We will simply drag Lagos state to Abuja, where the HausaFulani, Ijaws, Efik, Ibibio and all the various tribes that encompass Nigeria will explain the meaning of domination.
How one group can sit down in a state with about 50% of non- yoruba groups as well as international resident from all over the world and mandate all our children to be forcefully taught Yoruba?
They will explain the meaning of domination in Abuja.
Guestlander: Send your children to another state where where they can learn Igbo or only languages "useful for business and technology" Is it by force to send your children to school in Lagos?
Let us not decieve ourselves here, we all know the Federal courts will uphold the constitution and the numerous freedom that are enshrined which we all enjoy.
This is an effort in futility.
Yorubas should get this right, I am not fighting with u.
However, i will not be intimidated from claiming my right, in-view that my continued Nigeria status, was by force.
We had already left and abandonded Lagos in the 1960s. It was starvation by Awolowo and War by Gowon that drag us back into this dead marriage.
We are still willing to leave Nigeria today.
With that said, I maintain that Yoruba language should only be compulsory in School for Yoruba children, just like Islam is compulsory for only muslims.
knowledgeable: They're not proud of their physical appearance/culture.....that explains it all.
So taking Igbo children and making dem Yoruba will help dem to be proud?
They must have not heard of the document called constitution.
U cannot force ur language on anybody. Igbo children will opt out of such arrangement and likewise the HausaFulani and all the other various tribe residing in the commercial capital of Nigeria.
We will drag Lagos State government to Federal Court and have that bill struck out.
We are well placed and eduacted to ensure that Yoruba domination of other tribes never see the light of day in Lagos.
WAT WE HAVE IN LAGOS IS THE RESURFACING OF APARTHIED SOUTH AFRICA WHITE ONLY AGAINST THE BLACK SOUTH AFRICANS IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY.
WHILST THE OIL FROM THE SS/SE IGBOLAND, IJAWLAND, IBIBIOLAND, ITSEKIRI LAND, URHOBO LAND IS SHARED, AND USED TO FINANACE DEVELOPMENT IN LAGSO AND ABUJA.
WE HAVE THIEVES TRYING TO TURN NATIONAL CAPITAL TO TRIBAL HEADQUARTERS.
THAT IS NOT EVEN THE MOST ANNOYING PART.
THE MOST ANNOYING PART IS THEIR ACTIVE ENCOURAGEMENT AND PARTICIPATION IN THE USE OF VIOLENCE AGAINST PEOPLE OF THE SS/SE FOR DEMANDING RESOURCE CONTROL AND SELF DETERMINATION.
WE ALL REMEMBER THE WAY OBJ MASSACRED EVERYBODY IN ODI COMMUNITY, OVER THE OIL IN THEIR OWN LAND AND ENDED UP WITH A CASE AT THE ICC.
Yoruba Language Bill: Issues, burden, challenges October 20, 2017 AKIN ADEWAKUN and CHUKWUMA OPARAOCHA Features
Yoruba LanguageIt 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. http://www.tribuneonlineng.com/yoruba-language-bill-issues-burden-challenges/
No member of my family and never will my children go to School to waste their time learning a language that is useless in commerce, science and technology.
I sent them to school to develop themselves and contribute to human development.
How is my Igbo son/daughter learning Yoruba useful?
All this yoruba attempt to convert other tribes to yoruba is doomed to fail.
Go and teach your yoruba children their language, culture and heritage, leave other tribes out of it.
We will not hesitate to drag Lagos state government to court and get that Bill by Lagos State Assembly struck out as unconstitutional.
Just leave our children that are not yoruba out of your tribalistic ethnic domination agenda of other tribes residing the the Commercial capital of our Country Nigeria.
My children education is my priority and I am totally vested in wat they learn at School.
I want the best for them. I believe the time they will use to learn Yoruba, is best spent learning French.
There should be an option for non-yorubas in the City of Lagos.
OBJ has left since 10 years ago and no one has arrested him for Odi! If the conviction that some "foreign lawyers" are going to get Buhari arrested makes you at peace with life, feel free!
