The Lagos State House of Assembly recently passed a bill to make Yoruba language compulsory in all schools in the state in both public and private schools. Sina Fadare asks if there is any ray of hope
PERHAPS for many years to come, government of the South –West (Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Ogun and Lagos) will continue to lament abandoning the save Yoruba language step taken by the former minister of education, Prof. Babs Fafunwa, between 1970 to 1980.
The erudite scholar at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, launched a project known as the Six Year Primary Project (SYPP) in order to salvage Yoruba language from going into extinction.
Instead of the concerned governors of the states to roll out a follow up policy that will cement the already laid down foundation by Fafunwa, the contest for political space among them denied them the opportunity. Today Yoruba language is facing a serious challenge to the extent that the coming generation is at a loss in the rudiments of their mother tongue.
At every fora, the issue of Yoruba language remained a discourse among stakeholders, academia, politicians, and those who were passionate about the language and did not want it to go into oblivion.
At a forum recently in Ibadan, experts warned against the neglect of Nigerian languages and what may eventually be the consequences.
Speaking at the occasion, the Managing Director of University Press, Plc, Dr. Lekan Are lamented that “Though we were colonized by the British, our culture and languages should not be in shambles. It’s always a sad story in our homes. Children are not allowed to speak indigenous languages as they will be punished for doing so. Many Nigerian parents today do not speak their native language with their children. This is posing danger to both the survival of our language and culture. No wonder the level of morals has been reduced drastically.”
According to him, “Being able to communicate in your mother tongue and at the same time proficient in English are not mutually exclusive. It is believed that if primary education were in the people’s mother tongue it would be much easier to learn English as a second language and be truly bilingual. In our days, the only language of instruction in school the first two years, irrespective of your ethnic background, was in the mother tongue. You must learn in the language of your immediate environment. We must all cultivate the habit of speaking to our children in our mother tongue at home and facilitate the learning of indigenous language in schools.”
Speaking in the same vein, renowned linguist, Prof. Ayo Bamgbose lamented that “Nigerian languages and culture are losing their status under English dominance in such places as the home, school, and social events. Neglect of Nigerian languages and culture underlies many of the ills plaguing Nigeria”.
He added that the rationalizations for the neglect included the fact that the country has no local common language of communication, inadequate terminology for most modern expressions, and the need for modernization and globalization.
The celebrated writer lamented that in the past mother tongue served the educational needs of pupils in the first three or four years in primary schools before English was introduced as a subject in later years. By which time the pupils would have become thoroughly grounded in mother tongue before receiving instruction in English. The advantage it had was “proper understanding of concepts taught in various subjects,”
He debunked the insinuations that African languages lacked adequate terms for modern concepts, noting that in the 1930s Church Missionary Society’s Iwe Kika (readers )covered various subjects such as nature study, hygiene, geography, and agriculture and the famous McDougall’s Efficiency Arithmetic which had been translated into Yoruba for teaching arithmetic processes and number operations”.
He regretted that the gains of using the mother tongue to effectively teach modern concepts had been eroded “Today, the gains of the past have been eroded. Mother-tongue education is only on paper as private nursery and primary schools teach in English and linguistically mixed urban schools also do the same. Hence, many of the products of primary education are neither competent in English nor in their mother tongue. The deficiency at primary school is carried over to secondary school and to university level.”
The erudite scholar argued that failure to teach pupils in the language of the environment has direct link with the performance of pupils as they find it difficult to grasp concepts in English, a secondary language elevated to the status of first language without the requisite infrastructure. He gave the statistics of performance of students in SSCE of 2011 -2015, with the 38.5 per cent being the average score as woeful.
If Bamgbose is sad at the poor handling of Yoruba language by the education authorities, the celebrated poet, Niyi Osundare has butterfly in his tummy due to erosion of his mother tongue, Yoruba.
The language identity
“The English people didn’t have faith in their language,” as they preferred Latin and Greek until fellows like Samuel Johnson wrote the English dictionary. Francis Bacon had to translate his works into Latin. Shakespeare was derided for not knowing Latin and Greek, for being illiterate, that he stuck to his native English language, but he’s remembered today but not those who laughed at him. Our language situation is very grim, but there’s hope. All we ask is give us the politics, good politics” he said.
Perhaps thinking on the same pedestal, Prof. Akinwumi Isola while delivering a convocation lecture recently at the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba in Yoruba Language, the renowned author of many Yoruba novels argued that language is the soul of culture.
