University of Nigeria Virtual Library Serial No ISBN :978 – 2119- 51- 2 Author 1 NWADIKA, Uzoma . I Author 2 Author 3 Igbo Language in Education: An Title Historical Study Keyword Description Igbo Language in Education: An Historical Study Category Arts Publisher Pacific Publication Date 2002 Signature 1GBO LANGUAGE IN EDUCATION . AN HISTORICAL STUDY '. _ - m-: - I c2*aFc 3 1 L I 'r 4 : Ill I. U. NWADIKE IGBO LANGUAGE IN EDUCATION: AN HISTORICAL STUDY IGBO LANGUAGE IN EDUCATION: AN HISTORICAL STUDY INN0 UZOMA NWADIKE a. -- ' * ... .. PACIFIC PUBLISHERS: A Diviion of Pacific Correspondence College &'jlress Ltd. Uruowulu - Obosi, Anmbra State, Nigeria. A' 0 Inno Uzpma Nwadike First Published 2002 Published by: PACIFIC PUBLISHERS A division of Pacific Correspondence College & Press Ltd. Pacific House, P.O. Box 2 1, Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State, Nigeria. Other Book Depots 71 Old Market Road, P.M.B. 1763, Onitsha, Tel: 046 - 2 103 13. Oriental House, 7 Enugu Road, Nsukka, Phone: 042 - 770 130 . 14 Orlu Road, Amakohia - Owerri. Shop 9 Onyeabd Plaza, Ogbo-Ogonogo Market, Asaba. No. 4 St. Faith Church Road, Awka Anambra State. Shop "C" Block C to C Shopping Plaza, Nkpokiti Road Enuau. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, elec- tronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Pacific Correspondence College and Press Ltd. ISBN: 978 - 2119 - 51 - 2 COVER DESIGN BY OBIDI MIKE OKPALA ~esi~nedPrinted & bound by Pacific College Press, Obosi, Anambra State, Nigeria. CONTENTS Dedication v List of Tables vi List of Maps vii 9.. List of Abbreviations and Acronyms Vlll Foreword ix Preface X Post Script xi Chapter 1 Introduction 2 The Origin of the Igbo 2 The Language of the Igbo 8 The Culture of the Igbo 9 The Nsibidi Script 19 Chapter 2 The Missionaries and the Igbo Language 25 0 The Isuama Dialect (1 700 - 1900) 25 Igbo, Its Path to Development as a Written Language 26 Freetown and Igbo Studies (Sierra Leone Studies) 27 Onitsha Studies (1857 - 1929) 3 2 The Early Missionary Period 3 3 The Decline of the Early Missionary Period 3 8 Assessment of Isuama Studies 4 1 The Union Dialect (1 90 1 - 1929) 44 The Later Missionary Period 44 The Union Igbo: An Assessment 50 Chapter 3 The Orthography Controversy 56 The Education Ordinances 56 The 1882 Education Ordinance 5 6 The 1926 Education Ordinance 59 Consequences of the 1926 Ordinance 6 1 The First Orthographic Reform in Igbo The Central Dialect and Orthography Controversy, 1939 - 1962 The Umuahia Conference of 13/6/44 The Onitsha Conference of 26-27/6144 The Enugu Conference of 6/9/44 The Resumed Orthography Meeting, 1952 - 1961 The Aba Conference of 1952 The Owerri Select Committee Meeting of 25/8/53 The Owerri Select Committee Meeting of 2811 1/53 Newspaper Report of the 28th November Conference Reactions to the Orthography The Compromise Orthography Government Approves the Onwu Committee Orthography The Reconvention of the Onwu Committee of 1961 0 Evaluation of Orthography Controversy 0 Igbo Literature, 1927 - 1960 Chapter 4 The Society for the Promotion of Igbo Language and Culture (SPILC) History SPILC's Mode of Work The Various Committees The Achievements of SPILC Problems Facing SPILC Asscsament of SPILC's Role Chapter 5 lgbo Language as an Academic Discipline 0 Trends 0 At the Primary School Level 0 At the Secondary School and Grade I1 Teachers College 0 In Institutions of Higher Learning 0 In Public Examinations System 0 Problems Facing lgbo Language 0 Prospects: Igbo Faces the Future Chapter 6 Summary ~iblio~ra~h~ Appendix Index DEDICATION In memory of my cousin, Lt. Clement Anya~gg, a devoted teacher and proficient choirmaster who lost his life in 1968 in the defence of his fatherland Also, it is dedicated to the memory of Chief (Dr) F.C. pgbaly, the doyen of Igbo studies who aedicated his life for the upliftment of Igbo. ' vii List of Tables 1. Nsibidi Signs viii List of Abbreviations and Acronyms A.C.E. Associate certificate in Education Alvan Ikoku College of Education Bachelor of Education CMS Church Missionary society E.O. Education Officer/Office JME Joint Matriculation Examination JSS Junior Secohdary School MM Methodist Mission M.O.E. , Ministry of Education NAE National Archives Enugu NAI National Archives lbadan NCE Nigerian Certificate in Education Nuc National Universities Commission RCM Roman Catholic Mission SOAS School of Oriental and African Studies SPILC Society for the Promotion of Igbo Language and Qlture SSS Senior Secondary School WAEC West African Examinations Council UNN University of Nigeria, Nrmkka Foreword Igbo -LanguageIn Education: An Historical Study For the first time in the history of Igbo Language, an attempt has been made to trace the origin of the