Neglect of Igbo Language IS worse than Defeat of Biafra

Another disaster is on the verge of be falling ndigbo. The tragedy worse than the defeat of Biafra is about to happen in our generation. The impending doom is the threat of imminent death of Igbo Language. Already Igbo Language  is in a critical condition today.
These were part of the lamentations of Prof. Pita Ejiofo while delivering this year’s Odenigbo lecture, at the Maria Assumpta Cathedral Owerri, Sept 7. He spoke on Oganihu Igbo: Onodu Asusu Igbo. (Igbo Progressive Welfare: Where does the Igbo Language stand?)
Prof Ejiofo noted that at the moment, Igbo Language is in a serious condition, and its survival depends squarely on Igbo governors. He therefore appealed to them to rescue this God-given Language so that the tragedy which befell Biafra will not be its fate.
In a well-researched paper, with statistical and empirical evidences, Prof Ejiofo gave several instances, of actions and inactions of ndigbo to prove that Igbo Language is on danger list.
He said that ndigbo both in Nigeria and  in diaspora are 31million and that out of 6809 Languages in the World, Igbo Language is ranked 41st based on the population of ndigbo.
Continuing, he observed that in Africa, apart from Nigeria, Igbo population is greater than any other country in West Africa.
“In Nigeria, ethnic nationalities are between 200-250 in number, Igbo is ranked among the first three. Also, in Nigeria with a population of 155 million, one out of every five Nigerian is Igbo.”
 he lecturer regretted that despite these blessings, Igbo Language is on the verge of being subsumed by other languages.
For example, in 2010, out of 920 Nigerian home videos, 127 were produced in English Language, 291 in Hausa, 470 in Yoruba, 29 in Bini (Edo), only one in Igbo.
The result has not changed. Quoting  statistics released by the National Film and Video Censors Board, for Sept 2011-April 2013 out of 215 films produced, 80 were in Hausa, 72 in Yoruba, 42 in English, 20 in Bini, only one in Igbo.
Also, DSTV Africa Magic, was initially aired only in English Language. But following the popularity of the progrramme, DSTV promised Nigerians that it would introduce African Magic in Nigerian Languages. Everybody was happy. But when the programme took off  in April 2010, only two Nigerian Languages were selected- African Magic Hausa and Africa Magic Yoruba, which are currently running on Channels 156 and 157 respectively. Igbo is not there.
Similarly, Hausa service runs in both Voice of America (VOA) and British Broadcasting Cooperation BBC. Igbo is not there. So, the World doesn’t seem to know there is a language called Igbo.
On those responsible for the present critical situation of Igbo Language, prof. Ejiofor blamed teachers, many of who prevent pupils from speaking Igbo Language in class; Igbo parents who speak only English to their children and who unashamedly tell visitors that, “Junior does not understand Igbo;” Universities that use English Language to teach Igbo; Igbo elders who write address and funeral orations in English, and who encourage such phrases as “Happy Birthday,” “Happy New Year”, “Happy Easter” etc.

Also to blame are priests who conduct masses and services in English Language simply because 5% of the congregation is non-Igbo. However, he heaped the biggest blame on Igbo government: “How much was budgeted for the promotion of Igbo Language since the end of Civil War? What law did they make to ensure that Igbo language is compulsory in both primary and secondary schools, and also made a condition for gaining admission into the higher institutions in Igboland?”
 CULLED FROM .http://www.theleaderassumpta.com

WARNING:MEN YOU MUST NOT MARRY

It’s every girl’s dream to one day get married to that man that would make her happy and make her life better. Believe it or not, marriage is a big issue when it comes to a girl's life, no matter how successful she is or how indifferent she seems to a marriage, she wants it bad. The society, the church and even families have actually not made it any better. So ladies of a certain age begin to worry and become anxious about wearing a ring and walking the aisle in a white dress but in the process due to poor judgement and not hearing from God, some ladies have jumped into marriages that has brought about their downfall. For the single ladies, here is a list of men though you met them in church or at a charity event or at the hospital waiting on sick and deformed children or that glorious place where only good guys go to , albeit well spoken and wealthy that you should never say I DO to.

1.SMOOTH OPERATOR/PLAYER:

The smooth operator.
This brother thinks he is God’s gift to women, he is calculating, well spoken and tactical. He goes about proposing to ladies and convincing them, it is a special mystical attraction, something beautiful , beyond you and I, and for the very spiritual ladies ,it is the will of God, only to go back on his word when he sees another lady he believes is better than the last one. He has a sugar coated tongue and can talk himself out of any situation. "It is you not me," " i just need sometime along to get myself together", " i don't think, i am good enough for you", Most times he even extorts money from the ladies , promising to give it back because his check has been delayed, his clients has not paid, his dog died or in the name of God’s will. From such, run.

2.THE PERVERT:

2nd Timothy 3:6
“They are the kind who warm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires”

He believes sex is a recreation, and so pays no mind to how many partners he has had, would ask for sex before marriage and has no plans to buy a ring but prefers a live in lover and would simply claim it is a test of compatibility. Most of his friends are just like him, they would gather after work and talk about their many victorious conquests and if he eventually decides to marry , getting married to this brother would lead you down the path of heartbreak, misery, sin and disease.

3. MUMMY’S BOY:

This brother is in most cases a carbon copy of his mother and is tied to her wrapper. All decisions have to be made by his mother, mummy said this, mummy said that, he would constantly compare you to his mother. You would soon discover that you are married to his mother. why you should also never get married to a man who has no regard for his mother, don’t put yourself in the bondage of having a mother in law influenced marriage.

4.THE WORKAHOLIC:

This brother is always chasing money at the expense of having good relationship with even his family members, in some cases he may be a nice man, but his priority is first any thing that brings money even at the expense of having a good relationship with anyone even God, you would constantly feel alone in that marriage and you would have the sole responsibility of raising your kids. He would give you money but money we know is not everything.

BEWARE:LADIES YOU MUST NOT MARRY

Nowadays, a lot of young men are refusing to get married, they are simply living the glorified bachelor life and enjoying it. It basically boils down to the fact that guys are not 100% sure if what they have is good enough to lock in once and for all.

1.MISS INDEPENDENT:

First, you have to understand that it is not right for a woman to live all her life in dependence, but there are these ladies out there , who have read too many motivational books, attended too many seminars, and seen too many pod casts or being with the wrong kind of men in the
past, they seem to have lost the line between being co-dependent and completely doing everything by yourself in your own way at your own time.

2. MISS MATERIALISTIC:

Never marry this lady.She would run you down.Men are naturally impulsive spenders, so woman are supposed to help check mate the spending habits of men in most cases. When a woman is completely materialistic and is in it for the money, the man would be forced to go overboard, spending to keep her happy, spending to make the marriage work and then spending even more when the marriage is eventually over, and it would, except the man has the endurance and wisdom which only God bestows.

3. MISS PARANOID:

This kind of lady has for some reasons being made to believe that all men are evil, so please never marry her because that would be a greater evil. She believes that when you are away, you are cheating, when you don't pick your calls , you are messing around and when you are late from work, you stopped over to get a quickie. This kind of lady drives the
man crazy and the man  will live a tension filled marriage, void of love and trust.

4. MISS NO FUTURE AMBITION:

Never marry a woman who has no clear cut goals in life, no matter how nice she is , if you can help her
get it then do that, before you marry her,otherwise never marry. Marriage is about supporting each other,but for this kind of person,be very careful. Marrying g a lady with no future ambition is like having a 30 something year old person living and depending on you,that pressure is quite unnecessary.

5. MISS CINDERELLA:

This lady is still stuck in the world of fairy tales, love songs and Shakespeare illustrations. Never marry
such,except you are a knight in a shining armor and she has the Rapunzel kind of hair.She believes that all her life issues would suddenly be wiped away by a five to six foot guy with two hands and two feet.

6. MISS LONE RANGER:

A lady that has issues with every one in the world and only wants to be with her lover/husband is not worth being in a marriage with. A lady should have friends , but prioritize her husband above all,but when she puts you in a state of " Hate against the world" you would be eating much more than you can chew, because no single person can tend to all the emotional needs of a spouse.

