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Before you dismiss Yorùbá or question its value, take a moment to reflect on history. Long before colonial powers arrived on our shores, our people already had rich systems of communication, culture, and identity. What you now overlook as “local language” has always been a fully developed means of expression capable of philosophy, governance, poetry, and deep human connection. Yorùbá, like many indigenous languages, served as a unifying force, enabling communities to interact, trade, and coexist meaningfully. It was never a symbol of inferiority, but of identity, depth, and continuity.
When colonial authorities arrived, they did not introduce English as a neutral tool; it was imposed as part of a broader system of control. Indigenous languages were deliberately undermined, labeled as inferior, and pushed to the margins of formal education and power. Traditional systems of knowledge and writing, such as Nsíbídì, existed long before Western education, yet they were ignored or dismissed. The idea that Africans were illiterate before colonization is simply false literacy existed in forms that colonial structures refused to recognize.
The spread of English was deeply tied to colonial expansion, cultural dominance, and the restructuring of societies. Meanwhile, nations like China, Japan, Korea, and France preserved their native languages as central to their identity and intellectual traditions, helping them maintain cultural continuity and independence in thought.
The issue, therefore, is not about rejecting English entirely, but about understanding the context in which it became dominant and questioning why languages like Yorùbá were marginalized. To truly decolonize the mind is to examine inherited beliefs critically, reclaim cultural pride, and recognize that intelligence and civilization did not begin with colonial influence.
So instead of internalizing the idea that anything indigenous is inferior, broaden your perspective. Appreciate the richness of your heritage. Yorùbá is not just a language it is identity, history, wisdom, and power.
Ire o.
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