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By
Wumi Akinbode February 12, 2018

All candidates seeking ission into all tertiary institutions in Lagos State must henceforth possess credit in Yoruba Language, the state Yoruba Language Preservation and Preservation Law has said.

The law, which became effective last Thursday, would now make compulsory for all primary and secondary schools – private or public – in the state to include teaching of Yoruba Language as a core subject at all levels.

The state Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, had formally signed a bill into law “to provide for the preservation and promotion of the use of Yoruba Language and for connected purposes,” thereby making it the first state to enact law seeking to preserve and promote its indigenous language.

He signed the law alongside the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Olawale Oluwo, his Information and Strategy counterpart, Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan and the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Akinyemi Ashade, among others.

He equally signed six other bills into laws: the Amended Land Use Charge bill, School of Nursing bill, Cooperative College bill, Cancer Research Institute bill, Amended Customary Court bill and the State Electric Power Reform Law on the same day.

However, the Yoruba Language Preservation and Promotion law provides that all the laws in the state “will be translated into Yoruba Language. Moreso, all state-owned tertiary institutions are to incorporate the use of Yoruba Language in the General Studies (GNS) courses.

“The use of Yoruba language shall be an acceptable means of communication between individuals, establishment, corporate entities and government in the state if so desired by the concerned. It shall not be an offence for a person to speak Yoruba language by the state government,” the law reads in part.

Specifically, the law stated that any school in Lagos State that “fails to comply with the provisions of Section 2 commits an offence and is liable on first violation to issuance of warning and on subsequent violation be closed down and also pay a fine of N500,000.”

After the governor approved the legislation, Bamigbetan explained the socio-cultural value of the Yoruba Language Preservation and Promotion Law, 2018, which according to him, is the first of its kind in Nigeria.

With the new law, Bamigbetan said Yoruba language “has become mandatory for all candidates seeking ission into our tertiary institutions. Yoruba will now become a major requirement to engage in normal business communication in Lagos State.

“This is a clear and conscious commitment to the position which Lagos State prides Yoruba language as the cultural vehicle for us to be able to articulate our position and it also shows that Lagos has further recognised the importance of language as a vehicle for development.”

He said anyone seeking ission into the Lagos State University, Lagos State Polytechnic, Michael Otedola College of Primary Education, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Lagos State School of Nursing and Lagos State College of Health Technology, among others must have credit in Yoruba language.

https://www.today.ng/news/nigeria/76940/yoruba-mandatory-ission-tertiary-institutions-lagos-state-govt?

Good

Awa omoluabi faramo, a fe be!
Eni to ba wu, Kobe!
Aji se bi Oyo lanri
Oyo ose bi enikan Kan
Waju waju Ni Awa Yoruba yio ma lo.

Ema da awon olori pelebe lohun O, awon ma sanfani eniyan.
Olori pelebe ti O ba wo fun, Ki O pada Si oko baba re O!

A ju wa se O!

Tetiary institutions in Lagos

This is vague. Does the law mean all tetiary institutions in Lagos which includes Yabatech and UNILAG and other private institutions or Lagos state owned ones only?

Can this law be held in federal secondary schools like Kings and Queens college?

Good development

My Governor.... This one is different from senseless yaya bello

h

What a backward and retrogressive law.
If you want to 'preserve the Yoruba language', why not restrict this only to Yoruba people? Why is this not optional?

Vado:

“The use of Yoruba language shall be an acceptable means of communication between individuals, establishment, corporate entities and government in the state if so desired by the concerned. It shall not be an offence for a person to speak Yoruba language by the state government,” the law reads in part.


With the new law, Bamigbetan said Yoruba language “has become mandatory for all candidates seeking ission into our tertiary institutions. Yoruba will now become a major requirement to engage in normal business communication in Lagos State.

“This is a clear and conscious commitment to the position which Lagos State prides Yoruba language as the cultural vehicle for us to be able to articulate our position and it also shows that Lagos has further recognised the importance of language as a vehicle for development.”

This is hostile to others, and disregards the fact that we have a national language in English to eliminate issues such as this. Essentially, this law makes it legal to go to a meeting in the Civil service and have the entire meeting conducted in yoruba language, to the exclusion of any present non-yoruba speaker.

Heck, you can even no use this law to hold lectures in LASU in 100% Yoruba.

Imagine if every tribe copies this and you then need to have a credit in Igbo language to even apply to Imsu


Disgraceful that there are some people here ing this shite.

This is a welcome development. Fela once said " If I'm privilege to address the world I will address them in Yoruba I don't care if they understand or not"

Another nonsense

Other zones should emulate Lagos.

Nice.
Knowing foreign languages pose a great advantage. I will urge my igbo folks to see this as an opportunity to master all dialects of the Yoruba language. The advantages are enormous.

My father's Israeli friend who was once in the special unit in his country said it was mandatory for them to learbythe Arabic language. This gave him an advantage to decimate a lot of ragheads in Afghanistan/Middle East those years.

"Ben Zona!!!" he would curse them ragheads if he sees one!

To me that a thumb up so our culture and heritage does not wipe off, 80 percent of students don't take there language serious in class

So only Yoruba people will now attend Lagos state owned tertiary institutions.

Issokay...!

Very good development. I see our languages get extinct in the next 50 years if drastic measures are not taken.

NONSENSE TRASH TARGETED AT THE IGBOS,IT WON'T WORK I ASSURE U.

Still pondering on how important or relevant this is.

is God that will punish u ppl so other tribes wey no be Yoruba too must have Yoruba too to get ission.

:nka sirike o

much better

writer:
Another nonsense

Bros go and borrow sense.

Have you ever noticed nature protects and preserves the weak.Where are the dinosaurs or prehistoric animals those ones we would have though would still be alive but look at the ants overly oppressed everyday yet flourishing.It may make things more difficult but it is not insurmountable for those who have not excelled even in English.."May their days be rough"

Mynd44:
Tetiary institutions in Lagos

This is vague. Does the law mean all tetiary institutions in Lagos which includes Yabatech and UNILAG and other private institutions or Lagos state owned ones only?

Can this law be held in federal secondary schools like Kings and Queens college?

"He said anyone seeking ission into the Lagos State University, Lagos State Polytechnic, Michael Otedola College of Primary Education, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Lagos State School of Nursing and Lagos State College of Health Technology, among others must have credit in Yoruba language."

I think going by the above quoted, it applies to only state owned institutions. But it obviously going to have a resonant effect on others as well.

smh............ is that how china and japan became world leaders in science and technology?

texazzpete:
What a backward and retrogressive law.

How is it backward? Must you seek ission into state owned universities in Lagos? If you're not satisfied then find another choice.

It's not like LASG give a damn about your opinion.

Another way to say only yorubas will attend universities in yoruba land.gbam!
Dnt knw if its good or bad....it used to be one nigeria before.......

[quote author=modelmike7 post=64995508]Still pondering on how important or relevant this is. [/quote

You can't knw the relevance since u see Urself as a second fiddle to the white men that forced their language on us.]

welcome development as long as no federal institution is included....we are full of copy copy and trying to politicize a policy, soon I see most states following suites.....what will a state like rivers with many tribes do in this case, will they allow multiple teaching of various languages......ogoni, ikwerre, ekpeye, ogba, Kalahari, etc flood schools curriculum...time will tell