultural rebirth among the Igbo so
as to save the Igbo language and identity from the possible risk of
extinction among other languages. Achebe has been concerned with
the risk of losing the Igbo language and identity and lamented the
slow evolution of Igbo language as a medium of expression for a large
section of the nation's populace.
By extension, the Igbo language and identity have suffered extensive
setbacks, specifically in the development and sustenance of its cultural
values, in the "course of time; extending from Igbo in the Diaspora in
America, Europe, and Caribbean countries to the Yoruba towns and
cities in southwestern Nigeria. They share a common experience in
the sense that they risk losing their language and identity to their
host societies.
The division between the Igbo in the Diaspora in America, Europe and
the Caribbean, and the Igbo in Ibadan, and other towns and cities in
Yorubaland, however, is that the former were forced into slavery by
unavoidable social forces brought about by colonisation while the latter
were forced by personal conviction to escape from economic, political
and social realities following the Civil War. Personal conviction to
escape does not come into the principles of risk language and identity,
such as oppressive tendency. As Heine-Geldern (1972:171) argues, the
result that the conquered were more readily assimilated by the
conquerors, abandoning even their own language and even losing their
cultural identity does not stop oppressive tendencies inherent in
endangered language and identity. In this way, it is easy to see the
imminent risk of losing the language and identity of an individual or
group of individuals who are conquered by social circumstances.
What is of crucial interest, however, is that this study reveals the
deplorable state of the Igbo language and identity outside of Igbolang
and its negative impacts on Igbo cultural values. For instance, in
Ibadan, Oyo State of Nigeria, where Igbo people have grown in
population considerably, the Igbo language and cultural identity have
been exposed to the risk of abandonment. Expatiating further on this,
Dr. I. C. Chikelu, aged 46, (an Ibadan-based medical practitioner),
argues that deep interest in speaking the host language is borne out of
fear. This fear is motivated by the economic status of the Igbo living
outside; whether rich or poor, they do not want their hosts to expel
Endangered Language and Identity: The Case of Igbo People in Ibadan
191
them from the land. Hence, they think that the only way to survive
any possible attack from the host community is to speak the language
KPersonal Communication, June 2000). This further limits Igbo
language development within and outside Igboland.
|Some Implications of Endangered Language and
^Identity of the Igbo in the Diaspora
Endangered language and identity on the part of the Igbo who reide
outside Igboland have the following implications: they are compelled to
conform to the values and norms of their host culture, even when they
are more or less independent; they frequently fear their host
^sanctions in terms of denial of a plot of land, job opportunity, and
marriage to their host daughters and sons, as the case may be. In
addition, the Igbo living in Ibadan who want to participate in local
politics within the community or aspire to a leadership position in their
place of work are denied the right since they are not freeborn of the
land. In an interview with one of the respondents (who pleaded
anonymity) on why Igbo people who have lived all their life in Ibadan
are not councillors, honourables, local government chairmen, or state
dovernor., the respondent asserts:
Ah! The Yoruba people call us names, 'Omo Igbo,' 'Omo Okoro,'
you want to rule us; I beg. go home and rule your people not us.
(Personal Communication, June 10, 2002).
One fundamental issue in Nigerian politics is that political and
corperate leadership is based on ethnic identity expressed through
language. According to Elaigwu:
This can come up at the time the individuals in such society in
Diaspora can no longer fathom the collective belief system:
language and identity, cannot continue to take bread or lead them
to the path of development. It therefore seems that the Igbo in
Diaspora have found themselves in this negative image of
"homeless" people whose language and identity are questionable;
they do not have alternatives better than integrating and
adjusting into their host culture (1977, as quoted in Ojukwu,
2001:12).
Similarly, Mr. Ignatius Igwe (aged 75years, an Igbo community leader
in Ibadan) recalls that majority of his people do not go home because
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Journal of the Black and African Arts and Civilization
home (Igboland) is very difficult. (Personal Communication, March 2004).
