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Ooni calls for promotion of Yoruba language, culture

Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, has called for the promotion of Yoruba language and culture, which he said must not be allowed to go into extinction. Ooni made the call at the public presentation of a book on the life and times of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Ooni, who was represented at the event by the Alara Odaaye of Araland Ife, Osun State, said: “Most of our people, when they go outside the shores of our country, choose to speak English language above Yoruba language.

“It is a misnomer, whenever I travel to the northern part of the country, I speak Yoruba and when they notify me that they don’t understand I ask them to get an interpreter. “I deliberately won’t speak English language as they would have preferred, we ought to promote our own language because in other climes they use their mother tongues to teach their wards.

“Yoruba language is easy to translate and good for transmission of knowledge to the children.’’ Also supporting the Ooni’s position, His Roy-al Highness, Oba Oladipo Olaitan, the Alaago of Kajola Alaago, Osun State and Deputy Leader of Pan – Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, maintained that Yoruba language must be preserved at all cost.

“I am particularly impressed with Yoruba language that is being purposefully energised here, we are losing it a typical Yoruba man cannot speak English, what is the purpose,” he said. The author of the book, titled; ‘Awolowo Akikanju Asiwaju (AAA)’, Mr. Lagada- Abayomi Olanrewaju, revealed what spurred him to write the book, citing instances of many collections of prose works written by authors in other parts of the world, to celebrate unique personalities who have paid their dues. “I feel the dearth of information about the great feats of our heroes in this part of the world and the void it is causing in our children’s social development, this drove me to write this book so as to engrave the memories of our forebear, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo in gold for yet to come generation,” Lagada said.

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