By: Saheed Jinodu
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| Learn Ogu banner and Mautin Akande the organiser |
Stakeholders in Badagry, Lagos have renewed calls for urgent action to preserve and promote the Ogu language among younger generations, as concern grows over its declining use among children in the historic border town.
The call was made during an Ogu language programme designed to encourage children and community members to learn and speak the language. The event held at Heritage Museum featured language lessons, cultural performances, and heritage-focused activities aimed at deepening participants' knowledge of Ogu language and identity.
The coordinator of the language summer class, Mr. Akande Mautin, thanked organisers, participants, parents, and sponsors for supporting the initiative, noting that the closing event doubled as an assessment of what the children had absorbed over five weeks.
"The programme came up above my expectation, and the massive turnout shows the level of interest in it," Akande said.
He explained that classes ran from Monday to Thursday each week, combining language instruction with cultural activities to deepen the children's understanding of Ogu.
Akande credited parents and community members for the programme's success and called for wider community participation in sustaining it.
"From the testimonies of the parents today, it shows that we worked. I want to implore every meaningful Ogu person to help us promote the language in any way they can," he said.
He specifically urged parents to speak Ogu at home, warning that some children do not understand the language at all.
"We should try to speak the language to our children at home because some of them do not even understand the language," he said.
Akande disclosed that organisers are considering a future edition of the programme and thanked sponsors, particularly Engineer Kayode Lawrence, for donating educational materials to participants.
"He has been supporting us with stationeries, drawing materials, sharpeners, writing materials and other things. Among the teachers also, he has made it easier for us," he said.
He also appreciated the use of the Badagry Museum as a venue for the programme, describing the initiative as a form of community service that should be sustained year-round not just during election season.
"This is the kind of community service we expect from our leaders and politicians, especially not only when it is election time," he said.
Speaking at the programme, Mr. Peter Mesewaku, Assistant Director at the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, commended the organisers and underscored the deep link between language and cultural survival.
"Firstly, I give thanks to the organisers of this Ogu programme. May God Almighty continue to strengthen them, because our language is the preservation of our culture," he said.
Mesewaku described linguistic diversity as a natural part of human society and urged parents to expose their children to indigenous languages alongside English and other languages they may be learning.
"In this world, God is in support of diverse languages because we have many languages people are speaking. Please, let us encourage our children to promote the value and culture of our community," he said.
He shared a personal reflection on how quickly the language has faded across generations in his own family.
"It was so easy for me because my father, mother and grandparents only spoke Ogu language. But today, my children hardly speak Ogu language," Mesewaku said.
He praised the initiative led by Abiola Akande and other organisers to promote Ogu language learning within the community, and stressed that the language's survival depends entirely on continued use.
"The language will only survive if the speakers are ready to speak it. That is why September Studio and other members took up the initiative to organise this special class, mostly in Badagry," he said.
Mesewaku went further, proposing that Ogu be formally introduced into the school curriculum, much like other indigenous Nigerian languages.
"If Yorùbá language can be taught in schools, I think it will also be a boost for us to have Ogu-speaking language classes in Badagry, or the Ogu language should also be introduced into the school curriculum," he added.
Mr. Kunuji Ajayi, Director of Leo Afrik, delivered his remarks in fluent Ogu and described the programme as a critical step toward reversing the language's decline among young people.
Ajayi noted a troubling trend: many children from Ogu-speaking backgrounds carry Ogu names but avoid using them in public.
"Many children of the soil all have Ogu names but hide them in public. They prefer to be called by English or Yorùbá names instead of their Ogu names," he said.
Rather than placing blame on children, Ajayi pointed to the home environment as the root of the problem.
"I don't want us to blame the children. The problem is from their background and home," Ajayi said.
He also explored the relationship between language, identity, and naming traditions, noting that Ogu names cut across different religious backgrounds. He encouraged the community to pay closer attention to the correct pronunciation and usage of indigenous Ogu terms.
The programme's highlight came from the students themselves, who demonstrated what they had learned through choreography, memory recitation, and recitals of the days of the week, months, and years in Ogu.
One participant, Seseyon, said the programme sharpened her grasp of her mother tongue.
"The lesson helped me to brush up and understand my language better," she said.
She encouraged fellow young people to take pride in their roots.
"People should not be afraid of their language. We should be proud of our culture, language and names," Seseyon added.