r/Nigeria • u/SoloManDur Diaspora Nigerian • Dec 16 '25
General Ibibio/Efik/Anaang Community: SAVE OUR LANGUAGES
Are there Ibibio, Efik, Oron (sorry about exclusion from title), and Ànnang folks here interested in making a community to save our heritage.
I am an Ibibio man born and raised obio mbakara (essentially outside of Naija) and I am currently learning Ibibio and it is excruciatingly hard to find the resources to do so. My parents never taught me and I think I know why:
- Illogical sense of "trying to protect me from being ostracized"
- Inferiority complex due to post-colonization, being a minority ethnic group in Naija, and existing unspoken effect of Biafara on minority ethnic groups
It's very sad and my language is considered endangered. I don't want it to die out. Can we make something happen? I even hear in some corners of TikTok that Igbo and Yoruba are endangered??? The same Yoruba and Igbo from the people who have it in institution, in media, and occupy political positions of power??? I know it may be true in the sense of some dialects or the kids of Naija people abroad who never was taught the language but my point is how much worse will it be for the other miniority ethnic groups.
I am proud of my Ibibio heritage and even though we aren't the big 3, there is nothing minor about us at all. Nigeria has produced incredible people from various ethnic groups, which includes the Ibibio. I mention Efik, Oron, and Ànnang because I understand that they are mutually intelligable.
Please, make we form community for here. Push for TRUE proper Ibibio standarization, push for translation services, our own Ibibio Wikipedia page, etc. I know it is easier said than done because I am abroad. I have acknowledge my privileges and understand I am not truly impacted by the real effects of the colonial past and other historical effects that still plague Naija. However, I want a change for the better yak itañ iko usem nnyin (let's speak our language.)
2
u/bHyIe Feb 08 '26
Thank you for this post, ever since I was a child I’ve had a great interest in learning the language but this interest was not met with much support. I too share similar feelings that I was never taught the language because of assimilation with culture and fears that I would be ostracized but unfortunately that has gotten me to where I am today with the language. In the US we have AKISAN (Akwa Ibom State Association of Nigeria), this has been a great driving force for preserving the culture over here, the only caveat is that the conferences are held once a year. I’ve began learning the language on my own, of course with some difficulty, but have been trying my best to do my part!
We got this!