Our mother tongue in distress FEMI ADEOTI COLUMN

We don’t want to end up as a people with lost identity. That is if we have discerning hearts. And conscious enough of the happenings around us. Our medium of expression is seriously under threat. Its distress is growing by the second.

It is not yesterday or today. We have watched things going down the drain for some time past now. In some ridiculous cases, we even supervise the ruin. We lead our language to the abattoir. We naively label our mother tongue, vernacular. We detest what’s our own.

You will weep! These damning, damaging samplers are scary. They will send cold shivers down your spine. They will weaken you and break your bones. Outright, you will be scandalised.

You can’t stand it. You can’t resist it. You would be thrown off balance. It’s frightening; the excruciating pain our beloved mother tongues suffer. They are being offered as sacrifice. To strange gods in strange lands. Appalling and disgusting.

The damages are huge, unbearable. Soon, very soon. They will become unredeemable. We are on the fast lane. Moving to their being irretrievable and incurable.

The harm being inflicted is better imagined; overwhelming with bewilderment. Yoruba mother tongue is one of the hardest hit. Its beautiful names are being deliberately adulterated and europeanised.

Exemplars: Hoyhinkhansorlar for Oyínkánsọ́lá, Horluwabusayor for Olúwabùsáyọ̀ and Harnifowoshey for Anífowóṣe, etc. How did we arrive here?

The old University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), saw this long before now. In its wisdom, it blazed the trail far back in January 1970. It strived to halt the speedy movement to oblivion. OAU never regretted it. It blew out to be a huge success. Ifẹ̀ Six-Year Primary Project (ISYPP), it was! Jointly funded by the Ford Foundation.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo did it as Premier, old Western Region. With uncanny guts, he launched free, compulsory primary education on January 15, 1955. Fifteen unbroken years before the Ife project.

The two audacious projects focussed on education. And the old Western Region remained the incontestable epicentre. The ultimate Pace Setter. On the two occasions, others bluntly refused to align. What an eerie ego!

ISYPP was an experiment that some Thomases doubted to the fullest. It was weird and eccentric to them. They thought the kite was too bizarre to fly. So? They would not touch it even with the longest pole ever. They stayed off it.

The university was unperturbed. Prof. Babs Aliu Fafunwa was the undisputable arrowhead. He later became Minister of Education, 1990 to 1992. They called it, Education in Mother Tongue: The Ifẹ̀ Primary Education Research Project.

It encouraged “the pupils to use their own mother tongue to obtain maximum self-reliance and development as individuals.” The experiment restricted itself to Science, Mathematics, Social and Cultural Studies, Yorùbá language arts, English as a second language.

Resistance was expected. Some parents were apprehensive. They dreaded their children being part of the experiment. Two of the parents actually opted out. They wouldn’t want their children in the experimental class where Yorùbá would be the medium of instruction for six years.

Promptly, they moved their children to another school. Their fear was baseless, erroneous: “That no Nigerian language was rich and flexible enough to express scientific concepts and ideas. Mathematical concepts also, it was believed, could not be expressed in any Nigerian language.”

They regarded the intention to teach mathematics in Yoruba as a wild goose chase. But they goofed. The stirring results of the project graphically testified to this:

“A good number of them (pupils) showed consistent good performance from class to class in their various secondary schools. Pupils demonstrated superior ability in most of the school subjects they were examined on.

“And when contrasted with their classmates in subjects like Yorùbá, English Language and Mathematics, the project products were found to be at an advantage academically.”

This is even more heartening: “Evidence has it that those of them who had turned to technical pursuit, have proved more resourceful than their counterparts from other schools whom they met on the technical plane.

“They demonstrated greater manipulative ability, manual dexterity and mechanical comprehension all of which they had acquired at the primary school level through mother-tongue as the medium of instruction.”

Fafunwa & Co concluded: “There is convincing evidence that teaching at the primary level via the mother tongue is a rewarding activity with lasting salutary effect. The Ifẹ̀ experiment brought to the fore the significance of the co-operation between the school and the home.”

