It is no longer news that the Lagos State House of Assembly is pushing for a N500, 000 fine or closure of any school that disregards its proposed bill on compulsory learning and teaching of the Yoruba Language. AKIN ADEWAKUN and CHUKWUMA OPARAOCHA look at the various dimensions to the issue and the move to preserve the Yoruba Language.
Lagos State was, again, in the news, a few months ago, when it announced its desire to come up with a law that would make the teaching and learning of Yoruba Language compulsory in schools across the state.
Presently, using Yoruba, a vital communication means among the people of the South-Western part of the country, is not compulsory in most schools in the state, while it is regarded by some as a vernacular, which pupils must steer clear of, especially during school hours.
The bill, which is still being debated on the floors of the State House of Assembly, and had passed through second readings, when passed into law, intends to address this by making teaching of the language compulsory in the state-owned schools.
It is about strengthening the Yoruba language —Lawmaker
The move, according to the Chairman of the House Committee on Education, Honourable Olanrewaju Ogunyemi, is aimed at strengthening the use of the language and arresting the dwindling fortune of a language that, hitherto, had been a major unifying factor among the people of the South-West.
Giving details about the proposed bill, Honourable Ogunyemi explained that the bill entitled: “A Bill for a Law To Provide for the Preservation and Promotion of the Use of Yoruba Language and for Connected Purposes,” which had already gone through the second reading, when passed, would make it compulsory for all primary and secondary schools in the state to include teaching of Yoruba language as a core subject at all levels.
Besides, it also provides that all the laws in the state would be translated into Yoruba Language, while all state-owned tertiary institutions will be mandated to incorporate the use of Yoruba Language in the General Studies (GNS) courses.
According to the bill: “The use of Yoruba Language shall be an acceptable means of communication between individuals, establishment, corporate entities and government in the state if so desired by the concerned.
“It shall not be an offence for a person to speak Yoruba Language by the state government.”
Perhaps, as a way of proving the state’s resolve to ‘walk the talk’, the bill also proposes a series of measures to ensure schools, especially state-owned ones, comply.
For instance, the bill proposes that any school that fails to comply with the provisions of Section 2 of the law commits an offence and is liable on first violation to issuance of warning, while a sterner sanction of such school being closed down and a fine of N500, 000 for violations, are also some of the measures being taken to ensure compliance.
“It shall not be an offence for a person to speak Yoruba Language by the state government,” the bill stated, obviously an outlaw of an existing, but unwritten rule in the state, especially in schools, forbidding any student from speaking vernacular, a derogatory term used to describe the language.
Perhaps to demonstrate the seriousness of the state government to hit the ground running, Ogunyemi, in an interview with Nigerian Tribune, stated that the committee might tinker with a provision in the bill that gives a two -year period before the law takes effect, when eventually passed.
Rather, he added, majority of the lawmakers would want the missing link implementation to commence as soon as the bill is passed into law by the state governor.
He stated that the Lagos State House of Assembly had started blazing the Yoruba culture- renaissance trail, as evident in its decision to adopt the use of the language for plenary on Thursdays.
The House Committee on Education Chairman, however, believes the state lawmakers are not doing anything new by pushing for such law; since there is an existing National Policy on Education that insists that the language of an environment should be spoken in schools.
“The National Policy on Education provides that the language of an environment should be spoken in schools, which is why Yoruba Language is being adopted in Lagos schools.
“After the passage of the bill into law, it would become compelling for schools to speak Yoruba Language. We want to preserve the language for generations yet unborn,” he said.
When asked whether the rule would also apply to private schools in the state, the lawmaker stated that they (private schools) were part of the foundation of the bill and were at meetings the committee held across the education districts in the state.
He therefore added that the private schools would have no choice than to key into the project, insisting that school owners had been properly mobilised; hence the state Ministry of Education would therefore ensure compliance.
Interestingly, not a few lawmakers in the chamber share Ogunyemi’s enthusiasms. For instance, many of them who spoke with Nigerian Tribune expressed their dissatisfaction with the rejection of the teaching of Yoruba Language both in schools and at home by some parents.
In his remarks, the majority leader, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade, said, “Most schools today do not speak Yoruba Language again and other indigenous languages. In fact, many parents frown on their children speaking Yoruba.
“We should ensure that Yoruba Language does not go into extinction. Other people embrace their languages, we should also be proud of ours,” he said.
Speaking in the same vein, Hon. Segun Olulade, the Chairman, House Committee on Health, also called for the promotion of Yoruba Language, culture and tradition, insisting that it was not good to call Yoruba Language a vernacular.
