Bye Bye English: Lagos Assembly May Adopt Yoruba as Official Language

[Matthias Offodile]

Lagos Assembly May Adopt Yoruba as Official Language

By Deji Elumoye, 11.28.2007


Lagos State House of Assembly yesterday said it is considering the use of Yoruba language as its working language on the floor of the Assembly.
This is in response to a letter to this effect, written by one Mrs Ohiri Anuche, who described herself as a concerned citizen.
In the letter read on the floor of the Assembly, the woman said it was not in the interest of the grassroots for proceedings in the Assembly to be held in English Language, considering the fact that many of them do not understand the language. She cited the examples of Anambra, Ogun and Ekiti states, where local languages are used.
Debating the matter, Honourable Sanai Agunbiade, Ikorodu 1, said writer of the letter was simply drawing attention “to a constitutional provision, which says "state Assemblies could transact their businesses in English Language or other languages spoken by the people."
In his contribution, Mr Oshun Olanrewaju, Lagos Mainland II, argued that it was necessary to conduct the business in Yoruba Language at least once a week, to carry the people at the grassroots along.
“My mother for example, may want to hear her son or follow proceedings of those who represent her, but since she does not understand English, she would be robbed of this privilege,” he said.
Mr Oshinowo Adebayo, Kosofe 1, said this will force children to understand their mother tongue, because many of them do not speak or understand Yoruba.

However, the Majority Leader, Kolawole Taiwo, Ajeromi-Ifelodun 1, differ because, according to him, he represents a section of the state where majority do not speak Yoruba.“I represent Ajegunle, which is dotted with people of various ethnic groups, and I am obliged to use the English Language, so that I can communicate with them and vice-versa,” he said.The Speaker, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, suggested that the matter be put in proper motion for consideration, but added that anybody who had lived in a place for up to 10 years should be able to speak and understand the language of that place.

[Lydon]

Though local languages are nice and everything, I don't think that changing from English is a good idea. English is a global language and being able to communicate in it is a huge advantage for a person. Over time this could have a negative effect. Who knows.

[Rdokoye]

Owww...I'm really liking this development, an inkling of nationalism starting to take seed.

[Alex Roney]

Doesn't seem very smart, all it will do is alienate those ethnic groups do not speak Yoruba or poorly. English is the global language, thats partly reflects why I'm typing this post in English. Just another pointless nationalistic driven law, like most of its kind doesn't really do any good.

Nationalism tends to work on the poor and ignorante.

[Kingofthehill]

Seems kind of unfair to the Hausa-speaking North and Igbo-speaking South amongst other places...

[Nixoderm]

Originally Posted by Kingofthehill

Seems kind of unfair to the Hausa-speaking North and Igbo-speaking South amongst other places...

What, this is the Lagos state Assembely not national assembly.

[sammyjay77]

Originally Posted by LePhillippe

What, this is the Lagos state Assembely not national assembly.

LePhillippe, Please tell them. Lagos is a Yoruba state

[naijalove]

Originally Posted by Alex Roney

Doesn't seem very smart, all it will do is alienate those ethnic groups do not speak Yoruba or poorly. English is the global language, thats partly reflects why I'm typing this post in English. Just another pointless nationalistic driven law, like most of its kind doesn't really do any good.

Nationalism tends to work on the poor and ignorante.

I don't know your point. I have never ranted before, but here is my turn:

French parliament is in French

Is English the global medium of communication? Yes

German parliament is in German

Is English the global medium of communication? Yes

Chinese parliament is in Chinese.

Is English the global medium of communication? Yes

English parliament is in English.

What manner of colonial nonsense is coming from you? What manner of colonial era thinking is this? That we cannot speak our language on our own land. Some of the same people who say this nonsense value and try to even learn "Eastern" or Chinese culture many of which are not any more deep than African philosophy, yet you want us to get rid of our own language and culture? Nonsense. We will use our right to define ourselves like every other cultures on this planet!

[Alex Roney]

Originally Posted by naijalove

I don't know your point. I have never ranted before, but here is my turn:

French parliament is in French

Is English the global medium of communication? Yes

German parliament is in German

Is English the global medium of communication? Yes

Chinese parliament is in Chinese.

Is English the global medium of communication? Yes

English parliament is in English.

What manner of colonial nonsense is coming from you? What manner of colonial era thinking is this? That we cannot speak our language on our own land. Some of the same people who say this nonsense value and try to even learn "Eastern" or Chinese culture many of which are not any more deep than African philosophy, yet you want us to get rid of our own language and culture? Nonsense. We will use our right to define ourselves like every other cultures on this planet!

Those are some poor examples, for one France and Germany have only ONE official language. Every citizen of that country speak french or german fluently. In most african countries the way people from different tribal/ethnic groups communicate is through the colonial language. It has nothing to do with depriving indigenous people of their local culture but isolating minority groups of a way to communicate.

