Distinguished Senator Ede Dafinone
*Senator urges parents to teach children in Urhobo as he eulogizes legacy of late Ewerhido
*Overall winner coasts home with N500,000 star cash prize.
By Fejiro Oghojafor
A student of the Petroleum Training Institute, PTI, Effurun in Delta State, Mr. Onoji Ogheneruona, has emerged the overall winner of the Senator Ede Dafinone’s sponsored Urhobo Language Competition, with a star prize of half a million naira.
The grand finale of the competition which took place on Saturday September 7 at the 500-capacity Hall of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun, Delta State, witnessed all contestants going home with a minimum of N100,000 each while that star prize winner went home with N500,000 cash.
It would be recalled that the Urhobo Language Competition was the initiative of late Senator Pius Ewerhido who represented the Delta Central Senatorial District (Urhobo nation) before his demise in 2012.
The incumbent Senator representing Delta Central, Distinguished Senator Ede Dafinone who also shared vision of Urhobo nationalism, adopted the initiative not only to commemorate one of the legacies of late ‘Gogorogo’, but to also ensure the sustenance of the effort geared towards protecting the Urhobo Language from going extinct in the near future.
The Delta Central lawmaker who was represented at the event by Chief Tuesday Onoge, a former Deputy President-General of UPU, disclosed that he sponsored this year’s edition of the competition in collaboration with the Urhobo Studies Association, USA.
The event attracted Urhobos from the 24 kingdoms and from different strata of the society. In the keenly contest competition, Onoji Ogheneruona, a student of the Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun, won Senator Pius Akpor Ehwerido Prize of N500,000.00.
The second and third of N300,000.00 and N200,000.00 were won by Miss Izobo Favour and Miss Urhobe Onome, respectively, while seven other contestants received consolation cash prizes of a N100,000.00 each.
Senator Dafinone represented by Chief Tuesday Onoge, the former first Deputy President-General of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), stressed the urgent need, why Urhobo nation should not allow its language to die out, adding that language is a people identity, and when lost, the people are lost.
According to him, “This Urhobo language competition is a remarkable initiative. Some of the world’s top scientists learned science in their native languages. For instance, the Japanese and Chinese studied science in their own languages, but in our part of the world, we were punished for speaking our mother tongue when the colonizers arrived,” he said.
He emphasized that teaching children in their native language aids better comprehension. “If you teach a child in a foreign language, you first have to teach them the language before you teach the subject. That becomes an obstacle to their learning.”
Dafinone expressed his surprise that the competition was not won by students studying Urhobo and Linguistic at Delta State University, Abraka, but by a student from the Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun.
“This will serve as a wake-up call for our children to learn Urhobo”, he said.
Professor Roseline Aziza, Chairperson of the Urhobo Studies Association, USA, also spoke at the event. She highlighted the importance of language to identity, stating that “Our languages are dying, and once a language dies, so does the identity of the people.
“Language sustains culture, teaching children about who they are, how they behave, and what they value.” Aziza stressed.
According to her, Urhobo, like other minority languages, is at risk of extinction, adding that the competition was initiated by the late Senator Pius Ehwerido in 2012. However, after his death, the competition was neglected until Senator Dafinone revived it.
The competition consisted of three stages: an online registration followed by exams at centers including Urhobo College and Delta State University. Fifty students progressed to the second stage, which tested reading and writing comprehension. Ten finalists were selected from this pool.
Onoji Ogheneruona, the overall winner, expressed his gratitude: “I didn’t prepare much for the competition, but when the call came, I decided to give it a try. I had won a previous Urhobo language competition sponsored by former Ughelli North Council Chairman, Hon. Godwin Adode, and I took this as another opportunity to do my best. I thank Senator Dafinone for this opportunity.”
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