Be proud of your language, read to become leaders, NGO charges students

A non-governmental organisation, Mentoring Assistance for Youths and Entrepreneurs Initiative (MAYEIN), has charged secondary school students in Oyo State to be proud of their indigenous languages and embrace the culture of reading in order to develop themselves into knowledgeable leaders.

Members of the organisation, as well as their guests, gave this charge during the sixth edition of their annual reading and literacy festival in line with the theme of this year’s World Book and Copyright Day: ‘Indigenous Languages’.

The Founder and Executive Director of the organisation, Edem Ossai, stated that the goal of the event was to improve the literacy and reading culture by making reading exciting for young people.

In her keynote address, the organisation’s Head of Programmes, Motunrayo Oripeloye, stated that the objective of the event was to promote reading culture as well as literacy skills among teenagers and youths.

She lamented what she called the increase in illegal distribution of works and urged the public to compensate copyright owners for their creativity and intellectual property.

On the theme of this year’s World Book and Copyright Day, Oripeloye expressed sadness that Nigeria’s indigenous languages were going into extinction. She advised writers and creatives to ensure that their indigenous languages are reflected in the works they produce.

Former Nigerian Ambassador to the Philippines and MAYEIN’s Board Chairman, Dr Yemi Farounbi, emphasised the important role reading plays in shaping societies and innovation.

Farounbi stated that all languages are indigenous to a people or place. He however added that certain people may feel inferior to owners/speakers of globally accepted languages against their own indigenous language.

“This is why a lot of people cannot speak their language — Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Efik, etc. because they are being told that their language is indigenous,” Farounbi said. “The language (English) I am speaking now is indigenous to England.”

The Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Abdulrahman Abdulraheem, represented by the Director of Curriculum Development, Ministry of Education, Mrs Bolaji, commended MAYEIN for its continuous dedication to impacting Oyo State students, adding that the Oyo State Ministry of Education is ready to key into programmes that will enhance the learning and education performance of students.

Also in attendance was the Nigerian Library Board Chairman, Adekoya Osunkayo, who noted that reading helps people, especially young students, to boost their knowledge, creativity and self-esteem, which would in turn distinguish them among their peers.

Osunkayo informed the writers and publishers at the event of how to get the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) for their books, which they can obtain from the National Library.

The event held physically in in Ibadan and Osun State with over 130 participants in attendance, while many others joined in virtually.

The event featured a creative writing workshop facilitated by writer and publisher Ayo Oyeku who taught the elements of creative writing; spoken word performance in Yoruba language (ewi) by Adebitan Samson, an SS3 student of Army Day Secondary School.

There was a panel with author and publisher Servio Gbadamosi and social worker and author Yemisi Soyinka. The session focused on how indigenous languages have impacted their literary works and their roles in promoting indigenous languages.

The games, writing and reading competitions the students participated in included scrabble, poetry, book-a-thon, books-to-comics, and speed authoring.

The judges for the competitions were Adejoke Oyekan, Eyitayo Ajayi, Ayo Oyeku, James Adejokun, Semilore Olowu, Yemisi Soyinka, Sesan Akinola, Grace Kalu, Qozeem Agboola, Servio Gbadamosi.

Some of the schools and NGOs present at the event were Jericho High School, Community Secondary School, Methodist High School, Ikolaba Grammar School, Ikolaba High School, Ojoo High School, Samuel Adegbite Grammar School, Army Day Secondary School, Community Grammar School, Jesus Children’s Mission Home (JCMH), and the Youthcare Development and Empowerment Initiative.

At the end, Taiwo Olayinka won the book-a-thon competition; Rukayat Abdulateef of Ikolaba High School won the poetry competition; Fagbenro Kehinde of Army Day Secondary School won the book-to-comic drawing competition; Odigbo Ireoluwa of Jesus Children’s Mission Homes won the speed authoring competition.

Winners in each category of the competition were give cash prizes, books, and book vouchers worth N15,000 to pick books at some selected bookshops in Ibadan. Cash prizes were also won by students who participated in the online competitions.

Some of the sponsors and supporting organisations for the event were Indomie, Bookcraft, Spectrum, Purplebloom Publishers, Noirledge Publishing, Child Protection Network, G Mind Initiative, Bramble Network, among others.

READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE