Mixed reactions have continued to trail the law recently made by the Lagos State Government compelling all candidates seeking admission into state-owned tertiary institutions in the state to possess a credit in Yoruba language.
The law, which came into operation last week, now also makes it compulsory for all primary and secondary schools – private or public – in the state to include the teaching of Yoruba Language as a core subject at all levels.
Specifically, the law stipulates that any school in Lagos State that fails to comply with the policy commits an offence and is liable on first violation to be issued a warning, while on subsequent violation, such a school will be closed down and also fined N500,000.
The development effectively makes Lagos the first state to enact a law seeking to preserve and promote its indigenous language.
But baring their minds on the issue, while some stakeholders in the education sector kicked against the new law, others expressed happiness and satisfaction with the development.
An education advocate, Mrs. Yinka Ogunde, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of EDUMARK Consult, an educational guild for students and parents alike, noted that the policy should have been well thought out before it was rolled out because Lagos State was a peculiar and cosmopolitan state with a huge population of non-Yoruba speaking people.
Ogunde said, “What it means is that some Nigerian students cannot attend any Lagos State-owned teitiary institution because, years ago, it was everywhere in our schools, ‘No vernacular speaking here,’ but now, you need a credit in Yoruba to get into tertiary institutions owned by Lagos State. My question is: is this the best approach to restore Yoruba language to schools and homes?
“We have for years been fed on a diet of ‘No vernacular here.’ I remember my driver proudly informing me that his daughter does not speak Yoruba. Meanwhile, my driver and his wife can only mumble a few words in English; now, there is a language crisis, poor English, poor Yoruba. Making our indigenous language more appealing is a better way to go, but not making it a decree.”
Speaking in the same vein, the Chairman, Elmac Group of Schools, Gbagada, Lagos, Dr. Eliojor McAnthony, accused the Lagos State Government of being tribalistic for making such a law “looking at the current happenings and situation of things in the country.”
McAnthony further said, “You see, it is this tribalistic hangover that is holding us back in this country, because you don’t need to tell a teacher that this is a ploy to restrict the non-yoruba speaking segment of Lagosians from going to the state-owned higher institutions. How will the Lagos government feel if all other states initiated the same policy to cut off Yoruba, who are based in their states, but cannot speak their local languages?
“Nigeria almost got it right with the wazobia concept in the mid-80s, but it died on arrival because that policy ought to have been compulsorily enshrined in the educational system before independence or immediately after the civil war. The East Africans succeeded in developing their Swahili and later made it a regional language to be used side by side with the English language as a medium of interaction and teaching.
“But you must understand that Swahili evolved out of multiplicity of East African languages merged as one on a national and regional voluntary pact, during the East African colonial period, which Nigeria failed to do. So, now trying to use Yoruba language to exclude other non-Yoruba residents of Lagos from accessing higher education is a recipe for national disaster in the future.”
But another educationist, Mrs. Abi Odusanya, who is also the President, Association of School Directors and Educators in Nigeria, noted that the new policy by the Lagos government was a right move since the state was trying to retrace its step in education reform.
She said, “In our curriculum planning and redesign project, we discovered that language was key to the promotion of true nationalism and culture. Unfortunately, we don’t have one language in Nigeria. Our suggestion was that schools in each state should teach and learn the universal language, which is English, a local language, that is the language of that state, and an international language, which may be French, Spanish, Mandarin or German.
“The Nigerian child is multilingual; so if we build on this, it will give us an edge in the world. I am not sure if making Yoruba compulsory is the way to go. I would rather suggest an immersion of the language, which means a celebration of the indigenous language in form of songs, folklores etc. But if that is the way they want to go, then they could approach it as the IELTS exams, which is simple to take because a C or a D is a pass. Let us look on the bright sides, education will only get better and true federalism will be promoted because the government actually took some time to make the decision.”