The Chinese example makes even less sense, in a country where 94% of the population is Han Chinese their will obviously be a common language and thats Mandarin.

[naijalove]

Originally Posted by Alex Roney

Those are some poor examples, for one France and Germany have only ONE official language. Every citizen of that country speak french or german fluently. In most african countries the way people from different tribal/ethnic groups communicate is through the colonial language. It has nothing to do with depriving indigenous people of their local culture but isolating minority groups of a way to communicate.

The Chinese example makes even less sense, in a country where 94% of the population is Han Chinese their will obviously be a common language and thats Mandarin.

Where you are in error:

(1) Your point will be valid if 100% of Africans in Nigeria spoke English at a level that makes parliamentary discussions understandable. You know that is far from the case, and African languages are still the languages used to communicate at all levels, which has not inhibited commerce. So what is wrong with the representatives of these people speaking these languages?

(2) Lagos in far from a national parliament howbeit there are other ethnic groups within Lagos.

(3) A multitiude of languages DOES NOT preclude the use of indigenous languages in communication.

(a) Why choose English to achieve commonality? Why not choose another African language? Was English developed in Africa?

(b) The UN holds its assembly DESPITE a multitude of languages. The technology is there to interpret the discussions. We can use it, and still maintain our self-identity.

[Zenith]

Originally Posted by naijalove

I don't know your point. I have never ranted before, but here is my turn:

French parliament is in French

Is English the global medium of communication? Yes

German parliament is in German

Is English the global medium of communication? Yes

Chinese parliament is in Chinese.

Is English the global medium of communication? Yes

English parliament is in English.

What manner of colonial nonsense is coming from you? What manner of colonial era thinking is this? That we cannot speak our language on our own land. Some of the same people who say this nonsense value and try to even learn "Eastern" or Chinese culture many of which are not any more deep than African philosophy, yet you want us to get rid of our own language and culture? Nonsense. We will use our right to define ourselves like every other cultures on this planet!

It's Uk parliament.....or British parliament.

[naijalove]

Originally Posted by zenith

It's Uk parliament.....or British parliament.

Sorry for that.

[pappy]

Originally Posted by naijalove

I don't know your point. I have never ranted before, but here is my turn:

French parliament is in French

Is English the global medium of communication? Yes

German parliament is in German

Is English the global medium of communication? Yes

Chinese parliament is in Chinese.

Is English the global medium of communication? Yes

English parliament is in English.

What manner of colonial nonsense is coming from you? What manner of colonial era thinking is this? That we cannot speak our language on our own land. Some of the same people who say this nonsense value and try to even learn "Eastern" or Chinese culture many of which are not any more deep than African philosophy, yet you want us to get rid of our own language and culture? Nonsense. We will use our right to define ourselves like every other cultures on this planet!

Forget about being sentimental and let me ask you a question, what is the official language of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as it says in the constitution? And while you answer that look up the official language of the countries you've listed.

[Xusein]

Nothing wrong with this, really.

[pappy]

What a stupid development. Just when you read good news about Nigeria there's always that nonsense that takes us a step back.

[Lydon]

It's kind of logical to use a language the majority of people can communicate as the common language...

[pappy]

Originally Posted by Lydon

It's kind of logical to use a language the majority of people can communicate as the common language...

Sounds good on paper but in the long term it's bad, it encourages marginalization and tribalism. English is stated as the official language of the country and for the benefit of everybody why not use english? Nigeria needs to do away with the "indigenous/settler" mentality.

[naijalove]

Originally Posted by pappy

Sounds good on paper but in the long term it's bad, it encourages marginalization and tribalism. English is stated as the official language of the country and for the benefit of everybody why not use english? Nigeria needs to do away with the "indigenous/settler" mentality.

Go to Iran and tell them that they must communicate in English because indigenous settler mentality should be done away with. Tell the president of Iran that he is backwards by choosing to speak in his own language.

[pappy]

Originally Posted by naijalove

Go to Iran and tell them that they must communicate in English because indigenous settler mentality should be done away with. Tell the president of Iran that he is backwards by choosing to speak in his own language.

Don't take what I'm trying to say and make it into something else because I'm all for preserving culture and all but adopting yoruba as official language of Lagos assembly is stupid. I think the system should be in such a way that anybody regardless of ethnic group could run for office in whatever state/city they were born in. If they make Yoruba the official language of the house assembly then it marginalises people of different ethnic groups, what's next? People should have passports to travel to different parts of their own country because they aren't from there?

[Lydon]

Originally Posted by pappy

Don't take what I'm trying to say and make it into something else because I'm all for preserving culture and all but adopting yoruba as official language of Lagos assembly is stupid. I think the system should be in such a way that anybody regardless of ethnic group could run for office in whatever state/city they were born in. If they make Yoruba the official language of the house assembly then it marginalises people of different ethnic groups, what's next? People should have passports to travel to different parts of their own country because they aren't from there?

well said