THIS BOAT IS SINKING! by Imaorise Umobong

THIS BOAT IS SINKING! Emenanjoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Reflections on the State of the Nigerian Nation

Funeral Lecture in Honour of Professor Emmanuel Nwanolue Emenanjo

Delivered by

Professor Ozo-mekuri Ndimele University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Wednesday, 20 April, 2016

M & J Grand Orbit Publications Box 237 Uniport P.O. University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria e-mail: mekuri01@yahoo.com Mobile Phone: 08033410255

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any other means, without the written permission from the Copyright owner except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

ISBN: 978-978-54164-3-5

Published by

M & J Grand Orbit Communications Ltd.

THIS BOAT IS SINKING! 0. Preamble It is with mixed feelings that I stand here to deliver this funeral lecture in honour of my academic grandfather, teacher and mentor – Professor Emmanuel Nwanolue Emenanjo – who joined the immortal world on the 9th of February, 2016. First, his departure came to me as well as the academic community as a rude shock. We least expected him to leave now. There are a number of academic collaborations both of us had not finished tidying up, and his academic cup was still overflowing with ever-nourishing milk of knowledge for his academic children and grandchildren to drink from. On another sad note, Professor Emenanjo could not live to witness the University he had distinguished himself as a dependable and erudite scholar honour him with Emeritus Professorial conferment – a process we had enthusiastically concluded at the Faculty waiting for another window of opportunity at the Senate of the University to recommend him. On a consoling note, I feel highly honoured to be chosen from a myriad of academic children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of Professor Enemanjo to deliver this lecture. Professor Emenanjo is the second person, as far as my memory can take me, to be honoured with a funeral lecture in this University. The first was his academic mother, the late Professor Kay Williamson. To be given a similar honour as his academic mother is an eloquent testimony to how he is valued by the academic community. This lecture is in three parts. The first part is a brief background which focuses on the man – Professor Emmanuel Nwanolue Emenanjo – his academic life and work. Part two is 3

the random thoughts of Professor Emenanjo on the state of affairs in certain areas of national concern in Nigeria, including his contributions and recommendations. Some of these reflections are drawn from his published and unpublished works and some lecture notes I made from his class as my former teacher from my bachelors to my doctorate. The last part is the conclusion. PART I 1. On the man â&#x20AC;&#x201C; his academic life and work Professor Emenanjo was born on 21st April, 1943, at Daudawa, Katsina State. He hails from Ibusa in Oshimili North Local Government Area, Delta State, Nigeria. He obtained a B.A. honours degree in English Literature, Post-Graduate Diploma in Linguistics (PGDL), MA and PhD in Linguistics from the University of Ibadan in 1966, 1972, 1975, and 1981, respectively. He began his university teaching career as a Junior Fellow in the Department of Linguistics and African Languages, University of Ibadan, in 1969. In 1972, Professor Emenanjo joined the famous Oxford University Press as the Academic Editor. In 1975, he was appointed Senior Lecturer in Igbo Linguistics at Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri. At Alvan Ikoku College of Education, he served as Head of Department of Nigerian Languages (1978 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1980), and later Dean of the School of Arts (1983). He rose to become a Reader in 1980 at Alvan Ikoku College of Education, and later moved over to the University of Port Harcourt in 1983, whereupon he was appointed to the position of the first Professor of Linguistics of Igbo extraction in 1984. 4

While at the University of Port Harcourt, Professor Emenanjo had served as the Head of Department of Linguistics & African Languages (1984-1986). After his tenure as Head of Department, he was elected Dean of the Faculty of Humanities (1986-1988); he was re-elected Dean, but could not complete his second term when he was called for a higher service as the Provost, College of Education Warri. During his third year as the Provost of the College of Education Warri, Professor Emenanjo was further elevated in 1993 to serve his nation as the pioneer Executive Director of the National Institute for Nigerian Languages, Aba. He returned to the University of Port Harcourt in 2005, and was immediately saddled with the responsibility of Heading the Department of Linguistics and Communication Studies for the second time. He finally disengaged from the services of the University in April 2014. Professor Emenanjo had served his home State, the nation and mankind in several respects. Because this lecture is only concerned with his academic life, I will concentrate on those that are academically-oriented. He was the second National President of the Linguistic Association of Nigeria (LAN); National Secretary Committee of Provosts of Colleges of Education in Nigeria (1990-1992); UNESCO Consultant on Linguapax Project (since 1999); UNESCO Consultant on Technical Committee on World Languages Project; Consultant to the Advisory Committee for Linguistic Pluralism and Multilingual Education, Consultant on Nigerian National Commission for UNESCO, Consultant on Nigerian Languages to Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Consultant on Nigerian Languages to West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Joint Admissions and 5

Matriculation Board (JAMB) and Network of Educational Innovations and Development in Africa (NEIDA); Consultant on Archival Igbo Dictionary, and many more. Professor Emenanjo’s academic wizardry is manifest in the volume and standard of journals he edited, co-edited or served on the advisory board, such as Kiabara: Journal of the Humanities, Journal of the Linguistic Association of Nigeria, Nka: Journal of Arts, Nigerian Language Studies, ANU: Journal of Igbo Culture, Uvie: Journal of Bendel State Arts and Culture, Ofo: Journal of Humanities, Nigerian Journal of Linguistics and African Languages, and many more. Professor Emenanjo was an active and dependable member of the following academic associations: West African Linguistic Society, Linguistic Association of Nigeria, Nigerian Academy of Letters, Society for the Promotion of Igbo Language and Culture, Igbo Studies Association, English Language Teachers Association of Nigeria, Association of Nigerian Language Teachers, Modern Languages Association, Igbo Language Academy, Literary Society of Nigeria, and many more. A major academic achievement of Professor Emenanjo is the calibre of scholars he produced and the impact of this on the teaching and learning of languages and linguistics in Africa. His first and second generations of academic children are already high fliers in their various fields – the likes of Professors Omen Maduka-Durunze, M.C. Onukawa, Emma Ezejideaku (late), Bassey Okon, O.-M. Ndimele, Drs. E.E. Kari, C.U. Omego, O.N. Anyanwu, B.H. Isaac, E.N. Oweleke, V.C. Onumajuru, R.I. Alerechi, D. Mbagwu, J. Ayuwo, and many more. In the Igbo nation, according to Nwulia (2016), there are for now three main public lectures by which scholars of the Igbo extraction are rated. They are: "Ahiajoku", “Odenigbo" and the 6