This is one is different. The speed of proceeding itself is an indication.
Operation Python dance and Operation Crocodile smile are all improper use of military to oppresss and humiliate your fellow country men based on ethnic and religious differences.
This action by Buhari and Buratai is very cowardly and treasonable.
Buhari thinks it is OK to go around using state power and our joint military to attack sections of the country based on their faith and tribe.
This is wholly unacceptable and cowardly. A president of Nigeria has sworn to protect the life of all regardless of tribe/religion.
The Nigeria Army belongs to all both North and South and should never be used as a tool of oppression by a President that hails from the North against the South.
A top IPOB official who pleaded anonymity, disclosed to Afroinsider.com that all the major actors in the Biafran Genocide, 1966 – 1970 will join Rtd. General Mohammadu Buhari in the suit filed against him in the International Criminal Court of Justice (ICC). General Yakubu Gowon, General Olusegun Obasanjo, General Theophilus Danjuma, General Ibrahim Babangida and many others all retired are among those to face trial for Biafran Genocide soon.
The Indigenous People of Biafra under the leadership of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has begun in ernest the process of bringing to justice all those involved in the mass murder of Biafrans between 1966 to 1970, which is dubbed to be the worst genocide ever committed on planet earth, even worst than the Holocaust.
Recent discoveries by IPOB Ireland ably led By Mazi Isaiah Uba, reveals that more than 10 million Biafrans were massacred in the genocide , while the British controlled media kept it a secret. This is contrary to about 2-3 million being touted by the media.
A team of three international lawyers, made up of one American two Europeans has been working underground on the case for 3 years now. Time is now ripe for top Nigerian military officers who massacred Biafrans to pay for their iniquities.
The case of Mohammadu Buhari and Buratai is just a precursor to the main thing. The trio of international lawyers had adviced IPOB about two years ago, not to go for all these military officers at once as it will make the case untidy.
They were advised to use Mohammadu Buhari as a scapegoat, then somewhere along the line as the case proceeds, everyone whose hands was in the gruesome killing of Biafran men women and little children between 1966 to 1970 will be joined to the case and brought to Justice.
Meanwhile, top Nigerian army hierachy and retired generals has been jittery over the recent turn of events. Abuja, the federal capital territory of Nigeria has been a beehive of events since the News Of Buhari and Buratai heading to ICC broke.
An insider who called from Abuja, confirmed to Afroinsider that series of meetings by retired Army generals has been on-going in Abuja to find an escape route from this impending doom coming upon them from Nnamdi Kanu led IPOB, while others seek to find out if their names are among the list of those fingered by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
CrtlAltDel: You know I love agreeing with you, since you dont want to agree with me despite all the evidences provided….. Can you show me any video showing Kanu, his parents, wife or kids being killed/abducted….. Any, showing their faces…… .the only dead thing I have seen so far is a DOG and not even a single BLOOD stains….. And if I know ipob very well we would have seen video of blood stains all over the internet or do you have any video showing bloods?
Oh! Sorry that video was druing the action, here is one after the action.
U will find some dead bodies that the army did not carry along with the rest wen they were leaving.
CrtlAltDel: Haba bros why you dey pretend like say you be bat, all the links including one from egberetvnews wetin dem be…… exhibit??
That is no evidence. The evidence is in the Video before us and the list published by IPOB of all the people in Nnamdi Kanu house, do u have that list?
The video clearly shows children and women in Kanu house, are u saying Kanu wife and children is any more special than the women and children in the video?
CrtlAltDel: So are you saying Kanus lawyer is aware that Kanus wife and Kids were also abducted/killed but they are irrelevant instead he is more interested in mentioning Kanus parent for every oppurtunity he gets to talk about Kanus whereabout… ..hmmmm……. What of Kanus wife parents, were they also killed/abducted by NA…. Lets assume they were…. What of their children or Kanus wife is the only child. This is really really getting interesting…. Where is Jeffery Archer when you need him
Wat am saying is based on the evidence before us, do u have any evidence to support ur claim tha is not hear say evidence?