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Lagos-born Igbos (walking The Path Of Losing Their Cultural Heritage) - Culture - Nairaland

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Lagos-born Igbos (walking The Path Of Losing Their Cultural Heritage) by marshborn(m): 5:22pm On Jul 25, 2016
I am an igbo, born in the late 80's in lagos state,  I have spent 95% of my entire life in here, except for my university education which i did in the east.
Like majority of my tribesmen born and raised in lagos I am not 100% efficient in speaking my native tongue, because of the fad that trended in the late 80's/ early 90's where most igbo parents in lagos raised their children speaking mostly English.

When i was younger It was a thing of joy or class to my parents when we visit my home town that I and my siblings couldn't speak the igbo language.
They liked the fact that we always stood out with our Queens English and foreigner like appearance.
Fast forward till today, it has become a thing of Shame to me as a grown man. When i am in a gathering with my tribesmen I always feel lost and left out.

Through my interaction with igbos of similar upbringing like me I can confidently state as a fact that 70-80% of igbos born and raised in lagos are not efficient in the igbo language in varying degrees. 
Most can hear and understand the language but you find very few fluent speakers which is very disheartening, because I have seen many people from other tribes who are born and breed abroad  yet can speak their native language fluently.

I am currently Trying my best to improve on my
speaking of the language but the fact remains that children pick things up faster and much easier than adults, which is why igbo parents who plan on raising their kids away from igboland, should ensure that their children learn the language at a very young age.
It is not a difficult task just follow this simple rule:

*make sure that the only language spoken at home is your native language, the kids would surely learn English in their schools and through their interactions with friends.

For those like me, I fear the worst for our future kids, when even their father isn't fluent in his native language,  I only hope for the best.

Please let's all join hands to avert this impending identity loss for the good of the igbo race.

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Re: Lagos-born Igbos (walking The Path Of Losing Their Cultural Heritage) by saintikechi(m): 6:06pm On Jul 25, 2016
get married to an igbo lady, and try speaking igbo to her all the time and you will get used to it.

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Re: Lagos-born Igbos (walking The Path Of Losing Their Cultural Heritage) by Sinkills: 11:20pm On Aug 08, 2016
You are absolutely right. But I don't think it is too late for Igbo parents to revive the 'dying' Igbo language and culture by speaking the language to their children and forcing them to speak back whether they are good at it or not.

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Re: Lagos-born Igbos (walking The Path Of Losing Their Cultural Heritage) by macof(m): 5:00am On Aug 09, 2016
well we didn't send you all to Lagos or anywhere outside your cultural zone
it's only natural to lose something like that when raised in a foreign land

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Re: Lagos-born Igbos (walking The Path Of Losing Their Cultural Heritage) by Afam4eva(m): 7:26am On Aug 09, 2016
Igbo parents can be weird at times. imagine considering their children not being able to speak Igbo as a thing of joy or class. I also fall into the category of Igbos that grew up outside Igboland (but was born in Enugu). I understand the Igbo language atleast 90% but speaking is where the problem is. Most times i know what to say, it's just that it does not come out right or i'll have to think of what to say especially when i want to construct a sentence and no one has time to wait for me while i think. I'm confident that if i spend atleast 6 months to a year in Enugu, Owerri, Onitsha or any major Igbo town, i'll become an expert of some sort.

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Re: Lagos-born Igbos (walking The Path Of Losing Their Cultural Heritage) by marshborn(m): 10:05am On Aug 09, 2016
Afam4eva:
Igbo parents can be weird at times. imagine considering their children not being able to speak Igbo as a thing of joy or class. I also fall into the category of Igbos that grew up outside Igboland (but was born in Enugu). I understand the Igbo language atleast 90% but speaking is where the problem is. Most times i know what to say, it's just that it does not come out right or i'll have to think of what to say especially when i want to construct a sentence and no one has time to wait for me while i think. I'm confident that if i spend atleast 6 months to a year in Enugu, Owerri, Onitsha or any major Igbo town, i'll become an expert of some sort.
Exactly
Re: Lagos-born Igbos (walking The Path Of Losing Their Cultural Heritage) by Nobody: 7:39pm On Aug 09, 2016
Same issue here. Most times I quarrell with my parents over it. Its disgusting!

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Re: Lagos-born Igbos (walking The Path Of Losing Their Cultural Heritage) by Nobody: 7:39pm On Aug 09, 2016
Same issue here. Most times I quarrel with my parents over it. Its disgusting!

