I went back home with a big question in my heart after my meeting with a distinguished Nigerian recently; what is my strength?
She opened me up to the world of specific: The world where one has to narrow down to what exactly what one wants to do.
I asked myself why culture? And why language and its development?
It is with an attempt to answer myself that I recount my journey in life…
I
grew up in an environment that was void of English language. My mum
didn’t go to school at all and my dad only stopped at a standard i don't know. I
went to a primary school which had teachers who had little or no
knowledge about their subjects and equally had terrible spoken English. I
grew up in an environment which had over 98% indigenous language
speakers.
At home my mother taught me the only thing her mother
taught her; How to write and put Amin in Yoruba words. She taught me to
the point where I could sing a song in amin. She’s exceptional at
teaching.
At school, vernacular (Yoruba) was prohibited and
attracted fines from anyone caught speaking it. For this reason we never
contributed in class, everything the teacher said was correct either
because we didn’t understand the subject matter or we couldn’t ask
questions because of code mixing which would attract N5 (Five Naira).
I
went on to Secondary school with this poor background in English
language even though I was better than some of my mates. I was better
because I had a rare opportunity to make friend with an elderly person
who was a newscaster at OSRC (Ondo State Radiovision Corporation). I
would go to Mr Remi Ogunsakin’s office to learn how to read newspapers
and foreign magazines. It was refreshing. I would write articles in
English about Isreali’s prime minister, Aeren Sharon, Mobutu Seseseko,
military regime, Gani Fawehimi etc. This exercise developed my writing
skills but my spoken English was more of an atomic bomb than a
conversation but I was far better.
As a border at Christ school,
Ado Ekiti, I couldn’t speak English just like some of my other
classmates with the exception of those who came from Lagos. I struggled
with my spoken English all through my days at school. Although it was
not a big deal because I hardly needed it as a means of communication in
my secondary school days. In my JSS3 exams, many of us failed
mathematic and English but due to my writing ability I wasn’t part of
the English but I failed maths. A re-sit examination was organized
throughout the state; I was summoned home and got a teacher to teach me
mathematics. I was so lucky, I was taught in my language and despite the
fact that I was sick on the day of the exams, I had the second best
result. I thought about what to use to compensate my teacher, I added
his name; Maxwell to my names till this day.
My story is a long
one but since am writing about my marriage to culture, I will streamline
my focus to the events that led to this marriage.
I had just
finished WAEC when my uncle/mentor/role model brought me to Lagos. I was still learning
how to speak good English when I landed in Covenant University. An
extremely ‘Pako’ boy in an extremely posh community, I was in the same
class with those born speaking English. To make matters worse, I had the
courage to mount the stage to present comedy in my first semester, it
was a total flop, I was booed off stage and was told never to come up
again. I nearly ran away from school. This particular event shaped my
life.
I wanted to be different. I wanted something new. Am I an
illiterate because I couldn’t speak English? I cried as people ridiculed
me for close to a month. I told myself, Lekan, you will be celebrated
before you leave this school. In an attempt to make people forget the
event, I (ignorantly) adopted Maxwell fully as my first name so as to
sound like an English pidkin.
As destiny would have it, I joined
a CU theatre group and was privileged to be given a minor role which
gave me opportunity to speak Yoruba in an international conference
cultural night. After the drama, the university chaplain called me to a
meeting and told me I would be given 5minutes every Sunday to do what I
did in the drama; chant the names of God in Yoruba.
In my 200
level at the university, I was able to write a code for Yoruba keyboard
using QBASIC programming language which was thought to be impossible.
Also, in my final year project, I was able to develop a website/software
that is able to translate 5000 Yoruba proverbs to English and
vise-versa which became one of the best in my department and was
exhibited during the 2008 convocation. I was actively involved in the CU
drama groups in which I grew to become one the leaders. I was part of
the committee that organized the 50th birthday of Pastor (Mrs.) Faith
Oyedepo which had the Vice chancellor of CU, Registrar, Principal of
Faith Academy and the Pastors from Winners Chapel as part of the
committee. I was a pioneer member of CampusLife committee; a committee
that oversees all social activities at CU. I was the pioneer leader of
Hail The King group; a CU cultural troupe. I was also a presenter at CU
gatherings.
