If you were inside that hall, and you are Yoruba, which of course you would be if you were in the hall to begin with, your head probably swelled up to ten times its normal size. The love fest between the two titans of Yoruba cultural and historical past and present was something to behold.
The Lagos State Legislature, whose entire presence was recorded, and the governor must be commended for pulling off this wonderful meeting of Yoruba minds, from all segments of life, including politics, government, academia, entertainment, etc. to resurrect the culture and norms of Yoruba people which honestly had been moribund for a while. The idea of the day was to impress on all institutions of learning in Lagos State, either private or public, that it is now compulsory to make Yoruba language a subject of learning in the State – translation, mine. Of course, nothing said inside that hall was said in any language other than Yoruba. The real theme therefore was ‘Mímú Èdè Yorùbá Ní Kànpá Ní Àwọn Iléèwé Ìjọba Àti Aládàáni Ní Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó.’
The much honored Professor Akinwunmi Isola, the chief lecturer for the occasion did very effective justice to the subject matter by tracing the agitation for the teaching of our language in our own schools to our own students - something that should be a no-brainer like the Americans would say - and the use of Yoruba in all areas of learning, to researchers and educators like Prof. Babs Fafunwa, Prof. Awobuluyi, etc.
The tertiary institution carrying the responsibility of making things happen was Lagos State University, with the indefatigable Professor Harrison Adeniyi as the day’s organizing guru.
A few academicians working in areas of Yoruba Language propagation, including a professor from Benin Republic, had a few moments to air their views, and to buttress the points made by others. I used my few minutes to call for the inclusion of other Yoruba States, including my own, Ondo, and Ekiti State in this kind of Yoruba national awareness. I also stressed the need of using Yoruba as a tool in propagating knowledge in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
It must be stressed, as a warning that this kind of gathering which I had the opportunity of attending had come around a few times before. In those instances, there was no follow-up after the initial enthusiasm. It is in this area of implementation that the tire meets the road. This is where the task devolves almost entirely to academicians and the continuous support of government. My belief is that with a state like Lagos State, including the Oba of Lagos and all its other kings; its governor and all the members of the legislative assembly staking its reputation on the success of this idea, it cannot possibly fail.
Lagos has resolved to be a bastion of Yoruba nationhood in this area. And as they say in Lagos, ‘Èkó ò ní bàjẹ́.’
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