MY LIFE... THE JOURNEY PART 1

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. 

Omodé gbón, àgbà gbón la fi da Ile-Ife

Some of us that still understand African proverbs never really understand where those proverbs emanated from. Due to late orthography of indigenous languages in Africa especially Yoruba which started in 1864, it made documentation of our past histories and words of our fore-fathers hard to get. Thank God for "àtowó dówó". Today, I am pleased to tell you that I shall be telling you what led to "Any" or "Every" African proverbs and constructive sayings of our forefathers.

To start with, many of us have heard about this proverb: Omodé gbón, àgbà gbón la fi da Ile-Ife... But do you know how it came about?

Let me tell you...

Its believed that Ife is the Spiritual home of the Yorubas while Oyo is the political head. In those days, the Yorubas took time before they engaged each other in war. Before the war, Town A must send a message(àrokò) to Town B which Town B must answer correctly, else, there would be war. So, in this year, during the reins of Oranmiyan in Oyo and Àdìmu in Ile-Ife, Oranmiyan sent an He-Goat to the palace in Ife with the message that Ile-Ife MUST return the baby from the He-Goat within a year.

The palace was thrown into disarray because there was no way an HE-Goat would give birth except its impregnates a She-Goat. This continued until a small boy in the palace intervened. It was the answer from this young boy that saved Ile-Ife from war that year because Oyo would have defeated them with the help of Oranmiyan who was a king in Ile-Ife before he went to establish and settled in Oyo after his self banishment from Ile-Ife when they ignorantly crowned Àdìmú as king due to his long years of absence from the throne. So it would have been a total destruction of Ile-Ife, thank God for the wisdom of a small boy.

The boy said, "Return the He-Goat back to Oyo after the expiration of the year and tell the king that's the child"

That they did and the war was averted... Omodé gbón, àgbà gbón, la fi da Ile-Ife.

Olalekan.
@maxiculture
lekanddream@yahoo.com