The reason Oladele Awobuluyi, retired Professor of Linguistics, is restless. He’s former Acting Vice Chancellor, Adekunle Ajasin University, (AAU), Akungba, Ondo State. He couldn’t understand the thought process of Swaiba Ahmad, Minister of State for Education.

The minister strenuously seeks the immediate reversal of mother tongue policy in primary schools. And he wants the National Council on Education (NCE), to act on it now. Pa Awobuluyi is sad. And he refuses to hide it:

“It is completely delusional to think that the mere teaching of English will overcome any of the problems holding the country back right now. It will definitely not do so!” It never did. And it won’t.

He insists: “The rules that govern language use elsewhere in the world should also govern it here in Nigeria. Large groups of people that each has a common language should use their common languages for all their individual needs including education within their own communities.

“Those among them wishing or having the need to live outside their native communities for whatever reasons should strictly observe the proverbial injunction of doing what Romans do when in Rome.

“That means that they and their children should learn the languages of their various host communities out of practical need, just as they would learn Japanese out of practical need if they were to relocate to Tokyo.”

Pa Awobuluyi closes his case: “English should be used out of need in Nigeria, as should be the case and not because of the false and uninformed belief that we have no indigenous languages of our own that could ever function as medium of instruction in our educational institutions.”

Kolá Owólabí is a distinguished Professor of Linguistics. He retired from the University of Ibadan. He chairs and runs the Centre for Yorùbá Language Engineering (CEYOLENG), Ibadan, Oyo State. His fears are larger than expected.

He’s not resting on his oars. He uses CEYLENG to confront the challenges.  CEYLENG is not alone. It has 22 other groups teaming up with it. Together, they wrote Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, chairman, South West Governors’ Forum (SWGF). Copies of the correspondence were sent to all other governors in the region.

Their concerns: “Literate speakers of the language (Yoruba) are increasingly reluctant to use it and it is only employed in a limited range of activities, further diminishing its prevalence in daily communication.” Worst still. Parents are unwilling “to teach their children the language.” Saddening!

CEYOLENG was disturbed, but not discouraged. It took several other steps further. And they were highly rewarding. Its recent survey was quite revelling.  Less than 1,000 students enrolled in Yoruba Language in 32 colleges of education and 11 universities. With a 50million Yoruba-speaking population in Nigeria! Disheartening, isn’t it?

The groups cry out: “That such a large population has so few students pursuing the study of their native language is a worrying sign of the lack of interest among youths in learning Yorùbá at the tertiary level.

“Ironically, while the interest in Yorùbá language study is declining within Nigeria, it is gaining traction abroad. Many foreign universities including US, Brazil and Cuba are offering courses in Yorùbá.

“They come to us on exchange programmes even from South Africa sponsored by their governments. Why can’t our governments in South West do the same to our language?” Every sane Yoruba would ponder aloud.

The group urged “South West governors to seriously consider establishing in their states a Yorùbá Language Board (YOLAB) to serve as the hub of Yorùbá language revitalisation and development.”

The board will augment “Yorùbá vocabulary via the creation of new Yorùbá technical terms for English terms, which is a sine qua non for knowledge acquisition and transfer in the Yorùbá language medium. This will give credibility to the various attempts being made to confront the challenges of Yorùbá language engineering, revitalisation and application in the modern age.”

The governors had met several times ever since. It’s not thoughtful of them. They never for once made mention of the letter. They opted to keep mute and mum, individually and collectively.

Their houses of assembly are towing that ungodly path too. Only Osun State Assembly promised a response. Even at that. It has not walked its talk. True, talk is excessively cheap.

Both the Executive and the Legislature are not seeing anything deserving urgent attention in this serious matter. They fail to perceive mother tongue correctly. It is all about our identity, our existence as a people. If we miss it out now, it may last forever.

