The Obong of Calabar Executive Forum, OCEF, has faulted the West African Examinations Council, WAEC, over the removal of Efik Language from its curriculum, describing the action as an assault on the Efik people. The position of the Forum was made known in a statement issued in Calabar by its Chairman, High Chief Gershom Henshaw. Henshaw said Efik Language is one of the most widely spoken indigenous languages in Nigeria with a well-developed orthography. He stated that the language was used in translating the Holy Bible in the 19th century and was adopted for news translation by the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, NBC, between the 1960s and 1980s. He, therefore, questioned the rationale behind its delisting from the WAEC syllabus at a time when concerted efforts are being made to sustain it. According to OCEF, stakeholders have put in place several measures to prevent the extinction of the language, including “the institution of scholarship to students offering Efik Language in WAEC and special allowances for Efik Language teachers,” recalling retired Efik Language teachers to return to the classroom, and sponsoring Efik programmes on radio and television. The Forum also condemned a situation where students who registered for Efik Language were given Igbo question papers during WAEC examinations, describing it as “totally unacceptable and should not repeat itself.” Chief Henshaw assured the examination body that OCEF will provide enough candidates to meet WAEC’s requirements, stressing that “the Palace of the Obong of Calabar is poised to ensure that Efik Language does not go into extinction.”
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