pan-African’s Lola Bailey caught up with the Finland-based, polyglot creator of the Yoruba language animation series Ẹbí Fọ́lọ́runṣọ́. Here’s a bit more about Kayode Oloko’s superb initiative, an animation about a Yoruba family of four: Femi, Ronke, Oyinkansola and Olanrewaju.
“The uniqueness of our mother tongues is far beyond compare.”
Lola Bailey: Why did you create Ẹbí Fọ́lọ́runṣọ́?
Kayode Oloko: Ẹbí Fọ́lọ́runṣọ́ – an advocate for the teaching of the Yoruba language – is more than just a fun children’s web series; it’s a campaign to raise awareness of culture, tradition, language, and identity.
In Nigeria today, many parents prefer their offspring to speak the English language over their own native language. It’s a sad reality that future generations could lose their identity and purpose, a heavy price to pay for living in a host country.
Lola Bailey: I am reminded at this juncture of a Maya Angelou quote: “I have great respect for the past. If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going.”
Lola Bailey: Some will argue that English is all that’s needed these days – it’s the universal language.
Kayode Oloko: It’s easy to forget that only very few of the developed countries use English as their official language. Unfortunately, the education systems in most developing countries do not recognize mother tongues as valid forms of communication, reasoning and teaching. So most of these languages, bar the privileged few, are not taught or even given as options. Mother tongues are often wrongly dismissed as “vernacular”, a term that refers to the language spoken by people of a particular country that – and this is key – differs from ‘literary, cultured or foreign languages. A student caught speaking in a “vernacular” language would be penalized. So it is that Western societies impoverish younger minds by disregarding their own unique language, leading to the extinction of several mother tongue languages.
Lola Bailey: Who do you think is responsible for this state of affairs?
Kayode Oloko: We could blame the colonial era, but time has passed, and it’s time we advocate for the use of one’s mother tongue in the form of daily interaction and communication. Have you ever seen a Chinese school teaching their students in English or some other language and neglecting Mandarin? Have you seen a German school not teaching their students in German?, France, Norway, Netherlands. And so many other countries likewise?
Some argue that Nigeria as a country is multicultural/multi-ethnic and present this as a barrier to making progress in the same way. I ask them to visit Belgium to see how they use their three official languages. Developed countries understand that language is a form of identification, and I don’t see how I can fully be a Yoruba person without not knowing how to speak the Yoruba language.
Lola Bailey: What do you hope to achieve with Ẹbí Fọ́lọ́runṣọ́?
Kayode Oloko: Ẹbí Fọ́lọ́runṣọ́ was created to inspire younger generations to be proud of who they are, and of their names, culture and language. There are many ways to learn a language. Here on pan-African you have a post on the various places to learn Yoruba and another one on the Ghanaian Language School, which is great. Learning Yoruba language through the educational animation of Ẹbí Fọ́lọ́runṣọ́ is original, intriguing and fun. Kids can learn a lot in a fun way. Because not only does Ẹbí Fọ́lọ́runṣọ́ teach children about language, it also teaches an important triumvirate: respect, family and love, which are the basis of a good life.
We have a motto: to educate all Yoruba kids from Nigeria and in the diaspora on the value and culture that’s not taught in school and/or at home. We are a passionate advocate for mother tongues and the benefits of learning one’s own mother tongue. Finally, let’s save our mother tongues from extinction – they embody layers of cultural richness and are beautiful in and of themselves. And let’s spread love.
Lola Bailey: What you have created with Ẹbí Fọ́lọ́runṣọ́ is superb. I haven’t seen anything like it. I love the way you have captured the nuances of the Yoruba culture through this fun-loving family, the Fọ́lọ́runṣọ́s. I encourage everyone who wants to learn Yoruba to subscribe to the series – you won’t be disappointed.