Before I left, I was indeed celebrated and still I am.
Why all these stories?
Many
people are just like me with solutions and ideas that can transform the
world. I am one out of millions in Africa villages who will be a better
person to the world and themselves if they have the privilege to speak
their minds in a language they understand best. Luring English over
someone with an indigenous knowledge is like building a 10-storey on a
foundation that was laid for bungalow. My believe is that everyone is a
genius but oftentimes, environment and background determine whether the
genius instinct surfaces. If Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were exposed to
English and were then given Yoruba books to read, I doubt if we’ll have
Microsoft and Apple today. The ability to proffer solution is rooted in
proper understanding of the subject matter. If the foundation is
destroyed, what can the righteous do?
THE National Examinations
Council (NECO), on Wednesday, released the 2011 November/December Senior
School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) results with another mass
failure in almost all the subjects, except Mathematics and Arabic
Studies which recorded minimal improvement over last year’s results.
Out of 110,590 candidates who registered for Mathematics, 45,547 passed
at credit level, representing 41.19 per cent while 282 passed Arabic
Studies at credit level out of a total of 639 candidates that registered
for the subject, representing 44.13 per cent.
English Language
recorded abysmal failure. 110,724 registered for the subject, 104,187
sat for the examination while 10,457 passed at credit level,
representing a paltry 9.44 per cent. Candidates did not fare better in
other core subjects, especially the sciences. Biology recorded 7.57 per
cent at credit level, Chemistry, 5.32 per cent, Physics, 0.05 per cent,
Further Mathematics, 1.05 per cent, Agricultural Sciences, 4.93 per
cent.
I am totally convinced that language is one of the biggest
problem of mass failure. If a student fails English, how will he pass
Physics that is being taught in English?
Having read and
researched about culture and its development (particularly our
languages) for over five years now, I have come to the conclusion that
people have no idea of the abyss we are staring into or the nature of
the world we are leaving for our children to endure and most people
don’t seem to care. They would much rather ignore the obvious and go
into denial of a truth that’s splatting them between the eyes. “Tèmi ò
ṣòro”, tí kì í jẹ kọ́mọ alágbẹ̀dẹ ní idà (“Mine is not urgent.” which
prevents the son of the blacksmith from owning a sword) because Africans
would rather develop others and his own undeveloped. But if Africans
lifted its eyes from the latest soap opera (say…second chance) or game
show for long enough to engage its brain, it would see that African
languages extinction are not just going to happen - they are happening.
The momentum for the centralized control of a global language is
gathering pace by the hour.
It is believed that most Africans
would rather do what he thinks is right for himself in the moment than
consider the wider consequences of its behaviour for human existence.
Imagine parents discouraging their children not to speak in their mother
tongue. The question is which language is our father tongue? Wọ́n ní,
“Afọ́jú, o ò tanná alẹ́.” Ó ní àtọ̀sán àtòru, èwo lòún rí níbẹ?
People said, “Blind man, you did not light a lamp.” He asked, night or
day, which one would his eyes register? How can an average African youth
develop something new when he is being eroded of his God giving
language of reasoning and he cannot fully comprehend his adopted
language? Ignorance is bliss, we say, and that’s true - but only for a
while.
My vision therefore is to revive our indigenous languages,
make them fashionable and appealing to the point where it can become
language of education and effective communication.
My vision is to
continuously develop Contents that will speak to the minds of youths in
the language they understand best thereby make them reason to come up
with innovative ideas.
I was so consumed with this taught that I
wanted to do all at the same time, thanks goodness I met this great
Nigerian. I have now learnt how to begin at the point I am, my strength;
Yoruba language.
I want to go into the business of culture. I am
in the business of culture. African Culture development is my passion,
my vision and will be my contribution to this generation.
So help me Elédùmarè! Amin!
Olálékan.