written language from Sierra Leone to Nigeria. The so-called Isuama dialect in which the first Igbo reader, "Azu Ndu" and the Union Igbo Bible was written was the work of freed Igbo slaves residing in Sierra Leone. Their work was valuable in that it gave the Igbo the first written language. The efforts of the others were facilitated by the Isuama dialect. The evolution ofwritten Igbo up to its present form is a fascinating study which has required patient, scientific and painstaking research. Only dedicated students of Igbo studies like Maazi I.U. Nwadike could have achieved this feat. I commend this historic and monumental work to all Igbo scholars and all lovers of Igbo language and culture. Rev. John.0. 1r6aganachi. Preface A racc whose languagc cannot bc 'uscd for litcrary and serious purposcs has no red identity; thc racc is dccadcnt. The most conclusive conqucst of a pcople is thc conqucst through language M.C. Adicle. I1 is an ;~cccplcdmaxim lhal lhc most csscnlial asscl of a pcoplc is no1 in lhcir afflucncc and lcchnological advanccmcnl. Ncilhcr is it in the numbcr of cmincnl sons and daughlcrs thcy own. Thcir most csscnlial asscl is lhcir own language - thcir molhcr tonguc. No pcople under normal circumstanccs would wan1 their mothcr tongue to dic, for it is after all Lhe languagc lhat makcs Lhcm an cthnic enlity or nation. Wilhoul n language of ils own, a nalion bccomcs mcrgcd and lost in lhc forcign group whose languagc it is forccd LO speak. But with ils own language, a nation idcnlifies itseIf and ensurcs ils pcrpetualion. I1 is Lhose languagcs which arc taught widcly in schools as wrillcn languagcs that will survivc and dcvclop. Thosc Lhal arc no1 will dic. It is on Lhc basis of Lhis imporlanl rolc allachcd to ~hc written aspccl of languijgcs 111:11 lhis lcxl lakcs a look a1 Igbo, one of Lhc wrillcn languagcs of Wcst Africa. Thc dcvelopmcnl of ils wrillcn form and ils acccptancc as an acadcmic discipline, bolh in lhc school curricula and public fj cxaminalions sysicm has bccn traccd from 1766 lo lhc prcscnt 16 Lime. This book is a rcviscd vcrsion of my M.Ed. Lhcsis titlcd 'Thc Dcvclopmcnl of Wrillcn Igbo ijS a School Subjccl, 1766- 1980: An Hislorical Approach' which I prcscnlcd LO Lhc Gradualc School of lhc SLalc Univcrsily of Ncw York at Buffalo, USA in 1980. This work is an allcmpl to bring in10 a singlc volume facts aboul thc hislory and dcvclopmcnl of Igbo language and literature contained in scattcred documcnls. With thc ! rcorganizalion of lhc primary and posl primary school curricula in Nigeria's thrcc major indigenous languages viz. Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba in ordcr to embracc thc 6-3-3-4 cducational systcm, it might bc a possibility that cvcry serious Igbo tcachcr in thc post primary institution will of ncccssity rcquirc some of thc information contained hcrcin. TG tcachcrs and studcnts in institutions of highcr learning, this is no less a necessary handbook. Thc wcalth of information of historical imporlancc which is conlaincd in this work will bc particularly uscful lo rcscarchcrs, since a lot of this information has not yct appcarcd in any standard rcfcrcncc works. As would be cxpcctcd, work of lhis nature rcquircd a lot of grass-root rcscarch - and this obligation has bccn mct. Firstly, archival materials which had laid dormant for years since thc colonial cra wcrc 'cxhumed' and utilized. Secondly, oral intcrvicws werc hcld with knowlcdgeable pcople in Igbo studies, cspccially thosc who wcre either cducational authorities or studcnts in Igboland during the first half of the twentieth ccntury when Igbo could bc said to have really taken a diffcrcnt dircction in favour of its dcvclopmcnt. Thirdly, through pcrsonal observations, I equipped myself with first - hand knowledge of ccrtain aspccts of the work. Having schooled in Igboland, and being a scholar and lecturcr of Igbo and a member of thc SPILC for many years now, I bccame, so to say, 'an insidcr'. I am most decply jndcbted to my thesis supervisor, Professor Charles R. Fall, for his invaluablc hclp towards the successful completion of this work. To Professor J. Ron Gcntilc, Director, SUNY/B - AICE Programmc, I am grateful for encouraging me to get the thesis published. This work could not have attained its standard without Professor E.N. Emenanjo who providcd mc with important reference materials and acquainted mc with some of my rcspondcnts. To him I say thank you. To Rev. John Iroaganachi, from whom I first learn about the School of Oricntal and African Studies and its activities on Igbo studies, I pass my most sincere thanks. To Dr. Sidney Osuji, I am very much indebted for exposing me to other sources of data without which this work could nofhave been as rich.