Unfortunately, this deplorable state of the Igbo language and identity
outside the homeland has extended to the homeland. Those who come
home to visit their kins speak three languages: English, Igbo and
Yoruba through code-switching and code-mixing of these languages in
one phrase (Table 2).
Schematic Diagram of Language
Table 2: Code-Switching / Code-Mixing
Language
Code-Switching
Yoruba = omo Yoruba = wa n bi
Igbo = nna Igbo = owugini English Omo nna Wa n bi
= how, now, what, you, go English
owugini now
= come,what is it now?
Code-Mixing
Omo nna how now? Come
here, what is it now? Omo
nna, where you de go?
Yoruba
= Omo
Igbo = Kedu
English = Now
Omokedu
Omo kedu now
Yoruba = Omo Igbo =
Okoro English =
Now, You
Yoruba = Omo Igbo = Igbo
Yoruba = abi English = which,
one, you crazy
Omo okoro
Omo okoro, how you de?
Omo Igbo
Omo Igbo, which one you
de? Abi you de craze?
Yoruba = fun mi
Igbo = ego English
= now Fun mi ego
now
Fun mi le ego
Omo nna
Source: Fieldwork, 2004
There is a general consensus among the respondents that code-switching
and code-mixing of Yoruba, Igbo and English languages (Table 2) helps
them (diasporas) to identify and communicate amongst themselves
(without minding the negative effects it would have on the Igbo language
and values). The above suggests that there are both code-switching and
code-mixing of the Igbo in the Diaspora. The code-switching is when an
Igbo person comes new to Yorubaland and intermingles with the people;
while the code-mixing implies general communication between both the
193
Endangered Language and Identity: The Case of Igbo People in Ibadan
tnaany«i cu i_c*ny«^a
____
Igbo person and the Yoruba person, especially common, the young people.
jReacting to this situation, Mrs Grace Amadi, aged 35 years, (a trader at,
lAlesinloye market, Ibadan) argued, "how do you expect my son or I
daughter to get job after school, if he or she can not speak Yoruba?"
rersonal Communication, March 2004). The question is: What is the
effect of a language that has lost its originality and possibly cultural
identity? Put differently,
That is why the Igbo man has remained shortchanged by politics of
manipulation.. He does not understand that he is fast becoming an
Endangered specy. (The Guardian, March 16,1999.)
is obvious; the Igbo socio-cultural values changed direction at
( \theTheendreason
of the Nigeria - Biafra civil war. Many Igbo people were
dispersed throughout other parts of the world. Effects of Endangered
Igbo on the Igbo Development The effects of endangered Igbo
language on the Igbo development, specifically in the post-civil war:
1970 — 2004, are numerous with negative consequences for their
developmental goals. At the end of the civil war, the Igbo families in the
Diaspora systematically abandoned their cultural values both in attitude
and action and consequently assimilated into their host cultural values.
This invariably affects what Forde and Jones (1950) identify as "unique
identity with characteristics of a people with specific copious supply of
versatile common sense and the unique capacity for improvisation for
which Igbo were known. Ojukwu (2001:16) argues that, for the Igbo in
particular, individualism as a result of the civil war has bastardised the
spirit of oneness, communal spirit and a sense of leadership, simply
because their language and identity have been bastardised as a result of
diaspora contradictions such as language conversion (which
undermined the development of the Igbo language in modern times). For
instance, in the Department of Modern Languages, University of Ibadan,
admission into Igbo language between 1999 and 2004 was 0.10 per cent.
Similarly, the number of secondary school pupils in Ibadan who registered
for Igbo language in the WAEC/GCE/NECO between 1999 and 2004 was
0.05 per cent. It is interesting to state that the above percentages
recorded in the school examination and admission into the University of
Ibadan were from children of families transferred to
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Journal of the Black and African Arts and Civilization
federal establishments and multinational companies in Ibadan from
eastern states within one year, while the 0.10 per cent represents the
students of Igbo origin who were desperate to gain admission into the
university.
