The Development of Yoruba Textbooks for Secondary Education in Nigeria

Abstract

The relegation of the indigenous cultures of the colonial state was of major significance in the depersonalization of the colonized psyche. Whatever was connected with the colonial African was considered heathenish and undeserving of consideration. So it was that the language of colonial Africa assumed a `vernacular' status not to be taught or spoken by even its rightful owners. However, there were some quite heroic attempts, both blatant and surreptitious, to sustain the indigenous languages. Of assistance here was the inherent resilience of the languages themselves. In this historical excursion, this paper traces the long, tortuous route of the development and propagation of Yoruba as a language (to be taught and spoken) from the colonial era down to the present, by way of a drawing of the inventory of books published in Yoruba for secondary education.


(The Journal of Cultural Studies: 2001 3(2): 612-621)