“Ogbalu Memorial”. “Professor Emenanjo is one of the five Igbo scholars who have achieved this feat and recognition so far”. One thing you can give to Prof. Emenanjo was the ease at which he wrote and published highly impactful papers and books. Professor Emenanjo’s initial training was not linguistics. He studied English Literature at the University of Ibadan. In his inaugural lecture, which was the 7th in the history of the University of Port Harcourt that recently had her 132nd inaugural lecture series, Professor Emenanjo told us the story of how he was converted to study, practice and preach linguistics. He mentioned some of the key actors “who played catalystic roles in the conversion”, such as Professors Carl Hoffmann, Oladele Awobuluyi, Ayo Bamgbose – ‘the father of Nigerian linguistics’ - and Kay R.M. Williamson – ‘the mother of Nigerian linguistics”’ (Emenanjo 1988:4). Emenanjo (1988:5) defines linguistics as … a micro-discipline within the macro-discipline which concerns itself with meaning as realised in icons and symbols, images and signs. This discipline which is technically called semiotics or semiology is definable as the science of signs.

By its nature, linguistics is a fluid discipline, and therefore can be easily appropriated by any of the sciences, social science or the humanities. It can easily be appropriated by social sciences if one considers the article of trade of linguistics, which is language, as an “essential contract that binds society together”. It can also be appropriated by the “biological and physical sciences partly because human language is a biophysical phenomenon and partly because linguistics uses some of the jargons of the bio-physical sciences”. The 7

humanities also lay â&#x20AC;&#x153;claim to linguistics because language, the concern of linguistics, is essentially a hominoid featureâ&#x20AC;? (Emenanjo 1988). Linguistics has essentially five (5) levels: Phonetics: which is concerned with the study of all the speech sounds in all natural languages that the human speech organs are capable of producing. Phonology: which is concerned with the study of all the distinctive/significant sounds that are capable of differentiating the meaning of words in a particular language. The sounds can be segmental, as in: pan # man cat # pat get # pet mat # bat sum # some pin # pen

make # take fish # dish fame # firm

goat # boat pot # port bed # bird

# # #

(verb), (verb), (verb).

or suprasegmental, e.g.: import conduct subject

(noun) (noun) (noun)

import conduct subject

The underlined part of these words are produced with more acoustic energy or stress, and that makes a difference as to whether the word in question is a noun or a verb. In most of the local languages spoken in Nigeria, tone (which is defined as the variation in the pitch of the voice to bring about meaning contrast/change) plays a similar role as stress in English. Let us look at some examples from Igbo:

ákwá ‘a cry’ ~ ákwà ‘cloth’ ~ àkwá ‘egg’ ~ àkwà ‘bed’/ ‘bridge’ íké ‘strength’ ~ íkē ‘to tie” ~ íkè ‘buttocks’/‘to share’ ~ ìkè ‘bunch’ Morphology: which studies the internal structure of words as well as the identification and classification of all the smallest meaningful bits and pieces of linguistic units that participate in the composition of words in natural languages. Syntax: which is the study of how the smallest meaningful bits and pieces of linguistic units are meticulously brought together in the formation of longer stretches of expressions such as phrases, clauses and sentences and the rules governing these formations. Syntax is often considered as the engine room in the grammar of natural languages. It links sounds to meaning, and it can further modify or alter the meaning which words convey in isolation of context. Semantics: which is concerned with the study of meaning of words not only in isolation, but also in association with other words in context. In other words, semantics is concerned with the study of meaning of words, phrases, clauses and sentences. Speaking also about the fluid nature of linguistics, Emenanjo (1988:8) describes linguistics as “a rolling stone that has continued to gather moss”. He claims that linguistics interacts with virtually every other discipline, which explains why it has so many branches. He lists some of the branches of linguistics, as follows:

Branches of Linguistics Pragmatics Stylistics Sociolinguistics Anthropological Linguistics Psycholinguistics Neurolinguistics Computational Linguistics Legal Linguistics/ Philosophical Linguistics Mathematical Linguistics Dialectology Historical Linguistics Applied Linguistics: -Language Teaching & Learning -Clinical Linguistics -Language Planning & Language Engineering Translation Lexicography Acoustic Phonetics

Collaborating Disciplines Social Communication Literature Sociology Anthropology Psychology Psychology, Anatomy, Medicine Computer, Information Science Law, Criminology Philosophy Mathematics, Statistics Geography History Education Medicine, Physiology Education, etc. Varied Varied Physics

Enemanjoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s initial interest was theoretical linguistics with main focus on morphology and syntax. In fact, his Ph.D. thesis was on Auxiliaries in Igbo Grammar. But in the later years in his scholarship, he began to show interest in sociolinguistics and applied linguistics, particularly language engineering. His works on the grammar of Igboid languages and language engineering in Nigeria are widely acknowledged and appreciated as being of the highest quality and as having considerable impact among specialists. In 1978, Professor Enemanjo announced his arrival into the linguistic arena with a big bang and earned for himself 10

numerous academic accolades that no Igboid scholar dead or living has ever had. His Elements of Modern Igbo Grammar has remained the scholars’ companion and a classic in Igbo grammar. His arrival gave Igbo studies a new focus. He drew scholars’ attention to the centrality of the verb in the grammar of Igboid lects, which explains the volume of research work on the verb and its associated categories in Igbo and related lects. Professor Enemanjo was also a central figure in the transitivity-complementation debate in Igbo – an interesting academic war which raged for over two decades with him leading a school of thought, while the duo of Late Professor P.A. Nwachukwu and Late Rev. Sis. (Dr) M.A. Uwalaka led an opposing school of thought. Emenanjo did not only raise the study of Igbo morphology and syntax to an enviable height, he also promoted the study of literature in Igbo. He was aggressively involved in the production of literary works on Igbo; he always stated that what made English great was not the writings of English grammarians, but the works of its creative writers like Chaucer and Shakespeare. He insisted that “grammatical descriptions do not truly promote a language, rather it is literature that does” (Emenanjo, classroom discussion). Professor Enemanjo’s contributions in sociolinguistics and language engineering in Nigeria are as monumental as they are incisive. He was greatly involved in various metalanguage projects targeted at growing indigenous languages to cope with the communicative needs of its speakers in the global village of today and tomorrow. The book he edited which was published in 1990 – Multilingualism, minority languages and language policy in 11

Nigeria – has remained a classic and a most important reference material in sociolinguistics in Nigeria. In the context of Nigerian linguistic scholarship, Professor Emenanjo belonged to the Kay Williamson School. Features of scholars in this school include a sharp intellect, a highly focused mindset, consistent productivity, doggedness of purpose, concerns for originality, capacity for very hardwork, an empathy for colleagues and students, great respect for constituted authority, a robust sense of humour, and infectious humble and humane dispositions. Prof. Emenanjo had all these and much more. He had prodigious energy for working very hard and for long hours too, especially after a glass of cold beer. Indeed, he was a tireless workaholic, a consummate scholar, a researcher, a mentor and the teachers’ teacher. In April 2014, Professor Emenanjo disengaged from active classroom activities. But he was never tired as a scholar. By November 2014, Professor visited me and handed over to me a huge manuscript and a CD-rom. These were his words to me: Mekuri, I entered the academic arena announcing my arrival with Elements of Modern Igbo Grammar which ruled Igbo linguistics for close to four decades. I cannot depart without leaving behind a lasting impression. With you is my last word on Igbo grammar. Please custody it properly, and if you can, look for capital to publish it and ensure that it circulates globally. I am done.

When he left, I took the carton to my study, and curiously opened it to see its content. Guess what I saw – another text on Igbo grammar – titled, with all humility, A Grammar of 12

Contemporary Igbo. I sat down to read it and never stopped until I was through with it after about four weeks. I volunteered myself to write the blurb in my greed to be associated with the history of the making of the masterpiece – the Igbo magnum opus. Below is part of my comments on the blurb to the book: I sincerely lack the exact words to express the contents of this magnum opus put together by the grandmaster and “Ichie” of modern Igbo studies himself. The book contains twenty-five (25) well-structured and fully developed chapters covering virtually all aspects of Igbo grammar, from phonology through morphology, syntax, semantics, and even to the secular and fluid area of pragmatics. The book is written in a lucid prose that is both straightforward and elegant. It is addressed to readers of all theoretical orientations. Perhaps, in order not to be accused of sounding boastful, the author chose to call the book A Grammar of Contemporary Igbo. But having gone through the text, I hasten, and without apology to any, to call it “A Comprehensive Grammar of Contemporary Igbo”. There is none like it yet. If it was possible to use the phrase “last word” in research and scholarship, I would have stoutly described the book as the “last word on Igbo grammar”.

The reception of the above text by experts and scholars in the field is huge, and because of this, Professor Emenanjo asked me also to produce a student’s edition of the book, which I did. The book is distributed world-wide by African Books Collective, London, UK. I am quite pleased that Professor Enemanjo was present himself when the book was officially 13

presented to two academic fora that he cherished and associated with: Linguistic Association of Nigeria and Igbo Studies Association. Prof. Emenanjo’s publications are wide-ranging covering all levels of education and virtually all aspects of general linguistics, sociolinguistics, Igbo linguistics and literature. He has over one hundred and seventy-three (173) publications to his credit, including fifty-two (52) books and monographs, 121 articles in national and international journals, and many nomadic titles. According to Nwigwe (2013), Emenanjo’s contributions to scholarship, particularly in Igbo syntax, literary aesthetics and stylistics, and Igbo oral literature are ground-breaking. Below are some of the highlights of Emenanjo’s contributions to Igbo studies as presented by Nwigwe (2013): a. The establishment of primary and secondary grammatical categories relevant to Igbo nouns and nominals, nominal modifiers, Igbo verbs and verbals; b. The identification of aspect as a more relevant category than tense in the description and analysis of Igbo verbs; c. The identification of extensional suffixes as different from the derivational ones and the semantic load associated with them in the Igbo grammar; d. The identification and classification of clitics as different from particles, verbs or affixes; e. The identification and classification of the interfix as a class of affixes different from the infix in universal morphology, and its productive nature in the morphology of Igbo; f. The delineation of the definitive features of Standard Igbo; 14

