Prof. Wole Soyinka
Senior Citizens series:
By Ayodeji Tuase
The words and deeds of our Elders/Senior Citizens are turning out to be productive, inspiring and sustaining in this dizzying Gen-Z age(the first fully digital-native generation). The key message is that Elders remain deeply respected as keepers of oral history, traditions, and cultural heritage. This particular piece is the first in the Senior Citizens series highlighting the role of Senior Citizens as cultural icons and pillars of community stability in Nigeria. With social media deeply entrenched in our daily lives, it is gladdening to note that this homographic group has refused to be relegated to the background, opting to give our indigenous knowledge (language, culture and tradition ) a boost and add a global value. By serving confidently as a solid bridge between tradition and modernity, many senior citizens have become symbols of cultural pride and ensure that the youths are not disconnected from their roots.
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka who proudly blends tradition with modernity through cultural scholarship emphasizes at every opportunity that the quest for success in this modern age does not mean that people should abandon their roots in any guise or form. “ You don’t have to abandon your roots to succeed’, he says.
Soyinka while harping on the dynamism of Yoruba language, admits that his writings are mostly influenced by a deep knowledge of Yoruba mythology, proverbs and the metaphorical language of talking drums, urges parents of Yoruba stock to always speak their native language to their children if they don’t want their offspring to be disconnected from their roots. He says while Yoruba is characterized by its tonal challenges, Hausa is relatively more accessible while Igbo presents a slightly greater challenge. All these according to him, should not serve as an excuse to abandon any of the languages.
Another cultural icon, Professor Wande Abimbola, with a global recognition as a bridge between tradition and modernity, has distinguished himself as an authority on Yoruba language and African Indigenous Knowledge systems. He is an advocate of using the Yoruba language to teach all subjects insisting that the government, parents and guardians ought to allow the youth to communicate in Yoruba, saying that this would aid learning of science and technology.
Professor Abimbola’s appointment as the Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, between 1982 and 1989, ensured the blending of African studies and African Culture, ensuring the promotion of Yoruba culture globally.
Prof. Wande Abimbola
As early as 2010, the erudite Professor hinted that Yoruba language faces the threat of extinction in the next 50 years if urgent steps are not taken to revive it.
“The Yoruba in the Diaspora are over 100 million. Yoruba language will go into extinction in the next 50 years if we don’t arrest the trend of neglect afflicting the language. Yoruba will be slaves to other cultures if we don’t take the bull by the horns and start teaching our children Yoruba language from nursery to primary and secondary schools. Brazil, where 50 million Yoruba people reside, makes so much money propagating Yoruba cultures and language,”
The move for the promotion of indigenous language is in tandem with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) a legally non-binding United Nations resolution passed by the General Assembly on September 13, 2007, that delineates and defines the individual and collective rights of Indigenous peoples, including their ownership rights, cultural and ceremonial expression, identity, language, employment, health, education and other issues.
The declaration “emphasizes the rights of Indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions, and to pursue their development in keeping with their own needs and aspirations.