L-R: Incumbent Obong of Calabar & Omokri
Efio-Ita Nyok|22 October 2016
Reno Omokri, the former New Media aide to immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said: 'Your kids aren't 'POLISHED' because they can't speak your native tongue. No. In fact they are 'RUBBISHED' if all they can speak is English'.
Omokri made this known via his Tweeter handle @renoomokri at 4:19 PM on Fri, Oct 21, 2016. The former aide said his kids are all California born and bred but they know how to speak his native African dialect.
The present author isn't fluent in his native Efik dialect as he is in English. This constitute a serious concern for me. As we all know, I can barely speak the English correctly and worst still, the Efik. I barely know the nitty gritty of the Efik culture, history, systems, etc much like the English: I am in a cultural dilemma being a child of confluence —neither here nor there.
As Professor Offiong Ani Offiong once noted that the Efik dialect is endangered in a TV interview, I am calling on stakeholders to remedy the situation. There are three major ethnicities in Cross River State, namely, Efik, Ejagham and Bekwarra. The dialects of these trio should be compulsorily taught to every student and pupil in our primary and secondary schools.
Part of the endemic disunity in Cross River, the division into Efik, and Atam cultural blocks and the economic and political ramifications we struggle to grapple with would be naturally addressed. Let's begin to contemplate an artificial national language in this country.
Let's think Efik and leave England alone. Let's be African!
Efio-Ita Nyok
Is a Blogger, the Editor & Publisher of NegroidHaven.org