g. The establishment of a composite list of consonants in Igboid lects; h. The delineation of the differences between grammaticalisation and lexicalisation in Igbo; i. The postulation of wellerism as a sub-genre of Igbo literature, different from proverbs; j. The stout posture maintained by Emenanjo School of Thought regarding the irrelevance of transitivity as a category in discussing the Igbo verb; k. The identification of anecdote as a miniature form of (oral) literature, different from both folktale and proverb, etc. The tribute to Prof. Emenanjo by his former teacher â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Prof. Emeritus Ayo Bamgbose â&#x20AC;&#x201C; says it all: I read with great shock the sudden death of Professor Emannuel 'Nolue Emenanjo. With his passing, Igbo scholarship has lost a resourceful researcher and a prolific writer. His contribution to sociolinguistics in Nigeria is also very significant. I remember his edited volume on minority languages which has become a classic in Nigerian linguistics. In whatever he turned his hands to, whether in Igbo syntax or language in education in Nigeria, he brought out the best and excelled. As the pioneer Executive Director of NINLAN, he laid a solid foundation, although the hostile political environment of the time prevented the Institute from actualizing its core objective. I regret that it has fallen to my lot as his teacher and supervisor of his PhD thesis to write this tribute, but I cannot do less since Emenanjo's distinction in the field deserves to be celebrated. 15

PART II 2.1 On language and national development Our role in this section is to establish the interconnection that exists between language and development, and to see how Prof. Emenanjo dealt with the two areas. The concept “nation” has been variously defined by different scholars. But what seem to emerge from the definitions that we have so far come across are that (a) nation is a notoriously difficult concept to define, and (b) language is crucial in the definition of nation. In the Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary, a nation is defined as “a country considered as a group of people with the same language, culture and history, who live in a particular area under one government”. In the Wikipedia dictionary, a nation is defined as “a group of people who share a common history, culture, language and ethnic origin, often possessing or seeking its own government”. Encyclopedia American Vol. 19 p. 750 defines a nation as … a large number of people who see themselves as a community or group and who generally place loyalty to the group above any conflicting loyalties. They share one or more of the following: language, culture, religion, political and other institutions, a history with which they identify, and belief in a common destiny. They usually occupy contiguous territory.

As we can see from the foregoing definitions, and as we stated earlier, language is a critical index in the delineation of a nation. In other words, language and the nation are inseparable. 16

Awobuluyi (2010:6) claims that language performs three functions in a nation. They are symbolic, unifying and instrumental. As a symbol, language performs similar functions as the national flag, national anthem, national currency, etc. It serves as a unique identity differentiating a nation from other nations. “Any nation that wishes to identify itself by another nation’s symbol, including language is considered as lacking in self-esteem, self-respect”, and selfactualisation. A language commonly spoken by all members of a nation will serve as a unifying force for all the members. It worked at the Tower of Babel. It does not, however, imply that multiplicity of tongues will bring about disunity in a nation or that a commonly shared language will, all by itself, bring about unity in a nation. A people deliberately and consciously plan the unification of the various segments and components of their nation. Language serves as means of communication and for information dissemination and message sharing. When a people share a common language, then information dissemination is faster, cheaper, more effective and impactful. Now, let’s talk about national development and the vital role of language in all these. Development is a complex and ambiguous concept. For some people, it connotes progress, advancement, improvement, greater human freedom, improved well-being of individuals and qualitative change in all ramifications. Development is a planned and deliberate attempt to ensure positive growth and to effect quality social change in society. At the level of society, development entails improvement in the structure of the economy, political disposition and socio17

cultural environment. At the level of the individual, development entails increase in skill and capacity to gain greater freedom, being more innovative and creative, imbibing self-discipline, responsibility and material wellbeing. Thomas (2000) asserts that the concept “development” is used as:  a vision (i.e. a “description of how desirable a society is”);  a historical process (i.e. “social change that takes place over long periods of time due to inevitable processes”), and  an action (i.e. deliberate efforts to change things for the better”). Christenson and Robinson (1989:3) are of the opinion that development is a process that increases choices. According to them, development means “new options, diversification, thinking about apparent issues differently and anticipating change”. What this means is that one cannot continue to tackle an issue using the same approach all the time and expecting a different result. Shaffer (1989:21) goes a bit further to state that development entails not just diversification, rather it involves … change, improvement and vitality – a directed attempt to improve participation, flexibility, equity, attitudes, the function of institutions and quality of life… the creation of wealth – wealth meaning the things people value, not just dollars.

Whichever way it is defined, there are certain indices one would expect to find in the meaning of development, 18

particularly at the societal level. In a nutshell, development should entail the enthronement of a stable, all-inclusive and integrative polity that caters for the well-being of all its citizenry, particularly the most vulnerable group in society. Prof. Emenanjo states that Nigeria is a multilingual political entity whose actual number of languages is a matter of conjecture; hence, he asked this most difficult question in one of his papers: “How many Nigerian languages are there?” (Emenanjo 2003). In all his works about the sociolinguistic situation in Nigeria, Prof. Emenanjo maintained that multilingualism is a great asset to Nigeria rather than a liability – the more reason the festschrift in his honour is titled In the linguistic paradise. He argued strongly that what Nigeria needs is a pragmatic language policy which clearly defines the roles of languages in Nigeria, depending on the use to which each language is put. In almost all publications of Prof. Emenanjo in sociolinguistics, he always stressed the role of language in education and in national development; hence, he strongly advised that a nation that must develop must get its language policy right, particularly as it concerns the place of language in education. In some of his publications, he cited the productive experiments of Germany, Britain, France, Russia and even the Asian Tigers of Japan, China India, and South Korea, to support his views about the education of the child in his mother tongue or his first language. He strongly recommends the use of the mother tongue in education, especially at the formative years. According to him, “learning is more meaningful, more effective and more creative when it 19