Hon. Adefunmilayo Tejuosho from Mushin Constituency I said, “We have thrown away our language, there is nothing to be ashamed of in speaking our language.”
Tejuosho decried the habit of punishing or making students pay fine for speaking Yoruba Language in schools, noting that when eventually passed, the law would address some of such anomalies.
In his reaction, the Speaker of the House, Honourable Mudashiru Obasa said; “it is not our making that we were born here, others speaking their indigenous languages are progressing in other climes.
“We need to encourage our language, and be proud of it. Using our indigenous language to teach our children yields better results as posited by late Bola Ige and Prof. Wole Soyinka.”
But, while the ‘push’ for the introduction of such law by the state lawmakers sounds soothing to the ears, especially to those of culture enthusiasts in the state, not a few stakeholders however believe that the road to its implementation may be strewn with thistles and thorns.
Mixed reactions
For instance, while Mr. Iyanda Olajire, an educationist and proprietor of Dominion Group of Schools, Lagos, sees this as positive, ‘since efforts are being made by the state to protect the language from going into extinction’, he however believes a lot still needed to be put in place to ensure that the effects of such law are felt when eventually passed.
One of such things, he said, is the need to sensitise critical stakeholders, parents, schools and the students themselves on the objectives of such law.
“It’s good, if eventually passed into law. At least it is a positive development that efforts are being made to protect the nation’s indigenous languages, especially, the Yoruba Language, which is a major communication means of the South-West.
“Honestly, it is becoming increasingly obvious that if such steps are not taken, it is a matter of time before the language is consigned into the dustbin of history; since interest in the teaching and learning of the language is waning by the day.
“Look at almost all the schools today, parents and pupils prefer to buy computer books than buying the recommended Yoruba textbooks for the study of the language. And if you don’t buy textbooks for a particular subject, how do you do well in such subjects?” Mr Olajire asked.
The Dominion College proprietor however believes that beautiful as the steps might be, the implementation of such law might throw up some challenges. For instance, there is a limit to the powers that the state governments have in this area, he stated.
According to him, implementation of such law might only be possible if it is for those in primary schools and perhaps the Junior Secondary schools in the state.
“Definitely, there is no way you can make the teaching and learning of the language compulsory at the senior secondary levels, because those at this level sit for an examination that is not limited to states. They sit for an examination that is controlled at the national level, through WAEC and NECO,” he said.
He added that if the purpose of the law is just to teach and learn the language, without making writing the exams compulsory, in schools, the tendencies for the students not to be serious about it are very high; since they know they are likely, at any time, to be tested on their knowledge of the subject.
He however believes that for the bill to be effective, when passed, the state must work in conjunction with the Federal Government. In other words, the National Assembly must also come up with a law that would make learning and teaching of indigenous subjects compulsory, while erring students should be schools be punished.
But curiously, a principal in one of the public schools in the state, who would not want his name in print, believes coming up with such laws at this time might not necessarily make the desired impact because the resources to implement such law are simply lacking.
“If you are coming out with a law that will be insisting on Yoruba being taught and learnt and taught in schools, one vital question we should ask ourselves is whether the state has the resources to implement this. For instance, how many Yoruba teachers do we have across these schools? And out of these teachers, how many of them are actually qualified? I can tell you that they are very few.
“And if that is the case, what efforts are being made to encourage people to study the language? What we have presently is that those who study the language in various institutions across the country are doing it after their attempts at studying Law and other more ‘prestigious’ courses have been frustrated,” he added.
He believed that before such laws would work, there was the need for government to address some of these issues.
Interestingly, one of such ‘solutions’ according to Mr. Olajire of Dominion College, is for government to begin to do some sensitization, concerning the study of the subject.
“For instance, what is the future like for those studying the subject in higher institutions? Can they also get other jobs apart from teaching? How do you address the societal stigmatisation concerning those who study the language? All these must be brought to the front-burners if the law is to achieve the impact is meant to achieve,” he stated.
Mr Adedeji Fadahunsi, a parent, would not agree less. Though a linguist, he would still not lord it over his children to do the language if the bill is eventually signed into law.
He believes that the odds against the teaching and learning of the language are rather high.
“And until they are addressed, it is just like playing to the gallery. Otherwise, a situation where those who have anything to do with the language are seen as second fiddle will definitely not help the cause of this project. No parent would voluntarily ask his or her child to go and study a language that may not really enhance the status of the child at the end of the day,” he stated.
In all these, Fadahunsi is, however, of the belief that the future of the language remains bright as long as the state government is ready to take up the gauntlet of addressing some misconceptions surrounding the teaching and study of the language, while also providing some form of incentives to those who may want to make a career out of this major communication means of the South-West.
and then