Why I Translated Chapter IV Of The 1999 Constitution Of The FRN Into Igbo Language– Ezinma

Miss Ezinma Ukairo a final year law student of the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus and the incumbent Vice President of the University of Nigeria Students’ Bar Association (UNSBA), speaks on her new work.

Ezinma and her crew have beaten the record by translating Chapter Four of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria into Igbo language. In the interview with THENIGERIALAWYER she highlighted the reason for the Igbo language translation, the challenges they encountered and so many others.

Could you briefly introduce yourself?
My name is Ukairo, Ezinma Ukpai. I am a final year law student of the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus. I am also the current Vice President of the University of Nigeria Students’ Bar Association (UNSBA), a community of law students within the University, with the objective of promoting practical learning, experience and exposure for students. We organize intra mooting competitions amongst the nine student chambers with the university law students community and engage in inter mooting competitions. We also organize lectures on student law related issues such what law students hope to see after school as regards employment, masters choices, etc. It is a very exciting yet tasking organization.

What was an early experience when you learned that language had power?
We were travelling for a vacation at the time. I cannot remember to which state at that time but I remember that we were stopped by a non – Igbo police man. My fatherhad a PA at the time who could speak Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba. So as soon as my father wound down the window, the PA promptly engaged the police man in a discussion. One could see his countenance changed from one of indifference to absolute concern about how our journey had been and concern about how he could make the rest of the journey smooth-sailing. As a young girl, I was simply grateful for the presence of this multilingual man in the car with us.

Where do you get your ideas?
My surroundings. This idea for the translation came from a Sunday school service at my church. On a particular“Sunday School” class, years ago, it was quite evident that the facilitator was struggling with the English content of our daily devotional. I wondered why he couldn’t settle for the Igbo translation or have one of the audience read while he explained. My thinking led me to wondering why the devotional was not in Igbo just like we had the Igbo Bible till I was asked a question and I stammered my way through it…lol.

What was your translation process like?
We are all nothing without a team. Using the platform provided by UNSBA I was able to enhance my idea for the translation and create a team of four law students, Onuaoha, Adaobi Blossom, Chris I. Ukpai, Ezugwu Eric Chinedu Leonard and Ufete Chidinma Priscilla, to work with. The members of the team did the actual translation and I monitored the progress of each member of the team. They provided me with the handwritten copies which I fused and eventually typed while ensuring the insertionOf the right symbols i.e the “kpom” (dots) with the vowels that needed them. Let’s just say I crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s.

What inspired you into translating a part of the 1999 constitution of the FRN (as amended) into Igbo language?
There is a common saying that “ignorance of the law is not an excuse”. So I asked myself what I had done on my own part to create awareness. A wonderful place to start was with the fundamental rights provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). Being passionate about human rights protection made it easier to see this work through. It was our intention to use the work to also create awareness that our laws should be made ‘user-friendly’, in the simplest of words and if possible the major laws of the federation should be translated to the major languages.

Furthermore, there is another saying “better for a hundred guilty men to be set free than for one innocent man to be convicted”. Drawing from that, it was evident that everyone should be empowered with the requisite knowledge to go about enforcing his or her rights. Therefore, if that church member was the only one in the entire world who needed the laws in Igbo, then it is the “society’s” responsibility to see that he is equipped. Also, a lot of learned Nigerians, would still quarrel over the letters of the law; the intention of the legislature. What more can one say about the market man or woman or the unlearned truck pusher.

Moreover, most of the cases in the lower courts involve translators. There is always someone who would be there to break down “in the language he understands” the goings-on in court. As well as the fact that as litigators, most cases one would meet, especially in the area of human rights protection and land matters would involve people who cannot effectively communicate in English language.

Where can this translated version of the Chapter Four of the Constitution of the FRN, 1999 (as amended) be made available for people?
Prior to this project being made available here, in furtherance of the translation, we (UNSBA) organized a human rights lecture on May 19, 2017 to which we invited different human rights organizations such as the Women Aid Collective (WACOL), the National Human Rights Commission and the Legal Aid Council as well The Nigeria Television Authority, Enugu State (they covered the lecture pro-bono).

At the lecture, the representatives from the different organizations presented topics on issues of human rights protection and gave advice on the law clinic activities. This project was also launched the same day. In furtherance of the lecture, we were able to get 15 students involved in a human rights rally at Kenyatta Market, Enugu. The day of the rally was June 3, 2017. That day we went to the market, where we shared copies of this project to the market men and women, asked questions ranging from intimidation, to un-dignifying encounters to marital abuse. We explained and gave them phone numbers to call if they are in need of any further assistance.

Any other relevant free link for download and how would you make this available for people to have access to? 
The Igbo translated version of Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution of the FRN can be seen and downloaded from thenigerialawyer.com.

What was your challenge in translating this work into Igbo language?
The hardest part was finance. We were able to withstand this challenge by virtue of freewill donations by some philanthropic individuals.

How long on average did it take you to complete this?
On the average, it took 2 months of actual translation. However, prior plans had been made as to those that would constitute the team and what their roles would be.

Who edited this work, and how did you select him/her?
Her name is Mrs. Anekwe Blessing, an Igbo teacher at the Federal Government College, Enugu. She was suggested by one of the team members for being a proficient Igbo language speaker.

What kind of research did you do, and how long do you spend researching before began translating chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution?
The main research was determining, if at all, such a translation existed. On finding out it did not, I felt it was a worthy project to undertake.

Do you have any other remarks? 
I would like to say that this work is not perfect but I am of the opinion that language is an important of citizenship and cultural understanding. As a country we can start from our laws. We are a country of diverse cultures, languages and traditions. The sooner we embrace that and be proud of it, the sooner we can move towards respecting and loving one another.
I therefore recommend that the legislature should adopt the process of providing our laws in other language versions during the law making process.