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Re: Lagos-born Igbos (walking The Path Of Losing Their Cultural Heritage) by agadez007(m): 8:31am On Aug 10, 2016
i am proud i am among those raised in lagos that can still speak their dialects,my dad neva jokes with igbo,he is one of the few igbos that believe in "speak igbo at home,speak warever u like in ur school"

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Re: Lagos-born Igbos (walking The Path Of Losing Their Cultural Heritage) by marshborn(m): 10:11am On Aug 10, 2016
agadez007:
i am proud i am among those raised in lagos that can still speak their dialects,my dad neva jokes with igbo,he is one of the few igbos that believe in "speak igbo at home,speak warever u like in ur school"
I wish my dad was like that
Re: Lagos-born Igbos (walking The Path Of Losing Their Cultural Heritage) by agadez007(m): 6:56am On Aug 11, 2016
marshborn:

I wish my dad was like that
i used to think my dad was local as other kids were speaking english at home,i thought it was cool
Re: Lagos-born Igbos (walking The Path Of Losing Their Cultural Heritage) by ImperialYoruba: 5:46am On Aug 12, 2016
Whether you like or not, beginning with next academic curriculum, if you school in Lagos you must study Yoruba and pass tests in Yoruba language to demonstrate your fluency. So you all need to tidy up. You hear me? cool

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Re: Lagos-born Igbos (walking The Path Of Losing Their Cultural Heritage) by marshborn(m): 8:07am On Aug 12, 2016
ImperialYoruba:
Whether you like or not, beginning with next academic curriculum, if you school in Lagos you must study Yoruba and pass tests in Yoruba language to demonstrate your fluency. So you all need to tidy up. You hear me? cool
This thread wasn't created for tribal wars,so please don't bring it here. We are only finding a solution to our issues.

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Re: Lagos-born Igbos (walking The Path Of Losing Their Cultural Heritage) by Noneroone(m): 5:55pm On Aug 26, 2016
Afam4eva:
Igbo parents can be weird at times. imagine considering their children not being able to speak Igbo as a thing of joy or class. I also fall into the category of Igbos that grew up outside Igboland (but was born in Enugu). I understand the Igbo language atleast 90% but speaking is where the problem is. Most times i know what to say, it's just that it does not come out right or i'll have to think of what to say especially when i want to construct a sentence and no one has time to wait for me while i think. I'm confident that if i spend atleast 6 months to a year in Enugu, Owerri, Onitsha or any major Igbo town, i'll become an expert of some sort.
i've always known that no thorough bred will think the way you think atimes. No insults intended.

1 Like

Re: Lagos-born Igbos (walking The Path Of Losing Their Cultural Heritage) by Noneroone(m): 5:59pm On Aug 26, 2016
ImperialYoruba:
Whether you like or not, beginning with next academic curriculum, if you school in Lagos you must study Yoruba and pass tests in Yoruba language to demonstrate your fluency. So you all need to tidy up. You hear me? cool
who will make the law. Isnt Igbos in lagos assembly among those that will make the law? Lagos is no man's land, very soon we will make Igbo language compulsory there sef.

4 Likes

Re: Lagos-born Igbos (walking The Path Of Losing Their Cultural Heritage) by macof(m): 11:15pm On Aug 26, 2016
Noneroone:
who will make the law. Isnt Igbos in lagos assembly among those that will make the law? Lagos is no man's land, very soon we will make Igbo language compulsory there sef.


you are such a fool. some concerned igbos come here to lament how Lagos is sucking the "Igbo" right out of them and you as a stuupid fella come with this jargon. .smh
you really don't comprehend the message of this thread. ..cus it exposes the lie that igbos have a stand in Lagos

well of course, any resident of the state know that the Yoruba nature is unthreatened

4 Likes

Re: Lagos-born Igbos (walking The Path Of Losing Their Cultural Heritage) by everyday: 7:59pm On Aug 27, 2016
I am organizing a class in teaching Igbo Language for free.Its a free 3 months training programme (weekends only) in Lagos.If you are interested please call 07067866986.Together we can conserve the dying igbo language and culture.It begins with you and i

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Re: Lagos-born Igbos (walking The Path Of Losing Their Cultural Heritage) by RedCapChief(m): 11:15pm On Aug 29, 2016
Afam4eva:
Igbo parents can be weird at times. imagine considering their children not being able to speak Igbo as a thing of joy or class. I also fall into the category of Igbos that grew up outside Igboland (but was born in Enugu). I understand the Igbo language atleast 90% but speaking is where the problem is. Most times i know what to say, it's just that it does not come out right or i'll have to think of what to say especially when i want to construct a sentence and no one has time to wait for me while i think. I'm confident that if i spend atleast 6 months to a year in Enugu, Owerri, Onitsha or any major Igbo town, i'll become an expert of some sort.

I agree; some form of immersion would be best in learning the language well.
Watching Igbo movies on YouTube did help me a great deal. I watch the ones without translation so that my brain can really get cracking. grin

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