According to female and male teachers (who pleaded anonymity), at
the International School, University of Ibadan, a major factor
responsible for the low percentage of students who want to take Igbo as a
major subject in school is that their parents do not encourage them.
(Personal Communication, June 18,2004). This is so because the Igbo
in the Diaspora believe that understanding the Yoruba language will
be advantageous in terms of job opportunities at the state and federal
levels, where Yoruba indigenes occupy envious positions. "This is
because in Nigeria, governance is monopolised and privatiszed by a
single ethnic group; private passions are usually superior to the
affection for public good" (Ojukwu, ibid).
Due to these factors, Yoruba language is conceived in terms of
psychological survival in southwestern Nigeria. This suggests that
language is a necessary tool of concept due to survival, because the
preference for speaking the host language (Yoruba) instead of Igbo is
determined by a cause.
According to Mrs. Uche Nwosu, aged 45 years, (a trader at Mokola
Market, Ibadan), "We speak Yoruba in my house, market and meeting
because it is our language for survival" (Personal Communication,
March 18, 2000). The diaspora families, especially their children who
refused to learn and speak the Igbo language, have been a cause for
serious concern and anxiety to the Igbo leaders of thought like the
apex socio-cultural organization, Ohaneze and the academic community
of Igbo origin, who watch in utter dismay as their kins outside,
abandoned their cultural language and identity in preference for their
host cultural ones.
The Socio-Cultural Status of the Igbo Language
in the Diaspora
In an attempt to have a clear picture of the status of the Igbo language
spoken in the Diaspora and to a large extent, what aspects of Igbo values
and heritage are being observed and used in the families and
association meetings of Igbo origin, in each of the families and town
associations meetings visited, it was revealed that the languages spoken
Endangered Language and Identity: The Case of Igbo People in Ibadan
195
are Yoruba and English, not Igbo. The medium of communication
amongst members is evident in Table 2, as most members prefer
non-Igbo language. For instance, minutes of town association
meetings were recorded in the English language. Similarly, welcome
addresses or greetings among Igbo families were said in Yoruba or
English. Even prayers in meetings and families were said in Yoruba
or English. Interestingly, 100% of the children of Igbo origin born in
Ibadan, speak Yoruba and English rather than Igbo in their homes,
schools, marketplaces, and so on. The study reveals that, over time,
the to foreign culture has attered the Igbo culture by removing the
final relationships between children and parents, on the one hand, and
their ancestral background, on the other. Hence, the position of this
study is that Igbo language and identity are at risk of losing their
traditional values, prestige and respect among other languages and
cultures.
It is pertinent, however, to emphasise that this analysis makes the case
for the Igbo language and identity in a multi-cultural state like Nigeria.
The balanced opinion of Achebe (1999) is that there is an urgent need
for a cultural rebirth of the Igbo language and identity.
Conclusion
This paper has discussed the endangered Igbo language and identity
in Ibadan by looking at its negative impacts on Igbo development. It
was noted that Igbo people in the Diaspora have abandoned their
cultural heritage while sustaining and promoting the language and
identity of their host societies. The paper also discussed the implications
of endangered Igbo language and identity in the Diaspora against the
collective conscience and spirit of oneness of the Igbo people both at
home and in the Diaspora in contemporary times. As a result, it calls
for a rebirth of the Igbo language, identity and values in modern times.
Just as Ojukwu (2001:18) argues, "let the cultural ethos advanced in
this era be ones that will bring about human and structural
development. Let there be resuscitation and regeneration of old Igbo."
Beyond the depreciating status of the Igbo language and identity in the
Diaspora, therefore, is the need to respond to Igbo under- development.
The changes have negative impacts on cultural value functions like
morality, personality development, peace and unity of the Igbo people.
196
Journal of the Black and African Arts and Civilization
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