They ought to act decisively. Precious time is ticking, wasting away. Niger State Governor Mohammed Bago saw the urgency in this. He speaks for the North: “I urge my colleagues to review the education curriculum and adopt Hausa as the language of teaching in the region.

“This will go a long way to inspire enrolment and facilitate understanding among pupils and students. The northern governors should consider adopting it to reduce the rate of out-of-school children (OOSC).”

Let’s even scout for knowledge in other lands. Who knows, we may be better for it. Sure, it won’t end in futility. Useful lessons may spring up from the unknown. Let’s be honest and deliberate in our search. Our picks are on two Asian Tiger countries. Let’s focus our gaze on them.

The Taiwanese example is particularly intriguing. Taiwan’s official language of instruction in primary and secondary schools is Mandarin Chinese. English is also a compulsory subject taught from a relatively early grade.

In Malaysia, national schools use Bahasa as the medium of instruction. Vernacular schools may use Mandarin Chinese or Tamil. It rests squarely on the school type. English is a crucial part of the curriculum in Malaysia. It is often used for certain subjects.

Back and forth. The Ife project is the way to go. It will lead us out of the woods. It would safe us from the embarrassment confronting us.

Let’s lift up our mother tongue. It’s in deep distress. It must not be made a once-upon-a-time mother tongue.

 

Jonathan bears his fangs at last

They did molest him. They mocked him. He was heavily vilified. Thoroughly messed up by every Dick and Harry.

He was named names. Many of them unprintable. And “unpresidential.” Samplers: Clueless, incognizant, uninformed, insensible, ignorant, insensitive, oblivious. And their cousins, uncles, etc.

He was turned to a refuse dump of sorts. And former President Goodluck Jonathan took all these in his stride. He endured like no any other. He hardly abused them. He rarely shot back at them.

His time has come. It’s now. They never imagined he could be so daring. They won’t believe he could take the fight to the lion’s den. That’s uncanny bravery and gut.

Rivers State offered that “one-chance” opportunity. The new spirit in him would not miss it. He displayed the hidden, hard stuff he’s made of. He came out of his shell. He confronted Tinubu frontally.

He bared his fangs without fear or favour. They were dazzle. They couldn’t believe he had such poisonous fangs. They took Jonathan granted totally. They did not know he could “sting like a bee” too. Just like the legendary boxer, Mohammed Ali. He proved that firmly.

Alas! Jonathan finally found his breath Saturday, March 22, 2025. And he breathed heavily on President Bola Tinubu without mentioning his name. Not even remotely. Yet he reined in on him succinctly.

He never spoke with so much precision like that in recent times. I initially found it hard to accept it was Jonathan speaking. When I was convinced, I honoured him with a lone standing ovation. He deserved far more than that.

They had long written him off completely. But he came alive that Saturday at the annual colloquium by the Haske Satumari Foundation in Abuja. His presentation was a masterpiece.

Jonathan was loud enough. Courtesy, Newscoven: “As a former President and from the Niger Delta Region, when the issue of the suspension of the governor of Rivers State came up, people called me to speak out

“I think people called on me and former President Olusegun Obasanjo to say something. People wanted us to say something about what was happening.”

He confessed. He had restrained himself from doing what he did beautifully well last weekend:

“But people don’t know that all over the world, traditionally, former presidents and leaders hardly make public statements on sitting presidents. This is to avoid tensions, which the statements of the former leaders could generate within the system.

“In most cases, it is the practice among former presidents to refrain from publicly commenting on the activities of sitting presidents.”

However, the patriotism in him jettisoned that. He practically couldn’t hold back. He had restrained himself. And he had reached the limit.

He just must speak his honest, innocent mind. No matter how naive. He did speak to our situation. And the power that holds us in the jugular. So? He roared like a lion, not minding the one in Bourdillon Street, Ikoyi, Lagos:

“However, what is happening in Nigeria today regarding the situation in Rivers State can be likened to an Indian proverb that says ‘if somebody is sleeping, really sleeping, you can easily wake up that person. But if that person is pretending to be sleeping, you will find it difficult to wake up the person’.

