With Lagos State being home to many non-Yoruba speaking residents and with the language at the risk of going extinct, the Lagos State Assembly has introduced measures.
Ambode’s intent was to preserve Yoruba language, especially at a time many languages were going into extinction. The government, in its wisdom, felt that Yoruba language, like every other indigenous language across the world, deserved its rightful place and recognition like other foreign languages in the school system.
In addition, the state’s holistic plan was to promote arts, culture and tourism in Lagos and to ensure that the Yoruba culture and tradition is in no way endangered.
Before Ambode signed the law, the bill had been with members of the Eighth Lagos Assembly for months with several deliberations and input from the lawmakers and the citizens at public hearings. To ensure compliance, the bill stipulated different fines for offenders. Specifically, it was stated that schools that fail to comply with the law risk closure and being fined to the tune of N250,000.
However, when the law was passed in 2017, there were no allegations of it being politically motivated. Today, considering the circumstances thrown up by the 2023 general elections, it appears the good intent of the immediate past administration is being misinterpreted as having political undertone. The crux of the allegations has come from non-Yoruba speaking residents of Lagos, who contend that the law was enacted with a hidden agenda to get at the Igbo speaking residents for not wholly supporting the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last elections
Lagos is known to accommodate several non-indigenes. In recent time, however, some non-Yoruba speaking ethnic nationalities have been allegedly spreading the narrative that Lagos is no man’s land and that both Yoruba and non-Yoruba people migrated to the state for commercial intent. The narrative gained traction during the last general elections.
The concept of Lagos as ‘no-man’s land’ was first used by one of the past leaders of the state, to underscore how it accommodated other people from different parts of the country and the world, without discrimination. But in the build-up to the 2023 general elections, some members of the political class twisted the meaning for ulterior motives and selfish political ambitions.
Perhaps the development is what triggered the recent reactions from the state’s lawmakers, who decided to review the state’s liberal and open-door policy to non-indigenes, which eventually culminated in some law reforms to protect and secure the culture, heritage and identity of Lagos
Among other actions taken recently, the Mudashiru Obasa-led Lagos State Assembly summoned the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) over the non-use of Yoruba language to pass information to passengers on the train, just as the Assembly reiterated the need for the Lagos State University (LASU) to make Yoruba Language compulsory for all students.
MEANWHILE, the position of the Assembly has continued to raise concerns with insinuations that the law was targeted at a particular ethnic group. According to some of the complaints, the emphasis now laid on the law just after the 2023 polls, is intended to show those considered as non-indigenes their place and to also discourage the notion that Lagos is a ‘no man’s land.’
Some of the respondents condemned the law and the position of the lawmakers, describing it is cruel. They added that if all states across the federation embark on making discriminating laws, the unity of Nigeria will be the casualty.
As part of conscious efforts to preserve the Yoruba culture and heritage, the Lagos House of Assembly made mandatory the use of Yoruba in public places, and also adopted the language for plenary on Thursdays.
Speaking on the issue, a lecturer in the Department of African Language, Literature and Communication Arts, LASU, Dr Ahmed Adesanya, said the Lagos State government had not just introduce the programme. He disclosed that it was conceived during the tenure of Governor Ambode.
He said there is no negative intention in introducing the programme. “If you look at the constitution of Nigeria. It stipulated that every state must include their mother tongue or language of the environment in their administrative businesses. Unfortunately, it is only Lagos State that has pronounced it and followed that aspect of the constitution.”
He said the course will not affect students adversely, as LASU has designed a method of teaching such that it will not create any hindrance to students learning. “We are using the immersion method and that method will make it easier for students to learn. I initiated the committee that drafted the curriculum when I was head of the department and it was drafted in conjunction with the faculty of education. It was passed to the senate curriculum committee and it was later returned to us for some amendment to make it easier for learners.
“The essence of GNS 104 is to preserve the culture of the people. Language is like a vehicle with which culture is driven. When you are learning the language of a people, you are equally learning their culture, food, way of life, customs and traditions.”
He urged other states to emulate Lagos, saying that the initiative is proactive at a time when so many languages are going into extinction
“If you don’t speak a language, it will automatically die. Look at Latin, I remember when we were very young, my father used to speak Latin and all of a sudden, Latin fizzled out. If language dies, the culture dies and the truth is that the people also die but may not die physically.
“If you are Yoruba and you cannot speak your language, you are dead because you are disconnected from your roots. Sincerely, so many people have been calling me across the country to ask me how we made it happen,”
He disclosed that the first topic on the course is the Omoluwabi concept, ‘Iwa Omolubi,’ which will enlighten them on good behaviour, modesty, dignity and others as these are all imbedded in Yoruba culture.
On her part, Dr Oluwakemi Aboderin, an activist, said the language of the immediate environment is very important to inhabitants generally and it is a very good development.
She noted: “It is a way of developing our language and it could be used at any point in time. Let us give the Yoruba language its right and place.”
She advised other universities to take after LASU, adding that the Yoruba language is widely spoken all over the world as Yorubas travelled far and wide.
She said: “There are so many places in the world that you can find Yoruba race. In America, there is a town called Oyotunji village. The inhabitants of this village are promoting Yoruba culture to ensure that the language does not go into extinction. From research, 10 languages will be going into extinction every six months in the world and we don’t want our language to go into extinction. That is why these efforts are necessary
“A research conducted by the late Minister of Education, Babs Fafunwa in 1971-72, had two classes set up. In the first class, the students were taught every subject in English language except the Yoruba language while in the second class, the students were taught all subjects in the Yoruba language, including English, Math, Science and others. After the students graduated, it was discovered that students who were taught all subjects in Yoruba did better than those in the first class who were taught in English except Yoruba,” she said.
POLITICALLY, however, Chief Nedu Okafor contended that enforcing the law after 2023 general elections was politically motivated and a panic reaction to the allegation that some people said Lagos is no man’s land.
According to him: “There are many laws that are passed by Lagos State Assembly that had not been implemented, but this particular one was a reaction to prove that Lagos is part of Yoruba land and is owned by Yoruba people. There is no sensible person disputing that and asking students of higher institution in Lagos to study Yoruba language is either to discourage non-Yoruba speaking Nigerians from attending schools in Lagos or a deliberate action not to graduate students of Igbo extraction at LASU. Imagine Ebonyi, Imo or Sokoto states enacting such law, how many Yoruba students will graduate in universities owned by those states.”
But two-time governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, dismissed arguments that the law was targeted at a particular ethnic group in the state for political motives.
While he supported the position of the Assembly, Agbaje said the Yoruba race needed to preserve its language because of the lackadaisical disposition of the younger generation to their native language.
According to him, “If such measures are not put in place, there is the likelihood that Yoruba language will go into extinction. And if that happens, the race will lose its culture, tradition and identity. I see nothing wrong in it, so long as the official language of Nigeria, which is English, is never tampered with.”
Agbaje also said there was nothing the Igbo people should be afraid of. “This is not about politics, but the culture of a race.”
Sharing a different view, a chieftain of Lagos PDP, Dr. Adetokunbo Pearse, opined that making Yoruba language compulsory in tertiary institutions is not right. He emphasised that such a law should only apply to primary and secondary schools.
A New York-based lawyer and former African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Lagos, Owolabi Salis, on his part, gave a nod to the law, saying a similar initiative has been practised in the Northern part of the country, as most of their school textbooks are written in the Hausa language.
He said the notion that Lagos State is a no man’s land is political but that the move to make Yoruba language compulsory should not be seen from a political view..
