Fayemi bans English language at traditional events – TheNigerialawyer

Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has banned the use of the
English language as a means of communication during any traditional
events in any part of the state.

The governor, who gave the directive on Monday in Ado-Ekiti
during the First Ekiti State Arts and Culture Stakeholders’ Forum,
said it has now become an offence for anyone to communicate in the
English Language during traditional events.

Fayemi said his administration was desirous to promote arts and
culture in the state through Yoruba and Ekiti dialects, saying this
will make the step imperative at this point in time.

Fayemi, who was represented at the event by the Head of Service,
Mr. Deji Ajayi, revealed that the state will hold its Festival of
Arts and Culture in December as part of the ways to boost its
economy.

The governor added that there were empirical statistics and
evidence to prove that there was a need for the state to enhance
the skills and capacities of the youths since government alone can
not solve the issue of endemic unemployment in the system.

“From today, henceforth, the government has banned the speaking
of English in any cultural programme. Whoever that will participate
in any traditional programme must speak Yoruba or our dialect.

“In the primary school teachers’ recruitment exercise we
advertised recently, we wanted to employ 1,100 teachers and over
19,000 had applied on our website. This shows that the government
must develop the skills and capacities of our youths to be able to
be on their own.

“We are going to organise Ekiti State Festival of Arts and
Culture in December this year to enhance our capacities in crafts,
dancing, weaving and other vocational areas of arts.

“We should not forget to teach our children those values that
will make Ekiti to remember their heritage and sustain our culture
as a people.”

Fayemi said that the government would build a new traditional
rulers’ Secretariat for monarchs in the state to make them more
active and functional.

(NAN)

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