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<h1 class="entry-title">The Lagos Yoruba Preservation And Promotion Law</h1>
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<div class="gmail-td-post-author-name"><div class="gmail-td-author-by">By</div> <a href="https://independent.ng/author/correspondents/">Our Correspondents</a><div class="gmail-td-author-line"> - </div> </div> <span class="gmail-td-post-date"><time class="entry-date gmail-updated gmail-td-module-date" datetime="2018-02-27T01:51:18+00:00">February 27, 2018</time></span> <div class="gmail-td-post-comments"><a href="https://independent.ng/lagos-yoruba-preservation-promotion-law/#respond"><i class="gmail-td-icon-comments"></i>0</a></div> </div>
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<div class="gmail-td-post-featured-image"><figure><a href="https://independent.ng/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Governor-Akinwunmi-Ambode.jpg"><img class="entry-thumb gmail-td-modal-image" src="https://independent.ng/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Governor-Akinwunmi-Ambode-696x445.jpg" alt="Ambode, Lagos" title="Governor Akinwunmi Ambode" width="696" height="445"></a><figcaption class="gmail-wp-caption-text">Governor Ambode</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, recently signed
into law the Yoruba Language Preservation and Promotion Bill. Known as
Yoruba Language Preservation and Promotion Law 2018, the law, according
to the Lagos State Government, “aims at providing for the preservation
and promotion of the use of Yoruba language and for connected purposes”.</p>
<p>The law which is the first to be enacted by any state government in
Nigeria for preservation and promotion of indigenous languages, provides
that all the laws in Lagos State will be translated into Yoruba
Language while all state-owned tertiary institutions should incorporate
the use of Yoruba Language in the General Studies (GNS) courses.</p>
<p>The Law also provides that: “The use of Yoruba Language shall be an
acceptable means of communication between individuals, establishments,
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. Those who may be willing to contravene
the law, the provision of Section 2 of the law states that any
institution found guilty of flouting it commits an offence and is liable
on first violation to issuance of warning and on subsequent violation,
be closed down and also pay a fine of N500,000.00”.</p><div class="gmail-code-block gmail-code-block-1 gmail-ai-viewport-1 gmail-ai-viewport-2" style="margin:8px auto;text-align:center;clear:both">
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<p>There is a provision that clearly makes it mandatory for all
candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions owned by Lagos
State Government to secure Credit Pass in Yoruba at SSCE. This,
therefore, implies that as soon as the law becomes operational, those
seeking admission into Lagos tertiary institutions must obtain Credit
Pass in Yoruba.</p>
<p>We commend the Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration for enacting the
law which is not only the first of its kind in the country, but would
also ensure growth and development of indigenous language and culture
thereby preventing Yoruba language from going into extinction in Lagos.
We recall that a couple of years ago, the then Lagos House of Assembly
passed a law to make it mandatory that on a designated day every week,
deliberations on the floor of the House are conducted in Yoruba. There
is no doubt that the Yoruba Language Preservation and Promotion Law 2018
is another bold collaborative step by the Executive and the Legislature
in Lagos to give Yoruba Language its much-deserved pride of place.</p>
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<p>It is significant that the Lagos Yoruba Preservation Law was born at
the auspicious moment the world was commemorating this year’s
International Mother Tongue Language Day which UNESCO has been
organising since 1999 to ensure survival of indigenous languages.</p>
<p>As good as the Lagos law is, we are not surprised that it has
attracted mixed reactions from stakeholders in the education sector. For
instance, Director of Press and Public Relations, National Universities
Commission (NUC), Mallam Ibrahim Yakassai, reportedly said although
education is on concurrent list, since admission into tertiary
institutions is central, Lagos State Government has no power to enact
law that is against admissions policy of Federal Government. However,
President of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Professor
Biodun Ogunyemi, reportedly claimed that the Lagos law not only aims at
protecting indigenous language but is also supported by the National
Policy on Education and the constitutional provision that puts education
on concurrent list.</p>
<p>It is noteworthy that in spite of the mixed reactions from
stakeholders, they seem to agree on the need for Lagos State government
to let Yoruba be a general study course for all students in its tertiary
institutions rather than make Credit Pass in it a compulsory
prerequisite for admission into its tertiary institutions.</p>
<p>While we commend government for introducing the law and call on other
states to emulate Lagos, we, however, like the law to be modified in
such a way as to allay possible fears of non-speakers of Yoruba seeking
admission into Lagos tertiary institutions. Such modification is
expected to engender mutual understanding between government and
relevant stakeholders to avert judicial litigations. Rather than make
Credit Pass in Yoruba at SSCE compulsory requirement for admission which
could be perceived as discriminatory in certain quarters, government
should make Yoruba Language one of the General Studies courses that must
be passed by all students after gaining admission.</p>
<p>Consequently, any modification to ensure the law is not
discriminatory but still helps Lagos State Government achieve its
objective of preserving and promoting Yoruba Language, is desirable.</p></div>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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