is conducted in the mother tongue” of the child (Emenanjo 1988:14). A practical example that is always cited to support the relevance of the mother tongue in the education of the child is the Ife Six-Year-Yoruba Project (SYYP) anchored by Prof. Aliyu Babatunde Fafunwa – Former Ministry of Education in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Prof. Emenanjo categorically stated that what Nigeria is presently witnessing in her educational system is not necessarily a fallen standard in education, but rather a total language failure. When a child begins his initial literacy in a language that he barely understands, he would perform abysmally poor in school. Emenanjo (2013) sarcastically observes that Nigeria has policies on virtually everything, including “policy on family size” and the number of children per couple, even though they are hardly implemented. Regrettably, however, Nigeria is about the few countries on this earth planet without a language policy, which should among other things, assign roles to languages and specify language use in the classroom. He stated that sustainable development will ever elude Nigeria until the policy makers address the language issue in the classroom. Quoting Ayo Banjo in his inaugural lectures entitled Grammar and the grammarians, Emenanjo (2013:38) states that The language problems of… Nigeria are probably more serious than the much lamented economic and socio-political problems. Language and effective education, language and national unity: these are two of the ultimate questions for Nigeria in the context of four hundred indigenous languages and two foreign languages. 20

For Nigeria to join the league of developed nations and to expect the developmental miracles of the Asian Tigers, at least, Emenanjo (2013:39) recommends the “effective and creative use of the peoples’ cultures and languages”. Emenanjo (1988) meticulously discusses facts and myths about human, but the one that is of immediate relevance to my assignment here is that about the role of language in the development of the intellect and the overall emancipation of a group. He states and I quote: When a language functions as a foreign language or second language, like English in Nigeria, or any Nigerian language for non-natives, it is just a medium of communication and no more. But where a language is a mother tongue or a first language, it is both a medium of communication as well as a carrier of culture, expressing what Emile Durkheim has called the ‘collective consciousness’ of a group (Emenanjo 1988:13).

The above statement by Emenanjo has far-reaching implications for those clamouring for the adoption of English or any one of the big Nigerian languages as the sole medium of instruction at all levels of the educational system in Nigeria. Every language represents a different social reality and no two languages, no matter how similar, convey the same culture. There are peculiarities in a people’s socio-cultural consciousness which can only be expressed by their OWN language no matter how communicatively defective other people may think about it. He further asserts that “scientific and technological innovations” and breakthroughs “are most effortlessly and spontaneously” achieved “in the language in which the people eat, dream, love, curse – in fact the language 21

in which their whole personality is enmeshed and immersed” (Emenanjo 1988:14). All these corroborate the saying that “distant hoses do not put out the fire, but local efforts do”. Emenanjo was Africanist by orientation. In his inaugural lecture, he seriously canvased that concepts and words which seem to denigrate Africa and Africans must be expunged from the English lexicon or replaced by coinages which do not remind Africans of their centuries of servitude to the United Kingdom. Such denigrating words include: ‘blackmail’, ‘blackleg’, ‘blacklist’, ‘Black Friday’, ‘blackout’, ‘black maria’, ‘black sheep’, ‘black book’, ‘black magic’, ‘black devil’, etc. All these, according to Emenanjo, connote evil, and wonders why ‘black’ in all these expressions cannot be replaced with ‘white’, so that we can have ‘whitemail’, ‘whiteleg’, ‘whitelist’, etc.; by the way English is the white man’s language. Even though Prof. Emenanjo is from one of the major linguistic groups in Nigeria, he strongly advised against language imposition, as this “will always generate resentment, riots and wars no matter how subtly it is done” (Emenanjo 1988:14). Emenanjo was a serious advocate for the development and preservation of minority languages, believing that every language fulfils a legitimate purpose for its users. 2.2 On the national language question Many persons have attributed the challenges Nigeria is facing in terms of unity, peace, and development to the multiplicity of tribes and tongues. Some have also argued that until and unless Nigeria has a common national language which serves as a functional means of communication for its entire 22

population, there can be no meaningful progress in the country. But the questions that arise are: a. Is a common national language achievable in Nigeria? b. How will it evolve â&#x20AC;&#x201C; through legislation, mindless imposition, consensus or compromise? c. Which language should it be and what parameters will determine the choice â&#x20AC;&#x201C; size of its speakers or what? d. Should it be an artificial creation or a mongrel? There are countries in the world that are essentially monolingual or where some accident of history in some remote past had thrown up one of their languages as the lingua franca or the national language. These countries include the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Germany, French, Chinese, Japan, etc. Some other countries are not that lucky. For the latter countries (including Nigeria), there are a number of competing indigenous languages requiring recognition and promotion as the official language for the entire population; hence, the choice of any one particular language as the official or the language of national identity is a delicate and most complicated task â&#x20AC;&#x201C; almost a mission impossible for most nations. In Tanzania, for instance, Kiswahili has gradually emerged as the national or official language of that country with little or no resistance by its speakers, but the same experiment could not work for Kenya and Uganda, even though they have similar socio-political, historical and cultural experience. Can the linguist truly provide answers to the above questions regarding the choice of a national language? Now, look at what Prof. Emenanjo had to say. 23

