Advocacy for the Survival of Nigerian Languages: An Examination of Obiajulu A. Emejulu's Scholarly Input

The essay examines Obiajulu A. Emejulu's scholarly contributions to the cultural
project of revitalising the waning major Nigerian language, the Igbo language, using
two of his academic articles, both published in 2014. The two articles are “Living in
Bondage: A Dream Deferred or a Promise Betrayed for Igbo Linguistic and Cultural
Renaissance?” and “OnyeWetara Oji WetaraNdu! Harnessing Igbo Cultural
Practices to Preserve and Enliven the Igbo Language. The Case for the Revival and
Sanctity of Igbo Kola Nuts Rituals,” respectively co-authored with ChimaAmadi and
Benedict Igbokwe. The selection of both is largely regulated by their individual
attention to the less-than-desirable status of the Igbo as one of the three major
Nigerian languages, with its profound cultural, ethnic and national impacts and
implications. In addition, the articles by making their arguments mainly from the
prisms of the seminal Nigerian movie Living in Bondage and, to a lesser degree, the
novel Things Fall Apart, and the popular Igbo cultural ritual of kola nut, inject
significant innovativeness and creativity into the robust Igbo language endangerment
discourse. Moreover, Emejulu's co-writing of the articles with other scholars
underscores the inevitable collaboration demanded by the all-important cultural
project, of all stakeholders, within and outside the domain of scholarship, but
especially Nigerian scholars and institutions like the National Institute for Nigerian
LanguagesAba (NINLAN).