Language is the memory of a people. When it fades, history blurs; when it thrives, identity stands tall. For the Ekpeye Nation of Rivers State, Nigeria, that memory lives in Ekpeye (ISO 639-3: ekp), an Igboid language spoken chiefly across Ahoada East and parts of Ahoada West—with Ahoada serving as the administrative heart of the Ekpeye ethnic nation. Linguistically, Ekpeye is closely related to Ikwerre and Ogba, yet distinct in its sound system, vocabulary, and proverbs—the fingerprints of a unique civilization in the Niger Delta. Wikipedia+1

The Ekpeye Kingdom—People, Place, and Crown

Historically identified as Ekpeye (Akpaohia), the nation occupies a strategic ecological corridor where riverine and upland cultures meet. The Ekpeye maintain a traditional monarchy headed today by His Imperial Majesty, Eze/Amb. Kelvin Ngozi Anugwo, PhD, JP, AP, DSSRS, FNIM, MNIMN—Eze Ekpeye Logbo III, Primus Inter Pares among Ekpeye kings. His office is not ceremonial sentiment; it anchors communal authority, speaks for the people, and has recently engaged public matters affecting Ekpeye land. Wikimedia CommonsThe Tide News Online

Academic work situates Ekpeye within the Igboid branch of the Volta-Niger family, with documented dialects such as Ako, Ubye, Upata, and Igbuduya and a history of literacy efforts dating back decades. The language shares borders—and contact—with Ogba (Igboid), Ẹgẹne (Edoid), Abua and Obogolo (Central Delta), reflecting centuries of trade, intermarriage, ritual exchange, and migration. This contact enriched Ekpeye without dissolving it: the idioms, naming systems, and oral literature remain unmistakably Ekpeye. rogerblench.info

Why Preservation Is Urgent (and Smart)

Globally, 40% of people lack access to education in their mother tongue, and only a small fraction of the world’s languages make it into classrooms, media, and digital spaces. UNESCO’s findings are blunt: mother-tongue education improves learning outcomes, critical thinking, and self-esteem, while exclusion accelerates language loss. Nigeria’s indigenous tongues—pressured by English and Nigerian Pidgin—face endangerment from urbanization, prestige bias, and migration. Preserving Ekpeye is therefore not nostalgia; it is development policy: better schooling, stronger social cohesion, and continuity of ecological and medicinal knowledge encoded in indigenous vocabulary. UNESCORSIS InternationalResearchGate

The Institutional Backbone: Ekpeye Language International Hub

To move from passion to policy, the Ekpeye Language International Hub provides infrastructure—research, pedagogy, community mobilization, and digital tools. Under the Hub’s umbrella, the Ekpeye Ethnic Nation Language Committee was sworn in on 26 August 2023 at Ekpeye House, 14 King’s Street, Ahoada, during the Uzugbani Ekpeye National Congress, with the authority and blessing of HIM Eze Kelvin Ngozi Anugwo, Eze Ekpeye Logbo III. This moment formalized a revival—turning individual zeal into collective governance. ekpeyelanguagehub.ng

Culture You Can Hear

From masked festivals to praise-chants and ancestral maxims, Ekpeye culture speaks in rhythm and metaphor. Public documentation—careful, respectful, and consent-based—keeps sacred knowledge where it belongs while letting the language of celebration be widely heard. (Cultural photojournalism around masquerades and communal events has already begun to surface online, hinting at a visual archive waiting to be curated responsibly.)

Champions of the Ekpeye Language Revival

Every movement has its torchbearers—the scholars, teachers, elders, creatives, and youth leaders who translate vision into action. The Ekpeye revival is no different. Below is a crisp lead-in you can place right before your roster of names:

“From palace stewards of tradition to classroom innovators and digital evangelists, these are the Ekpeye sons and daughters turning preservation into progress. They mentor our children, record our elders, codify our orthography, and carry Ekpeye into classrooms, studios, and the cloud. Meet the custodians of our future.”