The apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, said it has set up a special committee charged with the task of providing a framework for reviving and protecting the Igbo language from going into extinction.

The disclosure was made by the President General of the organization, Senator John Azuta Mbata, when he received members of the planning committee for the 2025 Ahiajoku Lecture, who paid him a visit at the secretariat of the organization in Enugu.

The President General of the socio-cultural organization said that Ohanaeze was worried by the recent report from UNESCO where it was revealed that the Igbo language is endangered, hence the need to protect it from eroding away from the surface of the earth.

He added that the organization is encouraging studies and research on Igbo language and culture, at the same time urging the Igbo race to embrace their language as part of their identity.

Mbata, while formally endorsing the forthcoming 2025 Ahiajoku Lecture, pledged full cooperation of the apex Igbo body to ensure its success.

The apex Igbo leader expressed delight at the visit by the committee members and commended them for their commitment.

“I hereby endorse the 2025 Ahiajoku Lecture Festival on behalf of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide. We shall cooperate to ensure a successful festival. I will be there in person,” he assured.

He remarked that Ahiajoku remains an avenue for deep conversations among Ndigbo on issues of culture, language, and survival, revealing that his administration had instituted professorial endowment chairs in tertiary institutions to drive research in Igbo history, tradition, and language.

The Ohanaeze President General therefore tasked members of the committee to deliver an excellent festival that would elevate Igbo cultural visibility, while extending gratitude to Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State for reviving the Ahiajoku Lecture Series.

Earlier in his remarks, the Director General of Ahiajoku Centre and Secretary of the Planning Committee, Nze Raymond Emeana, traced the origin and evolution of the Ahiajoku Festival.

He recalled that the festival was inaugurated in 1979 by the late Governor of old Imo State, Chief Sam Mbakwe, as a platform for Igbo introspection and projection of the Igbo worldview.

Emeana mentioned illustrious sons of Igbo extraction who have delivered important topics at the Ahiajoku Lecture, including Professors M. J. C. Echeruo, Chinua Achebe, Ben Nwabueze, Donatus Nwoga, Adiele Afigbo, Laz Ekwueme, and Barth Nnaji.

The Director General noted that contributions of the various lecturers have helped establish Ahiajoku as Africa’s premier cultural festival of ideas, inspiring generations of Ndigbo to reconnect with their identity.

According to him, each Ahiajoku Lecture has always been crafted to interrogate the most pressing challenges facing Ndigbo at a given time.

“At this moment, insecurity and the resultant economic downturn are the twin malaise confronting our people. This year’s theme is therefore urgent and timely,” he said.

Emeana informed that the 2025 Ahiajoku Lecture will be the 25th in the series and will be delivered by Most Rev. Prof. Godfrey Onah, the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka Diocese, on the theme: “The Future of Igbo Economy Amidst the Challenges of Insecurity: A Call for Paradigm Shift.”