Lagos – The Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday said it was set to organise a stakeholders summit on Yoruba language to prevent it from going into extinction.
The Chairman, House Committee on Education, Mr Lanre Ogunyemi disclosed this at a news conference in Ikeja.
Ogunyemi said participants in the summit would include traditional rulers, governors, commissioners, parents and teachers of the language in the South-West.
According to him, it has become necessary for all schools, from the primary to the tertiary level, to make teaching and learning of Yoruba language a compulsory subject.
He said, “It is sad that Yoruba language is going into extinction. People who are born and bred in Yoruba land disdain the language.
“Yoruba Language should be made compulsory in all schools in Lagos, whether private or public. Our schools do not make it compulsory and we have passed resolutions on this in not less than three different occasions.
“Our language is part of our culture and tradition and we must not let it die. We want to ensure that our language is made compulsory for our children to speak, learn and read.
“We want to call a summit of stakeholders in the language as part of efforts to make our children learn and speak Yoruba compulsorily,” he said.
According to him, the National Policy on Education (NPE) has makes it compulsory for students to learn the language of their immediate environment.
He said that the importance of Mother Tongue had made UNESCO to set aside Feb. 21 annually as Mother Tongue Day.
The said that developed countries like Germany, France, China, Russia, among others, made the teaching and learning of their language compulsory, hence were progressing.
Ogunyemi said that after the summit, the House would give proprietors and proprietresses of schools some time for compliance after which the committee would embark on oversight.
The lawmaker said that more teachers of Yoruba language would be employed by the state government.
“Parents should support their children in the speaking of Yoruba language; it is not difficult. We should not lose our future,” he said.
Also speaking, Prof. Harrison Adeniyi, a Lecturer, Department of Linguistics, University of Lagos, said, “If we are not careful, our language will die.
“Language is a living thing; it dies just like a living organism. We should not allow our language to go into extinction.”
Adeniyi, the Vice Chairman, Linguistic Association of Nigeria, urged all Houses of Assembly in the South-West region to take steps to prevent Yoruba language from going into extinction. (NAN)
Lagos Assembly to organise smmit on Yoruba Language, says legislator
Loading...
