Urhobo And The Dying Tongue -By Isaiah Ogedegbe

Urhobo is a tribe that I am proud to be a part of. As a young Urhobo man, I have dug into the history of my people and found that we are widely known for being respectful and hardworking. We are not trying to blow our trumpets, because that is the truth.

However, there is an aspect of our culture that I find really disturbing – the Urhobo language. It has almost “died” from our tongues, probably because of the English Language and the Nigerian Pidgin.

Urhobo people of Niger Delta

It has deteriorated to the extent that when you call your child in Urhobo by saying, “Mo” which means “Come,” the child will just be looking at you until you say it in the English Language.

This sad development is a clear indication that we all have failed as a people to pass on the Urhobo language to our children and should this continue, I fear that one day we will only belong to an Urhobo tribe without a language and that is not too good.

Please all my fellow Urhobo people, do not allow this beautiful Urhobo language of ours to die.

Source: Warri Times