“The key actors in Nigeria, from the Executive, Legislature, Judiciary to others, for me, are pretending to be sleeping. The Judiciary knows the best thing to do but unfortunately, it is refusing to do it.

“They are pretending to be sleeping and, like I pointed out earlier, waking up such an entity or persons will be extremely difficult. This is because the persons know the right thing but will not do it.

“There are clear cases of abuse of power cutting across the three arms of government, from the Executive, Legislature, to the Judiciary in the country.

“But I always try to let our people understand that whatever we do in life tend to affect everybody. But sometimes, we do things thinking that they don’t affect us.

“Some people have not bothered to find out why our country’s International Passport is not valued that much outside.”

Jonathan asked into the whirlwinds: “Why is it that Nigerians are not given the kind of treatment befitting our status as a great country at international airports?” He was quick to oblige us a resounding response:

“Unfortunately, many of us think that the shabby treatment we receive outside is because of the activities of fraudsters, yahoo-yahoo boys, 419 operators and drug dealers.

“Unknown to many of us, the actions, decisions and the general conducts of those in government –the three arms of government –affect the image of Nigeria and its citizens all over the world.” The frightening implications:

“Genuine and serious business operators and investors will find it extremely difficult to bring their capitals to countries where the judiciary arm of government is widely seen as compromised.

“No investor can bring his/her money to put in a country where the judiciary is compromised; officials of the executive arm are perceived to be influencing judgments from the judiciary.

“Anybody that brings his capital to such an environment will be taking a very big risk. The truth remains that whatever we do in the system will always have a way of either positively impacting us as a country and/or ruining us.

“If we are desirous of building a prosperous, just and peaceful country where every segment will be happy, then we have to do the right thing. If truly we want to build a nation that future generations will be proud of.”

Vintage Jonathan! This emergency is not alien to him. He did it before. But it was with human face, feeling and kindness. It was not targeted at any perceived enemy. It was meant to address Boko Haram squarely.

He never intended to use it to cling to power by all means. His was deliberately nationalistic. And it was clearly seen as that. No ulterior motive; no abuse of power; no grandstanding!

At the height of the Boko Haram insurgency in North-East. Jonathan slammed a state of emergency on Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states. That was in 2014. But all the governors, lawmakers and elected officials of the affected states remained intact in office. See the striking differences with Tinubu’s Rivers emergency?

The likes of Tinubu did not agree. They cried foul. They yelled to high heavens. They shredded Jonathan and took him to the cleaners. The same characters didn’t want any of that for their Rivers emergency. Hypocrites, dissemblers, deceivers all!

Thank heavens. They failed woefully to convince us otherwise. It did not start yesterday. Neither did it start today. We have had crises over impeachment and obnoxious actions and inactions of government several times over. That is given and normal.

It happened live in Ibadan, Oyo State, on January 12, 2006. There were shootings and killings. Those were the hours former Governor Rashidi Ladoja was illegally impeached by the federal might.

In fact, it was a well known political thug who sat on the Speaker’s seat. Prompto! He raised the gavel and pronounced Ladoja impeached! The Speaker, Adeola Adeleke, refused to do the bidding. He was chased out, shot at. Ask him, he’s still very much around. Kicking, hale and hearty. He’s extremely lucky to be alive to tell his tragic story.

No state of emergency was contemplated then. Ladoja insisted and is still insisting it was Federal Government-sponsored. That has not been denied as at press time yesterday.

When the Niger Delta was fiercely burning. And the region was by the throats of militants. They grounded all activities. Oil pipelines were the prime targets. State of emergency was never on the card. Neither was it on the table. Amnesty did the magic.

That’s one reasonable reason the Rivers State emergency is ugly shenanigans. That’s what they meant to be. And that’s what it is. Killing a fly with huge axe.

It couldn’t have been anything far from it. At all!