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Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has pledged the support of his administration for the newly developed Ijaw Language App, code-named Dayama Demo, as part of renewed efforts to preserve and revive the language.
Diri made the commitment at the Ijaw Language Awareness Summit in Yenagoa, held as part of activities marking the 30th anniversary of Bayelsa State’s creation. The state’s anniversary activities began at the weekend with an official thanksgiving service.
The summit, with the theme, “Reviving The Izon Language: Heritage, Our Identity, Our Future,” was held at the DSP Alamieyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall.
The governor expressed concern that the Ijaw language was gradually losing ground and urged parents and other Bayelsans to make deliberate efforts to speak it at home and teach it to younger generations.
He said preservation of the language was critical to safeguarding the identity, culture and heritage of the Ijaw people.
“The responsibility of teaching our children our language lies squarely with parents. So every family should strive to communicate always in their mother tongue,” Diri said.
The governor announced that the Ijaw Language Awareness Summit would henceforth become an annual event anchored by the Ministry of Culture and Ijaw National Affairs.
“This celebration will not end today. It is going to be an annual Izon Language Awareness Day and it will be anchored in the Ministry of Culture and Ijaw National Affairs.
“Next year, we will have this Ijaw Awareness Day in an open field at the sports complex where all our families, all our mothers and fathers will converge,” he said.
Diri also directed the Commissioner for Education to ensure that quizzes and debates in the Ijaw language were organised in primary and secondary schools across the state.
He urged the Ijaw National Congress (INC) to work with the government on the language revival project and called for the reactivation of the Prof. Kay Williamson Centre at Kaiama in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area.
The governor said the revival effort built on an initiative started by his predecessor, Seriake Dickson, when the Kolokuma dialect was adopted as the central language in the state and teachers were recruited to teach it in public schools.
“My predecessor started the move to revive the language when he sent a bill to the House of Assembly and on February 25, 2018, Kolokuma dialect was adopted as the central language and 200 teachers were recruited to teach the language in every public school,” he said.
Diri said the campaign went beyond language to the preservation of the broader Ijaw culture.
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“What we are doing today is about the preservation of our language, mode of dressing as well as the cuisine that make up the sum total of our culture and tradition as Ijaws,” he said.
He commended popular Ijaw musician Asu Ekiye for convening the summit and described him as an ambassador of the Ijaw nation.
The governor also praised former Commissioner for Ijaw National Affairs, Dr Felix Tuodolo, Ijaw language presenter, Erema Yanga, and others involved in efforts to preserve the language.
He called on private organisations and individuals to support creative talents promoting Ijaw language and culture.
In his keynote address, Tuodolo identified declining use of the mother tongue in homes as one of the major threats to the survival of the language.
He said many parents no longer communicated with their children in Ijaw and also expressed concern over the preference for other indigenous languages at the expense of the mother tongue.
Tuodolo urged Ijaw people to speak the language more frequently at home, during ceremonies and at other social engagements.
Convener of the summit, Asu Ekiye, said the survival of the language depended on the choices and actions of the people.
He warned that everyday use of Ijaw was declining rapidly, particularly among younger people, and called for immediate intervention.
Ekiye appealed to the state government to formally recognise the Ijaw Language Resuscitation Initiative and establish a focal unit to coordinate its activities.
He also recommended systematic audio-visual documentation of oral histories, songs, proverbs and stories, creation of a language champions network and establishment of school language clubs in pilot communities.
Ekiye and fellow musician Barr. Smooth received awards for promoting Ijaw language and tradition through music, while veteran journalist Asu Beks was honoured for his contribution to Ijaw values and traditions through journalism.
Other artistes who performed at the event included B2S Tare Oge Master, Trace Ailies, Dr Gesiere Ebizimor-Nicholas, Erema Yanga and Pastor Amange BE Amange.
