ABSTRACT

This chapter focuses on F.C. Ogbalu, founder of a grassroots association known as Society for Promoting Igbo Language and Culture (SPILC). Using this association which literally developed into a movement, Ogbalu pioneered determined work and strategies which served as a springboard for the introduction and development of the learning and teaching of Igbo Language and Culture at all levels of the educational system in Nigeria. Through national and international conferences, seminars, and workshops organized by F.C. Ogbalu, SPILC was instrumental in creating and facilitating global awareness and recognition of Igbo Studies in general. This chapter identifies F.C. Ogbalu’s legacies, particularly his efforts in taming the furious tide of controversies that raged over the standardization of written (literary) Igbo. F.C. Ogbalu became a household word that was synonymous with the study and propagation of Igbo Language and Culture in the academy.