Igbo Women Threaten Lawsuit Over Exclusive Yoruba Language Teaching in Lagos Schools
The Igbo Women Assembly (IWA), an advocacy group, has pledged to take legal action against the Lagos State Government over its policy mandating the exclusive teaching of the Yoruba language in public schools.
At a press conference held in Umuahia on Thursday, the National President of IWA, Mrs. Nneka Chimezie, issued this warning.
IWA is a group affiliated with Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the leading Igbo socio-cultural organization.
Chimezie expressed the group’s concern over the implementation of such a law in a diverse and cosmopolitan state like Lagos.
She argued that the policy was inappropriate, given that Lagos is home to multiple ethnic groups.
“They should make it open—Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba—should be taught,” she stated.
However, the IWA president commended the Yoruba people for their efforts in preserving their language.
She also urged Igbo men and women to support IWA’s campaign to prevent the Igbo language from becoming extinct.
Chimezie revealed that the group was organizing an event on February 21 to celebrate the Igbo language in honor of the United Nations’ Mother Tongue Day.
According to her, the event will take place in Umuahia and will bring together notable Igbo figures to discuss strategies for preserving the language.
“We are coming together to talk about our language, rob minds to see how we can stop our language from going into extinction.
“We are going to have a roundtable, after which we will come up with a communique,” the IWA president stated.
She also called on Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State to oversee the activities of Agunechemba, a vigilance group, and put an end to extrajudicial killings in the region.
“When they make arrests, they should hand the suspects over to the police for proper investigation and prosecution rather than killing them.
“Agunechemba has no right to arrest and kill, and there has been too much bloodletting and killing of our youths in the South-East,” Chimezie remarked.