“Many parents cannot speak good Yoruba. Our ordinary conversations are pitiful examples of code-switching and helpless code- mixing. We are gradually becoming a nation without a language”
Isola argued that “China has never lost its culture. The language of instruction from primary to University level has been Chinese. The child understands better when taught in the mother tongue. China therefore has made enormous progress in science and technology and they are selling this to the world”
The author of Efunsetan Aniwura and O le’ku pointed out that “when a language dies, the culture atrophies. Language is the hub of the wheel of culture. The great mystery of the origin of language can never be solved. The constant belief is that language is God gift to man.
“It is unfortunate that in contemporary times, the mother tongue which constitutes and remains the foundation for the child’s other language experience is not properly imbibed before a second language is introduced in the name of modernity. This singular act negatively impacts on the child who fails to attain competency in the native and second language.”
In the midst of this uncertainty, Lagos State recently picked the relics of the project where Fafunwa hung it, made a clarion call that the cherished language should not go into oblivion. More worrisome is the effect of globalization that has almost made nonsense of our mother tongue to the extent that the current generation of children is at a loss on the mere names given to objects, peculiar ways of greetings and naming of local simple herbs in their surroundings.
No doubt all over the world, the importance of mother tongue to the socio development of a child particularly at a tender age is paramount. The Centre for Endangered Languages put it better “Language is the key to the heart of a people. If we lose the key, we lose the people. A lost language is a lost tribe, a lost tribe is a lost culture; a lost culture is a lost civilization. A lost civilization is invaluable language lost; it will be consigned to oblivion.”
The Lagos State of Assembly might have been reading the minds of the likes of Bamgbose who declared that “The essence of democracy is participation. When debates, bills, laws and electoral processes are conducted in an unfamiliar language, most citizens are excluded from participation. The constitutional provisions for the use of major and main languages in legislature have remained mainly a paper policy.”
Reviving indigenous languages
The giant step in reviving Yoruba language in primary and secondary schools in Lagos State is now an eye opener that all hope is not lost on the revival of Yoruba language.
Speaking at the occasion, the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudasiru Obasa noted that the lawmakers are challenged with the erosion of the language therefore took a giant step to revive it from the base.
Obasa who explained that language is a precious ornament which God bestowed on us, “There are many ways which Yoruba language can be put to use, greetings, teaching, singing, poem rendition, advertisement and general communication. Yoruba is a unique language among others, just like the sea is the head of all rivers in the world. Yoruba language is distinct.”
He explained that charity begins at home and that is why Lagos State House of Assembly took up the challenge to pass a bill in that will compel all schools in the state both public and private to make Yoruba language compulsory.
Speaking in the same vein, the Chairman of the House Committee on Education, Olarewaju Ogunyemi noted that the handwriting is clearly on the wall that Yoruba language is facing a serious challenge and that the state has come to salvage it before it is too late.
Prof. Isola, who was the guest speaker said Yoruba language can be used for any meaningful development if all hands are put on the deck. According to him, India and Arabian countries that were colonised by the British did not neglect their local languages. He said, “We should speak Yoruba in our institutions. Yoruba is one of the languages recommended to be taught in our schools to promote unity.”
Prof. Akinloye Ojo, who teaches Yoruba in one of the United States universities and Prof. Akanni Ige, who also lectures the language in Republic of Benin, urged the guests to make sure the language is upgraded and cherished.
From the royal perspective, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi pointed out that Yoruba is a rich culture that those who were traded in slaves in the days of old and found themselves in strange lands are eager to embrace the language and its culture. He challenged all and sundry to make sure that everything is done to give the language the honour and respect it deserves.
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, went down memory lane, saying “The first African Bishop, Ajayi Crowther translated Hebrew and English Bibles into Yoruba language and 11 other languages” emphasising that language is culture.
Also, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi who delved at length into the history of the Yoruba race and the relationship between black man and the white man, urged Yoruba people to see themselves as leaders, stressing that God has blessed them abundantly.
He said: “Ifa is the root of computers and telephones. The white men even named a computer ‘oracle’ “ he said.
Way forward
According to Isola, there should be a solid plan to start using Yoruba language to write various books in all disciplines, be it science or arts. Such step will open a window of opportunity to do more deep research in the language and will encourage young writers who are versatile to explore the unlimited opportunities.
Aside this the erudite scholar said that as a matter of urgency, Yoruba language should be the medium of communication in all the South West and should be extensively used in the judiciary, legislature and in act of governance.
He regretted that Yoruba language has been handled with levity to the extent that it was not compulsory in our schools like English language, noting that this trend should stop with immediate effect.
He advocated other measures of enriching Nigerian languages to include, “Implementation of language provisions of the Constitution, use of Nigerian languages in more situations such as a governor or a chairman of local council addressing a local community, commissioning of language experts for terminology creation, translation of more official documents into local languages.”
The question is: are we ready to take the necessary steps?
