Content creator Katy Igwe has attracted attention online after sharing a video of her conversation with another Japanese-Igbo woman who speaks fluent Igbo.

The vlog, posted on YouTube, has since circulated across social media platforms.

Igwe, from Oguta in Imo State and based in Tokyo, creates content on cultural exchange, fashion, and Nigerian-Japanese lifestyles.

At an African and Caribbean festival in Japan, Igwe met Ada Amaka from Imo State.

Ada Amaka said she speaks Igbo fluently and plants cassava. “Yes, I speak Igbo. I even plant cassava.”

She added that her father expects her to identify as Igbo when she visits Nigeria and to own her identity without hesitation.

Ada Amaka added that she was raised to embrace both her Japanese and Igbo backgrounds.

“You know, my dad doesn’t allow me to, like, tell people that I’m from Japan, that kind of thing. If I go to Nigeria, he expects me to tell people I am an Igbo woman. He wants me to stand my ground and proudly own my identity as an Igbo woman,” she said.

Igwe noted that while her spoken Igbo is not as strong, she understood everything Ada Amaka said.

“But I finally understand why, when I end up speaking small Igbo, they are shocked. Because I’m so shocked that she’s speaking like this fluently… She speaks Japanese, too… So now I finally understand why people are always like, ‘I’m hearing my people, but I’m not seeing my people,’” she said. (The Nation)

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