Professor Ernest N. Emenyonu at a library. Source: Igbostudies.org.
“Okwu bụ ndụ.” (Words are life). The old proverb could well summarise Emenyonu’s life's work. To him, literature was not simply art; it was history, language, and identity woven together like the intricate threads of akwete cloth.
From Umuahia to the World
Born…
In the heart of Africa, where words carry rhythm and wisdom, stood Fredrick Nnabuenyi Ugonna, a man whose life became a testament to the saying, “A na-amụta asụsụ n’ụlọ ka e wee mara onye bụ onye” (One learns language at home to know where they come from). He was not just a linguist…
F.C. Ogbalu. Source: Sun News Nigeria
Asụsụ bụ mkpụrụ obi nke mmadụ ( Language is the soul of a people). In the decades after World War II, Nigeria was alive with political awakening. Yet among the Igbo, another revolution was quietly taking place, not on the battlefield or in parliament, but in the classroom and on…
Women decorating the Iyiazi shrine in Agukwu Nri, located in present-day Anambra State, Nigeria, 1984. Photographs taken by Chike Aniakor.
The Igbo language and art are integral components of the cultural heritage of the Igbo people of Nigeria. While these cultural expressions have thrived for centuries, globalization and modernization pose significant threats to their survival. This…