Duke, Fayemi, Mimiko Make Case for Indigenous Languages

 

09 Aug 2013       

Minister of Culture and Tourism, Dr. Edem Duke 

• Advocate use of Yoruba language in homes, schools

By James Sowole and Toba Suleiman

The Minister of Culture and Tourism, Dr. Edem Duke, Thursday challenged parents to encourage their children to speak indigenous languages, which  he said were likely to go into extinction if the current trend continued.

The minister gave the charge in Akure, the Ondo State capital, at the opening of the International Conference on the late author of Yoruba literature, Daniel Olufemi Fagunwa.

Duke’s call, which was corroborated by the Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, noted that various studies had shown that students were becoming indifferent about indigenous languages.

Similarly, the Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, directed that Fagunwa’s books should be a text in secondary schools in the state.

The conference was organised by the state Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in collaboration with Fagunwa Foundation, in commemoration of the 50 memorial of the renowned author of Yoruba literature.

But, Duke, who was represented by the Director General of the National Institute of Cultural Orientation (NICO), Dr. Barclays Anyakoroma, said parents, apart from encouraging their children to study their own indigenous language, should also be allowed to study languages of other tribes for effective interaction.

The minister, who said NICO had been organising yearly programme on indigenous languages during long holidays, revealed that the 2013 edition of the programme would take place on August 12 in Akure.

Commending the virtues of the late author, Duke charged Nigerian authors to redirects their works towards the celebration of virtues.

In his remarks, Fayemi advocated the introduction of Yoruba language as a means of education and communication in schools across the South-western part of the country.

According to the governor, various experiments have shown that students who study in their mother tongue are better equipped than those taught in a second language.

“We must admit that everyday Fagunwa's looming image continues to challenge us as a people. His works continue to remind us that our language is complete and that the Yoruba language must not be left to rot away,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mimiko, while speaking at the occasion, said he did not understand the message of the Fagunwa’s ‘Ogoju Ode ninu Igbo Irunmale” until he read the translation of the book done by Professor Wole Soyinka: “The Forest of a Thousand Demons.”

Alluding to Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka’s key note address on the distinction between heroic and heroism, Mimiko said Nigerians should pay attention to messages in literature, stressing that the distinction should be done in Nigerian politics.

He challenged Soyinka and others to define, who was a progressive and conservative in Nigeria politics, adding that some capitalist had been using the principle to deceive people.

The governor noted that there should be a distinction between propaganda and reality, nothing that Nigeria was at crossroads.

 

Source: Thisdaylive

 

Link:http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/duke-fayemi-mimiko-make-case-for-indigenous-languages/155858/?utm_medium=twitter