7.MISS PERVERT:

Every Man fantasizes about getting hooked up with a " freak in the sheets" but you have to know where to draw the line.When you have to constantly live up to some sexual fetish desires  and sex everyday of your marriage, then you are probably in bondage. Never marry this lady because she sees only sex in marriage,nothing else.

8. MISS HYPOCRITE:

This lady is so religious and concerned about what others think, she is literally" faking it till she makes it" or you can rightly say, she has multiple personality disorder syndrome.She is sheila in the morning, Alicia in the afternoon, Felicia in the evening, and Patricia at night. Yes! she sounds like a super woman, but the only time women should be credited for multitasking is when they are career women,or business women

CREDENTIALS VS POTENTIALS

In this our fast paced 21st century information age, there is a battle of the fittest between what one can naturally do and what one went to school to learn to do.
Thousands of graduates are turned out yearly with an institution certificate all looking for what to do.That got me thinking, are there thousands of jobs out there to cater for these young folks?
History is replete with stories upon stories that it is not men with credentials that build the nation but men of potentials. Schools are been stereotyped to tie one to a corner that when you are through with school you ought to practise what you study.However, opportunities to prove yourself are found wanting. Men who make things happen are men of potentials e.g.Bill Gates, Thomas Edison, Mark.E.Zuckerberg, Wright Brothers et al.Credentials could take you far, but your potentials will get you to the promised land.
To my fellow graduates, it is high time we understood that it is not our certificate but our ”sabificate” that will help to “make a living ” as opposed to “earn a living”.So, what do you “sabi”? What skills do you have? Got you any talent? Or are you a loafer, waiting for “manna-job” from Heaven? Take the bull by the horn today.Nature has endowed every man with what he can use to bless the world.Find yours today and you will be next in line to be employer of labour.
Till next time for another tips for success!!!

For enquiries:+2348093503769,dipoolatade@yahoo.com

THE SCROLL OF REMEMBRANCE

Malachi 3:16 (NLT)
“Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name.”

THOUGHTS
1- One of the greatest needs of the last days are godly people speaking to each other. Because of the floods of corruption, we need to constantly speak to and edify one another in the fear of the Lord.
2- The Lord listens to the conversation of the godly and commends them by opening a scroll of remembrance. Godly edifying communication attracts and invites the presence of God and promises the entry of your names in His book.
3- Who are the godly? They are them who fear the Lord and always think on how to honor His name. Reverence the Most High and your name shall be remembered before Him.
fOR ENQUIRIES:+2348093503769,Dipoolatade@gmail.com

St finbarrs college:the citadel of excellence

 HISTORY

Rev. Father D.J. Slattery,the founder of Saint Finbarrs College Akoka came to Nigeria in 1939. He initially served in a parish in the Yoruba Inland Town in the Old Western Region. He was later posted to St. Gregory's College, Obalende as a teacher. He eventually became the Games Master for the school. He later became the editor of the Catholic Herald in Mushin. It was during this period that the thought of establishing a unique school occurred to him. His school became the first bilateral school in the country, combining full Grammar (called Basic) with Arts and Technical subjects. In the 1955/56 academic year, with six students, fondly referred to as “the first six”, a new school, but without a name, was born.

The new school had no address and had to be accommodated in the newly built St. Paul's Catholic Primary School, Apapa Road. The next task was to look for a site for the new school. Rev. Father D. J. Slattery, after an eleven-month search, which took him through the then jungles of Apapa, and now the present National Stadium, eventually got to another jungle in Akoka where he met a man who knew him but he did not know the man. The friendly disposition of the man made it easy for him to acquire a twenty-plot piece of land in the present site of the school. In 1959, the school moved from Apapa Road to its present site in Akoka, and in 1963, the school was officially opened by Dr. Nnandi Azikiwe, the first President of Nigeria, who was a personal friend of Fr. Slattery.

In a tactical move, he got a grant from the then British Colonial Government, with which he set up a ten-classroom block, two technical drawing rooms, a technical block, an administrative block, which also houses the teachers staff room, and a dining room assembly hall with a well equipped kitchen. Among the first teachers of the school were the late Chief Albert Bankole, Fr. Slattery himself, and Mr. F. Ekpeti. 