Some 28 years ago, Emenanjo (1988:16) warned the Nigerian linguists about the stark realities of the Nigerian nation and the challenges they would face in the discharge of their duties. According to him, Nigeria is  “a fledgling and fragile nation which is just seventy-four years old as a geo-political entity” (but now 102 years);  28 years as an independent state (but now 56 years);  27 years as a democratic republic (but now 55 years);  a pre-industrial society (still in the “Stone Age”);  a country that runs a ruthless and unrepentant capitalist economy,  a giant of Africa in search of her nationals;  an evergreen land peopled by hollow, greedy and evil men;  a land of giants where there is perpetual movement and yet there is no motion, continuous change and yet no continuity;  a suffocating, ailing and artificial amalgam of different tribes and cultures whose regional loyalties are not only deep-seated, but also are of a more paramount interest to them than to the government at the centre;  a country at war with itself characterised by frequent ethnic/group agitations for self-determination, selfactualisation;  a country where good ideas are deliberately frustrated or killed mindlessly;  a country peopled by overly conquered, impoverished and naïve electorates, etc. In this land of giants, Emenanjo (1988) continues, 24

 there are all sorts of directorates yet there is no direction in the horizon;  the blind and the deaf have always led the lame and the dumb;  empires end up as vampires and the rulers believe they are leaders;  the ceremony of excellence is drowned and evil is greatly celebrated and rewarded, etc. These critical issues raised by Emenanjo regarding the Nigerian nation have not changed in any way even after 28 years, rather the socio-political as well as economic health of Nigeria is becoming more and more acute with no possible remedy in the near future. Compounding yet an already hopeless situation is the multilingual nature of the nation of over 500 languages and lects that are largely undeveloped and many of them moribund and in various stages of endangerment and imminent extinction. For a way out, Emenanjo (2010) suggests an immediate convocation of a National Language Summit whose main objective will be to fashion out an implementable and pragmatic language policy fully backed by law, and a robust political will to implement the recommendations emanating from the summit. 2.3 On the state of the nation Prof. Emenanjo was not just a linguist. He was also a social crusader and political analyst. In most of his publications in the area of language and society, Prof. Emenanjo laid bare his mind on certain national issues, particularly those that pertain to the mindless amalgamation of distinct nations into one, 25

national development, education, leadership, governance, and the ALMIGHTY CORRUPTION. In what follows, we shall review Emenanjo’s stand on some of these issues of national concern. 2.3.1 On the scramble & the unholy amalgamation The history of the creation of the Nigerian nation as well as most nations in Africa and Asia is a familiar one. In a deliberate attempt by the West to conquer and rule the world, distinct ethnic groups and nations in Africa were arbitrarily pieced together in a most “unholy matrimony”. The colonial masters that ruled Africa paid little or no attention to the implications of colonial borders for African. “They negated the realities of African identities and autonomous African perceptions of the world” (Prah 2009:23). A dominant crisis in contemporary Africa is tied to the difficulties of constructing so-called nations which have no deeply rooted contiguities with African history and cultures (Prah 2009:24). Elugbe (1992:2) also observes that one major setback in the scramble for Africa was that the colonial powers never considered linguistic boundaries in partitioning and appropriating African nations. According to him, neo-colonial partitioning in terms of regional or state creation is “accused of not respecting linguistic or ethic lines”. The earlier partition is responsible for the “extreme linguistic diversity which is so pervasive today as to make Africa the most linguistically fragmented continent on earth”, and Nigerian – the most linguistically fragmented of all African nations. In fact, Dalby (1980:100) asserts that “there is no country of comparable size and population – in the world, let alone in Africa – which has 26

had to… (come to terms with) a more complex linguistic environment”, than Nigeria. The linguistic diversity of Nigeria was even acknowledged in the Nigeria’s first national anthem which says: Though tribe and tongue may differ In brotherhood we stand. Elugbe (1992:20) observes that the problem with Nigeria is that “while the diversity in tribe and tongue is there for all to see, there is clearly no standing in brotherhood”; tribal and ethnic ties are so pervasive and dangerously undermining national unity. Day after day, Nigerians are reminded of the fact that Nigeria, as a country, is an artificial creation, and that until and unless the issues concerning this artificial union are collectively addressed and resolved, there can be no peace and unity in Nigeria. A solution which Prof. Emenanjo proffers regarding this problem of deep-seated tribal and ethnic loyalty to the detriment of national cohesion is a comprehensive national conference (with “no go areas”). According to him, the membership of the conference would be drawn from legitimate ethnic nations to properly discuss this over a century unholy matrimony of strange bed-fellows, with an UNWAVERING POLITICAL WILL to implement the decisions and resolutions of the conference. But who will bell the cat? 2.3.2 On leadership and corruption “The desire for development has been the most compelling goal for all African governments”, including Nigeria, but 27

unfortunately none of the African nations, perhaps with the exception of South Africa, has made any “developmental progress in a sustained, consistent and cumulative way that definitely and confidently uplifts the quality of life” of her citizens (Prah, 2009:6). Development can be said to be achieved when both material and non-human material needs of individuals and groups have been adequately and progressively put in place so that the quality of life of people experience incremental advancement which enables them to achieve more efficiently, easily and effectively their goals and aspirations, and to be able to optimise the employment of their skills and talents in a societally fulfilling and free manner (Prah 2009:7-8).

