Runsewe hails Lagos Assembly for passing Yoruba language bill

Chief Segun Runsewe

THE Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, has commended the Lagos State House of Assembly for passing a Bill making the use of Yoruba language compulsory in schools.

Runsewe noted in a statement that if given assent by Governor Akinwumi Ambode, the Bill would enhance the proficiency of youths in the use of Yorubabecause many could no longer express themselves in their mother-tongues.

“Our language is the primary vehicle for our cultural expression and identity as a people and to abandon our language is to endanger our cultural heritage,” Runsewe said.

He also noted that Nigeria’s indigenous languages were facing extinction because families and schools had relegated them to the background.

Runsewe said that the bold step taken by Lagos State would not only restore the dignity of Yoruba language, but will also make teaching and learning easier.

He noted that pupils assimilate better and faster when the language of instruction is their mother tongue.

Runsewe, who called on other states to emulate Lagos said: “The Lagos State example is very significant to our efforts at reviving our fast eroding cultural values and our search for our true identity as a people”.

The Assembly recently sent the Yoruba Language Bill, making the teaching of Yoruba compulsory in schools, to Governor Ambode for assent.