Prominent educationist and proprietor of Shekinah British International School, Ihiagwa, Owerri, West council area, Imo State, Chief Obinna Smart Unegbu has called for the sustainability of our cultural heritage as this represents the identity and pride of the nation.
This is even as he solicited collaboration among public and private schools in the Southeast geo-political zone for the promotion of Igbo language, culture, values, and norms.
Chief Unegbu also appealed to both the federal and the Imo State governments, for urgent rehabilitation of the dilapidated Nekede/Ihiagwa Road which links the Federal University of Technology Owerri, (FUTO), the Federal Polytechnic Nekede as well as the Shekinah British International School which plays host to over 400 students from within and outside the country.
Chief Unegbu made this call at the Grand Finale of the Cultural Week organised by the school, which had the theme: “Discovering our roots, embracing our identity”.
He said, “I am a major stakeholder in education sector and I insist that we need to come together and collaborate to enhance our education sector, because education is an investment in our future and national development”.
As part of measures to raise the promotion of Igbo language, Unegbu stressed that the speaking of Igbo language had since been made compulsory for all students of the school on every Friday of the week.
Also speaking on the occasion, which featured a display of Igbo cultural attire, regalia, and dances by the students and various cultural troupes, the principal, Christian Modebe, explained that the activities were designed to encourage the students to imbibe, assimilate, showcase, and project the rich cultural heritage of the Igbo nation.
He said the Shekinah British International School, established in 2018, had come up with a curriculum on basic Igbo teaching and learning even as he hailed the staff and management for sustained support.
In his comment, Professor Nwankwo Uchenna Martins, a historian and Dean of Postgraduate Studies at Imo State University, Owerri, emphasised that promoting the Igbo language and culture at the grassroots would not only enhance Igbo unity and cohesion but also strengthen the sense of patriotism among the people.
Nwankwo, who spoke at the grand finale of the Cultural Week of the Shekinah British International School, also argued that the agitation by the Igbo for the creation of more states in the southeast should not be misconstrued as an appeal, but as a priority.
“Politically, the South East has been marginalised; we need two or more extra states from our Zone, not the Anioma state, which falls within the South South zone”.
The university Don hailed the Shekinah British International School for its outstanding performance in academics and in the promotion of Igbo culture, saying, “I am happy that the students are demonstrating the zeal for the development of our indigenous culture at the prime of their youths”.