Prof. Emenanjo had argued severally that if after 56 years of “flag independence”, Nigerian is still grappling with an immobilising quagmaire of under-development in all sectors, something must be obviously wrong with the paradigm Nigeria is adopting to tackle her developmental challenges. One of the major barriers to development in Nigeria which Prof. Emenanjo identifies is corruption. Nigeria operates a loose state where laws are flouted with impunity without consequences on those who subvert them. Occupying leadership positions in Nigeria is a propitious step towards ‘earthly paradise’ with its associate bounties – both those legitimately earned and those illicitly acquired and buoyantly displayed without regard to any consequence or how the people will feel or react. One time Chief Minister in India once said that “… just as it is impossible not to taste honey or poison that one may find at the tip of one’s tongue, so it is impossible for one dealing with government funds not to taste, at least a little bit of the 28

wealth”. But the trouble with those in governance in Nigeria is that they do not just taste “a little bit of the wealth”; THEY EAT ALL, regardless of the feeling of those they govern. One major issue in recent political discourse in Nigeria is the negative role of oil. Day after day, we hear some Nigerians say that the discovery of oil in Nigeria is a curse rather than a blessing. To continue to say this is to be callously ungrateful to God. Why is it that other nations that have oil are prosperous, while Nigeria is severely bankrupt and the masses in a most excruciating penury? Should Nigerians not rather blame themselves for their failure to maximise the opportunities offered by this nature’s special gift and their greed to STEAL ALL AND LEAVE NOTHING FOR POSTERITY? Prof. Emenanjo continued to blame the recent upsurge in juvenile delinquencies and vices like stealing, armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism, youth uprising, militancy, insurgency, etc., on the failure of governance in the Nigerian state. He was of the opinion that when so much stealing and evil are perpetrated by those in the corridors of power, the populace cannot sit and watch without looking for ways to cut corners when the opportunity to steal arises. By the way, leaders dictate the pace, either for good or bad, which corroborates the statement by Nicolo Machiavelli that: … those who talk about the people of our day being given up to robbery and similar vices will find that they are all due to the fact that those who ruled behaved in like manner (cf. Williams 2007:7). The implication of the foregoing quotation is that a government led by THIEVES cannot expect a decent and sane followership. If the leadership wants to fight and minimise 29

corruption in Nigeria, then those at the helm of affairs should act in the manner that shows they are not culpable. There is a popular legal axiom which says that “those who seek equity must come with CLEAN hands”. 2.3.3 On Emenanjo’s POOR rating of the nation Prof. Emenanjo (2013) rated the Nigeria nation very low, short to describe Nigeria as A FAILED STATE. He provides alarming statistics about the state of affairs in Nigeria, as we can see below: Index Hunger Poverty

Source Global Hunger Index 2011 USAID Report 2009

Education

WEF Report

Health

WEF Report

Security Corruption

WEF Report Transparency International World’s Tension Index

Tension

Position in the World 120th hungriest nation in the world One of the poorest countries in the world where more than 70.9% of its population live below poverty line of less than $1 or N150 per day 132nd in terms of primary school education enrolment 127th in terms of health care delivery 117th in terms of security 139th in terms of corruption One of the highest in the world in terms of violence, crises, kidnapping, cultism, robbery, assassination, terrorism, acquisition of

Power/ GRLEEPC 2012 electricity Failed State Failed State Index 2012

sophisticated arms and ammunition, etc. The darkest nation in the world 15th in the world in danger of being declared a failed state.

Emenanjo (2013:23) outlines some of the indicators with which a failed state is assessed, as follows: “corruption, bad governance, mismanagement of resources, fear, crime, insecurity, kidnapping, hunger, poverty, disease, neglect, lack of transparency, homelessness, illiteracy, unemployment, inflation”, etc. He argues that Nigeria has them all. He goes further to say that Nigeria is:        

a crawling and limping nation; the darkest country in dark Africa and in the world; a dirty country with dying people; a rich nation with very poor citizenry; a country in distress; a country at war with itself; a country that practices ruthless politics of exclusion; the most expensive country in the world to execute contracts;  a country awash with clueless, ‘barefoot’ and counterfeit leaders;  a country where 95% of private wealth (both those legitimately acquired and those stolen) are exported and hidden in overseas banks without injecting some into the local economy to create jobs; 31

 a country whose virgins are helplessly forced into sex labour and the lads into armed robbery in a desperation to make ends meet;  a country where polling stations have become fierce battle fields where innocent persons who came out to exercise their legitimate franchise are gunned down by greedy politicians and their agents of terror;  a country whose currency exchanged for N1 to $2 and after less than three decades now exchanges for N400 to $1, while her leaders sit and watch helplessly;  the 6th largest producer of oil in the world, but now the most expensive country in the world in terms of domestic sales of petroleum products;  a country where the ceremony of innocence and excellence is drowned;  a country where civil societies have been muffled and where labour unions, students body and the masses have been overly over-run and conquered;  the only country in the world that runs a diluted, homebred, monstrous and scandalous presidential system of government;  a country where smaller thieves are hanged, while FULLTIME and BIGGER THIEVES are celebrated and given national honours;  a country where prison officials steal money meant to buy food for prisoners who stole even smaller amounts;  a country where nothing good seems to work and where meritocracy is slaughtered at the altar of mediocrity, etc. Prof. Emenanjo would have also heard in his immortal world that inconclusive elections and the withholding of the 32

announcements of results several weeks after elections had been held have become the norm in the polity. It happened in Kogi of just one state; it happened in the gubernatorial election in Bayelsa of just 10 local government areas; it happened in Rivers State in ordinary legislative elections, and it just happened in mere local council elections in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. PROF., please pray for your nation that the Almighty sees her through to 2019 and beyond, because the DARK CLOUDS ARE GATHERING and VULTURES ARE HOVERING. The situation in Nigeria is akin to the scenario in the world of the beasts aptly described by Taribo-Amagbara (2016:3). In this … world of the beasts which functions according to the law of the jungle… the strong devour the weak; the mighty prey upon the meek; the powerful oppress the impotent; the intrepid terrorise the wary; the greedy consume all the spoils and gets fat, leaving the rest hungry, lean and sad.