Early Academic Successes 

The school made its first attempt at the West African School Certificate Examinations in 1961, having been approved in 1960. In that first attempt, the technical department had 100% passes, with 80% making 3 or 4 credits, while the Grammar, or basic as they were called, had 50% passes with two of them making distinctions. These boys were also tops in sports and Vice-Admiral Patrick Koshoni (Rtd) happens to be one of the two. From then on the result kept improving year after year, with the technical department consistently recording 100% passes. In fact, in those days of Grade 1, Grade 2, and Grade 3 categorization of WAEC results, whenever the result was released, the understanding or common expectation was that all candidates would normally pass and what everybody was interested in was how many came out in Grade One or Grade Two: Grade Three was regarded as a consolation result. This trend remained true until the government takeover of schools in the mid 1970's.

Heritage of Sports

Rev. Father Denis J. Slattery, being a Games Master and an International Referee, was very eager to put the school at the forefront quickly in football since it would take 5 years for the school to prove its excellence in academics. In its first year of existence, it pitched itself in a football match against its host Primary School, St. Paul's Primary School, Apapa Road and lost 1-2. In 1957, it faced much older St. Gregory's “Rabbits,” where Father Slattery himself had been a Games Master. The school later had a number of matches with another older School, the Ahmadiya College, Agege. It was a very ambitious venture for the school, in its first four years of existence on 3rd June 1960, to make its first attempt on the Zard Cup, a nationwide inter Secondary School competition, which later became the Principals Cup. The school again lost to its counterpart institution, St. Gregory's College, 1-3. In 1961 it met the school again and lost 0-1 after an initial draw of 2-2, and won the Principals Cup for the first time in 1962, six years after its inception. This victory was repeated in 1966, 1968, and 1969. From then St. Finbarr's College team became a team to beat. Weaker teams feared any match with St. Finbarr's while stronger ones like C.M.S. Grammar School, Baptist Academy, Igbobi College, and of course, the big brother St. Gregory's, always looked forward to a tough encounter. In 1971, 1972, and 1973, the school had the Principals Cup, having won it 3 consecutive times. Saint Finbarr’s College also won the cup in 1977.

Renowned Sports Alumni

It is noteworthy that in the 1970's and 1980's the school produced international players like Thompson Oliha, Nduka Ugbade, Samson SiaSia, and Henry Nwosu, just to mention a few. In fact in those days, for any candidate to aspire to come to St. Finbarr's, he must be academically sound and/or physically superior in football. Stephen Keshi, who is presently the coach of Togo’s National Football team, captained Finbarr’s Football team. He later went on to captain and coach Nigeria’s national team.

Six players from Saint Finbarr’s College were selected into the first junior National Team: Nathaniel Ogedegbe, Henry Nwosu, Stephen Keshi, Wakilu Oyenuga, late Obe Adedeji, and Emeka James were selected to make the first Flying Eagles and later called Junior Eagles. Paul Okoku, Nathaniel Ogedegbe, Henry Nwosu, Stephen Keshi, later went on to the Green Eagles national team. Godwin Odiye represented the country during the African Nations Cup. He was the first Saint Finbarr’s College student to make the national team. 

Discipline at Saint Finbarr’s College 

Saint Finbarr’s College is most noted for three characteristics:

1. Academics
2. Football
3. Discipline

Rev. Father Denis J. Slattery placed a very high premium on discipline and could expel any student even if he was the best in academics or in football, once it was established that he had committed a serious offense. The gate used to be referred to as the gate of no return. There was no point in appealing a case of expulsion. Father Slattery never entertained such acts – no pleading, no begging, and no beseeching. Saint Finbarr's College had four commandments, which constitute the Moral Pillars of the school.

(1) Any student caught stealing will be expelled.
(2) Any student caught copying during an examination time will be expelled.
(3) Any student caught leaving the school compound during school hours without the Principal's permission will be expelled.
(4) Any student caught smoking or with drugs will be expelled. 

CULLED FROM http://stfinbarrscollegeakoka.com

For enquiries: +2348093503769

Dipoolatade@gmail.com