Lagos to make Yoruba compulsory in schools

16 Jun, 2016

All public schools in Lagos to teach Yoruba language.

The teaching of the Yoruba language could soon be compulsory in all public primary and secondary schools across Lagos, according to a proposal by state government.

The measures, currently pending approval by the Lagos state house of assembly, are part of government plans to preserve the custom, language and heritage of the Yoruba, an ethnic group which originated in southwestern Nigeria and southern Benin.

The Yoruba people, including its extensive diaspora in the UK and the US, number about 40 million although the total amount of Yoruba speakers in the world is almost 65 million.