Reading some of his publications on the state of the Nigerian nation or listening to him talk about Nigeria either in the classroom, at public lectures or at interpersonal level, one obviously notices frustration in Prof. Emenanjo’s reflections on his nation; hence, he tried to ceaselessly and helplessly throw all manner of verbal bomb at the leadership of the country, particularly as it concerns corruption. But did all that help? By the way, he had in 1988, stated that Nigeria is a country led by “THE BLIND AND THE DEAF”. So, where was Prof. Emenanjo expecting the miracle to come from? Many social critics, economists and political analysts have continued to lament the level of corruption in virtually all 33

facets of the Nigerian polity and the inherent dangers. Wole Soyinka, the Nobel Laureate, has sarcastically stated that corruption is a unifying factor in Nigeria which cuts across all barriers. Emenanjo (2013:26) cites Niyi Osundare who describes Nigeria as: a) a kleptocracy: a state ruled by thieves b) corruption (incarnate), its fastest growing industry. Niyi Osundare, according to Emenanjo (2013:25-27), further states that If Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria. Corruption has taken over the commanding heights of Nigeria society. It is without doubt, the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR).

In his opinion, Emenanjo (2013:27) asserts that corruption is not just the fastest growing industry in Nigeria; it is rather the “flagship industry in Nigeria… It is the only industry that works in Nigeria”. Jide Osuntokun in his article published in the Nation Newspapers of 21 February, 2013, describes Nigeria as “Corruption Incorporated”. Speaking also on the issue of endemic and systemic corruption in Nigeria, Ndimele (2014:19) observes that “the country is governed by HEARTLESS and UNREPENDANT THIEVES and a LEGION OF DISHONEST PUBLIC OFFICIALS”. He likened governance in Nigeria to a situation where “HYENAS ARE ASKED TO SUPERVISE A MEAT MARKET”, adding that “many materialistic hyenas have taken over governance in Nigeria”; they have almost eaten up all the resources, and our BELOVED NATION IS HELPLESSLY BLEEDING TO DEATH. Now, the ultimate questions are: 34

   

Is this death inevitable? Will this boat eventually sink? Can there be a mid-course correction? Who will rescue this sinking boat?

In the estimation of Prof. Emenanjo, the end to corruption, other vices and untoward practices in Nigeria is not near. The body language of those in governance does not indicate so. Successive democratic administrations in Nigeria, beginning from Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to President Mohammadu Buhari have continued to pay lip service in fighting corruption. The war against corruption has been partial and selective, targeted only at perceived opponents or enemies of any government in power. Again, the agencies put together by successive administrations are peopled by men and women that Ndimele (2014) described as “materialistic hyenas” who even steal from the loots they recover, or take bribe to cover up financial fraud and other forms of untoward practices. For goodness sake, WHICH COUNTRY IS THIS, and where do we go from here? Closing Remarks Thus far, we have examined my recollection of some of the major discussions and observations by Prof. Emenanjo regarding certain issues in the Nigerian nation. We have provided a sketch of his contributions to knowledge not only in the area of his specialisation as a linguist, but also in outer circumstances not directly related to linguistics, which is the mark of a well-rounded scholar. As we can see from his statements regarding governance and corruption in Nigeria, 35

Prof. Emenanjo can aptly be described as a fearless, courageous, and outspoken statesman. He has come; he has played his role, and he has withdrawn, leaving his stamp of authority on the sands of time. He will always be remembered by the academic community. In some of his publications, Prof. Emenanjo proposed solutions to tackle some of the challenges facing Nigeria. What are some of the things he suggested Nigeria must do? a. Think out of the box if the country must expect new positive changes; b. Enthronement of a credible democratic governance through free and fair electoral process to elect competent leaders; c. Convocation of a result-oriented national conference/ summit, specifically to address how the different ethnic groups in Nigeria can peacefully live together, or even BREAK UP if, in all sense of honesty, they cannot live together; d. Formulation of a pragmatic national language policy which, among other things, spells out functional roles for languages in Nigeria; e. Empowerment of indigenous languages for use, at least, at the initial stage of primary education; f. Fight corruption head on and punish offenders without discrimination; g. Appointment of men and women of proven integrity to head critical sectors; h. Retooling the school curricula at all levels to produce the right kind of human resources who are morally sound 36

and professionally competent to compete in the labour market of today and tomorrow, and i. Enthronement of a stable, all-inclusive and integrative polity that caters for the well-being of all its citizenry, particularly the most vulnerable group in society, as a panacea to insurgency, militancy, youth uprising, frequent agitations for secession, and all manner of societal vices. Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues and students, time and space could not permit me to explain the broader and deeper significance of Professor Emenanjo’s oeuvre, not only in Igbo studies and linguistics in general, but also in fields as diverse as education, political economy and governance in Nigeria. But the much we have done here has given our listeners a bird’s eyeview of the kind of man in Professor Emmmanuel Nwanolue Emenanjo – the ‘Ichie’ and grandmaster of Igbo studies a fearless social crusader. As Professor Emmmanuel Nwanolue Emenanjo’s remains are committed to mother earth on Friday, 22nd April, 2016, at his hometown – Ibusa, in Delta State, Nigeria – the Nigerian linguistic landscape will witness an eclipse, “only to be remembered by what he has done”.

Làá n’ùdhó, my teacher and mentor! May the Almighty Father preserve you, till we meet again.

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