Rivers State has intensified efforts to preserve its cultural heritage through an indigenous language quiz competition aimed at reviving the Ibani tongue among schoolchildren.
Stakeholders have lauded the initiative facilitated by the Senator representing Rivers West Senatorial District, Ipalibo Banigo, describing it as a significant step toward safeguarding local identity.
The “Reviving Our Heritage Through Knowledge” Ibani Language Quiz, held in Bonny Local Government Area recently, brought together students, traditional rulers, teachers, and community leaders in a colourful celebration of the Bonny Kingdom’s cultural legacy.
The event, sponsored by Senator Banigo and organised by the Ogbobiri Asawo Socio-Cultural Organisation, featured junior secondary schools across the LGA, with Bonny National Grammar School, Finima, emerging winner. Community Junior Secondary School, Finima, and Lucille Educational Centre, Bonny, took second and third place, respectively.
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In his opening address, Chairman of the Occasion, Se-Alabo Cloude-Wilcox, praised the programme as a visionary investment in the next generation. He noted that instilling pride in indigenous languages at an early age would help sustain cultural values that risk extinction.
Represented by her Special Assistant, Adokiye Ogonobere, Senator Banigo said language remains the heartbeat of identity, history, and collective memory.
She described the competition as both “a celebration of identity and a reawakening of heritage,” urging more communities to adopt similar initiatives.
In his closing remarks, Chief Eugene Banigo, Chairman of Ogbobiri Asawo, thanked the Amanyanabo of Bonny Kingdom, King Edward Asimini William Dappa Pepple III, and other supporters for their commitment to cultural preservation, reaffirming that the Ibani revival movement “has come to stay.”
