UPUA LANGUAGE DAY

UPU AMERICA : PARENTS IMPLORED TO TEACH THEIR KIDS URHOBO LANGUAGE

Parents and guardians have been urged to always teach their children and wards their local languages so as to prevent them from going into extinction.

The President of Urhobo Progress Union America, UPUA, Olorogun Onome Dema gave the charge at Effurun during the 2019 annual Urhobo language competition organized for public secondary schools in Urhoboland.

Our correspondent reports that the Urhobo language competition took place at the Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun FUPRE courtesy of the Urhobo Progress Union, America, UPUA.

Sixty six government' secondary schools drawn from the twenty four kingdoms of Urhobo Nation participated in the 2019 edition of Urhobo language competition put together by the Urhobo Progress Union America, UPUA.

The participating students from the various public schools passed through many stages and rounds, answering questions in Urhobo language.

At the end of the keenly contested competition, representatives of Okpara secondary school emerged winners.

Speaking on the Urhobo language competition, the President of the Urhobo Progress Union America, Olorogun Onome Dema said the annual Urhobo language competition was to encourage Urhobo children to speak the language, to prevent it from going into extinction.

Dr. Onome Dema told newsmen that the UPU America also organizes Urhobo language competition for Urhobo children overseas, to encourage them to speak their mother tongue.

She advised Urhobo parents and guardians whose children and wards hardly speak the language, to periodically take them to the village, buy Urhobo languague audio and visual aids and also make the speaking of Urhobo language compulsory in their homes.

For his part, the Director of the 2019 Urhobo language competition, Mr. Peter Nosiama said the competition would go a long way in promoting the speaking of Urhobo language across the demographic strata of Urhobo Nation.

Some of the participating students, their teachers and parents commended the UPU America for facilitating the Urhobo language competition and implored other Urhobo bodies to emulate the gesture.

The 2019 Urhobo language competition was climaxed with the presentation of cash prizes to the three best schools.

Representatives of Okpara Secondary School came first with a cash prize of one hundred thousand naira, those from Afesiere Secondary School took  the second position and smiled home with a cash prize of seventy five thousand naira, while students from Erhor Secondary School came third with a cash reward of fifty thousand naira.

Other participants also went home with various consolation prizes.