APPEAL FOR SPONSORSHIP OF ELEME LANGUAGE BOOKS

Eleme language is the Language spoken by Eleme people who inhabit Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State of Nigeria.

 

Eleme Language has been described as “Endangered Language”. The Eleme Language is drifting towards extinction. The Language is spoken by less than 30% of Eleme people. Eleme language is not taught in Schools; the language cannot boast of a written form daily i.e. in the form of newspapers and magazines; the general means of mass communication e.g. radio and television despise using the language and worse still, the younger generations have a hyper-hatred for the speaking of the language.

 

But today, the tide is turning for the better. Interest in the language is growing. This change is courtesy efforts of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Rivers State Government and the Eleme Local Government Council to resuscitate the teaching and learning of indigenous languages in Schools.

 

The National Policy on Education (as amended) states that, “Government will see to it that the medium of instruction in the primary school is initially the mother tongue or the language of the immediate community….” On its part, the Rivers State Government in 2003 enacted the Rivers State Education (Teaching of Indigenous Languages) Law 2003, which provides that, “The teaching of indigenous languages is compulsory in all pre-primary, primary, and junior secondary schools in Rivers State”.

 

Speaking at a meeting of stakeholders in Education in Eleme Local Government Area comprising all heads of public and private schools, National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) Eleme Unit, Eleme Local Government, and Ͻɂeɂla Ͻbͻ Eleme (Eleme General Assembly), at Ogale on Wednesday 15^th February, 2017, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Eleme Local Government, Chief Hon. Oharilomate Ollor (JP) said, “The Eleme Language is gradually going into extinction and this has become a burdn to me because if nothing is done about it, I am afraid that the Eleme Language which is our number one identity will be relegated into history”. Continuing, he charged all the heads of public and private schools in Eleme “… to go back to your various schools and ensure that Eleme Language is added to the list of the subjects in your school’s curriculum. Eleme Language should be regarded as a compulsory subject for all classes in all schools in Eleme Local Government Area”.  

 

For five years, the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) in collaboration with the Rivers Readers Project and the Eleme Language Center worked assiduously for the standardization, development and approval of Eleme Language Orthography. In 2011, the Eleme Language Orthography made the list of Orthographies of Nigerian Languages and Eleme Language was categorized and recognized by the Federal Government of Nigeria as one of the approved Nigerian Languages with well-developed Curricula. This is published in the ORTTHOGRAPHIES OF NIGERIAN LANGUAGES MANUAL X.

 

As Professor Emeritus Ayo Bamgbose (1993) observed, “When all is said and done, the fate of the endangered language may well lie in the hands of the owners of the language themselves and in their will to make it survive”. Samuel Johnson said, “I am always sorry when any language is lost, because languages are the pedigree of nations”. Help us prevent Eleme Language from extinction!

 

Having passed through the orthography deployment level and curriculum development, we are now at the levels of writing of Eleme Language Books, Training Eleme Language Teachers, and Deployment of Eleme Language teachers to use the materials to teach in the schools.

 

Number of Books for Sponsorship

There are five (5) books ready for publishing and for which we are seeking sponsorship, namely:

1.      Ekã Eleme   – 106 Pages, with full colour pictures, beautiful page layouts and adequate relevant examples to make teaching and learning of Basic Eleme Language exciting and enjoyable. 

 

2.      Nsã Ͻdama Ԑbui A, B, GB, D – 42 Pages, with full colour pictures, beautiful page layouts and adequate relevant examples to make teaching and learning of Basic Eleme Language exciting and enjoyable. 

 

3.      Nsã Ͻdama Ԑlabi Abee Ogũrũ Enu – 47 Page, with full colour pictures, beautiful page layouts and adequate relevant examples to make teaching and learning of Basic Eleme Language exciting and enjoyable. 

4.      Goda Basic Workbook for Beginners (Featuring Ekã Eleme – Eleme Languag) Second Edition. – 60 Pages, with full colour pictures, beautiful page layouts and adequate relevant examples to make teaching and learning of Basic Eleme Language exciting and enjoyable.

5.   Nsã Eloi Rã - 50 Pages, with full colour pictures, beautiful page layouts and adequate relevant examples to make teaching and learning of Basic Eleme Language exciting and enjoyable. 

 

The sponsorship of one, two, three or four of these Eleme Language Books can be seen as a corporate social responsibility investment that will boost the image of your company and attract you to the Eleme people for maximum mutual benefits.

 

Rescuing one language from extinction, generally, is service to God and humanity with lots of benefits attached thereto.

Benefits of Sponsorship to Eleme

We are requesting for sponsorship of four Eleme Language Books written by Osaro Ollorwi and edited by The Eleme Language Center.

 

By sponsoring the publishing of one or all of these books you will be helping to:

1.      Ensure that Eleme Language is taught in Schools.

2.      Resuscitate Eleme Language.

3.      Prevent Eleme Language from decay and extinction.

4.      Promote the teaching and learning of Eleme Language.

5.      Preserve the culture and tradition of Eleme people because language is the means through which culture is communicated and transmitted.

6.      Provide the platform for producing outstanding scholars of Eleme Language.

7.      Create love for Eleme Language among Eleme audience by making books in the language available.

8.      Assist us to meet the Federal Government deadline for inclusion of Eleme Language among the Nigerian Languages now written in NECO, along with Urhobo, Efik, Ibo, Hausa, Yoruba, etc. by sponsoring the publication of these basic books.

Benefits to Your Company

We welcome any donations from large corporations to small businesses; and from families to individuals. 

By sponsoring the publishing of one or more of these Books, we assure you that:

1.       You or Your Company will be acknowledged as sponsor.

2.       Your logo will be included in book launch/presentation programme.

3.       You will be included in one full page colour advert in Inside Eleme Newspaper.

4.       Free, one-page, black and white, advert in the book launch/presentation programme.

5.       Corporate logo and thank you message on presentation banners.

 

  

For Enquiries/Sponsorship Contact:

Osaro Ollorwi

Eleme Research Foundation – 08036694027       E-mail: ollorwiosaro@gmail.com