By Josfyn Uba
Damilola Adebonojo is a passionate advocate for the Yoruba language and culture, working to promote its importance and relevance in modern society particularly among younger generations
She is a Ph.D. student in Comparative Literature and Intercultural Studies at the University of Georgia, with a focus on translating women’s works in Yoruba literature ¹.
Damilola, who also founded Alámọ̀já Yorùbá, a startup providing Yoruba language services, including translation and subtitles for Yoruba movies and has co-developed MENYO-20k, a multi-domain English-Yoruba corpus for machine translation and domain adaptation has won many awards. She has been recognized by the African Language Teachers Association and UGA’s Office of Instruction for her contributions to Yoruba language education
In this interview with Daily Sun, Damilola said that Yoruba women are the living archives of their cultural heritage as they have always passed down the language and values. For, her, when we empower them with tools to teach and preserve the language, the ripple effect touches generations.
How do you think the preservation of Yoruba language and culture can benefit women and children in the community?
When people understand their identity, they become unstoppable. Yoruba language education provides this sense of rootedness, especially for women and children. For women, it opens doors to leadership, entrepreneurship, and global opportunities in fields like education, translation, and cultural consultancy. I know women who have created Yoruba language schools abroad as a result of them being taught their language as a child. That’s what happens when women embrace their heritage, they not only strengthen their personal growth, they also empower entire communities. For children, learning their language builds self-esteem from an early age. They grow up knowing their language isn’t just a “local dialect” — it’s a rich, world-class system of thought and communication, full of history and wisdom. By instilling this knowledge, we’re setting them on a path to confidently navigate the world.
What role do you believe women play in passing down cultural traditions and language to younger generations?
In the Yoruba context, women’s first duties are as the custodians of our culture. It is the reason our people say, “ọmọ tó bá dára ni ti bàbá rẹ̀.” It is believed that a child that hasn’t been well trained ends up becoming their mother’ baggage and so from lullabies to eulogies, to food preparation to proverbs shared during chores, women have always passed down our language and values. When we empower women with tools to teach and preserve the language, the ripple effect touches generations. And when I say empowering women, I mean empowering our children, the girl-child especially. Teaching them the culture is paramount. The child of today will become the mother, aunty, or grandma who will transfer our culture to the children of tomorrow. A Yoruba woman is a living archive of her heritage.
How can we ensure that Yoruba language and culture are preserved and promoted in a way that is inclusive and accessible to all members of the community?
We must start by removing the idea that Yorùbá belongs only to a certain class of people or is confined to rural areas. The language is for everyone, whether you’re in Ibadan or Indianapolis.
Accessibility must be intentional. This means building more digital platforms, providing low-cost or free learning resources, and training teachers who understand diverse learner needs. This also means that people need to stop seeing teaching Yoruba online as a get-rich-quick scheme. On the part of learners, It also means removing shame. Too many adults, especially in the diaspora, are embarrassed to learn because they think it’s too late. It’s not. If anything, the more inclusive we are, the more powerful the movement becomes.
We need media, education systems, and cultural events that welcome everyone into the Yorùbá world, regardless of age, background, or fluency level. Inclusivity looks like adding Yoruba subtitles on streaming platforms, hosting language clubs in diaspora cities, and making learning materials for people with disabilities. Culture thrives where access exists. Inclusivity is not about lowering the bar; it’s about opening the gate.
How can education in Yoruba language and culture empower women and children in the community?
As I mentioned earlier, a Yoruba person who knows how to speak their language already won the battle that may be posed by self-identity. When people are taught to speak their mother tongue from young, they have a sense of self, they know who they are. They become unstoppable. That’s what learning Yoruba gives everyone, especially women and children: a sense of rootedness. For women, it aids their indigenous duty of safeguarding their heritage and roots them as natural leaders they are supposed to be. For children, it builds their self-esteem early. They grow up knowing that their language isn’t just a local dialect or a vernacular; it’s a world-class system of thought and communication.
What initiatives or programs do you think would be most effective in promoting language and cultural education among women and children?
We need a multi-level approach. At the grassroots level, back here at home for native speakers, having community language and cultural hubs is highly recommended. I like what Lagos state is currently doing with the J.Randle Centre for Yorùbá Culture and History. We need more of it. Places like these should serve as safe spaces for cultural learning. For instance, the majority of Yoruba native speakers are not Yoruba literates. Very many people can speak Yoruba fluently, but when it is time to write or read in Yoruba, you would be surprised how many can actually do that. We need initiatives like our free Yoruba reading club and paid Yorùbá reading school at Alámọ̀já Yorùbá that address this problem.
In our South-West Nigerian schools, Yorùbá should not be a subject that students can opt out of. It should be a requirement for schooling in the South-West. I once taught at a school in Lekki Lagos where Yoruba was treated like an optional language and inferior to other languages like French, Spanish, etc. Yoruba is supposed to be more than just a subject; it should be a medium for learning other subjects too. I am particularly pleased that so many of my colleagues online now do what our government has failed to implement. I see people teach complex subjects like Science, Chemistry, and even Artificial Intelligence in Yoruba.
To be honest, the Yoruba digital space is currently thriving, but we need newer ideas instead of repetition of what is already done. We need to collaborate more to create culturally rich content tailored to women. There’s nothing wrong with Yoruba contents that focus on women’s issues, like Women’s health for example. For children, a lot is on YouTube. I recommend that these content creators consult Yoruba professionals for appropriateness and unique ideas. Yoruba tutors should be active contributors to children’s content online. They teach these children and often know what kind of content we need more of.
At my online school (Alámọ̀já Yorùbá), I’ve seen firsthand how our comprehensive Yorùbá learning program transformed women who once felt disconnected from their heritage. One of our students came in with zero knowledge of the language and a lot of shame around that gap because her parents never taught her to speak Yoruba. Today, she’s not just fluent; she coaches Hollywood actors to speak Yorùbá for film roles. That’s what happens when identity meets empowerment.
How can we address the challenges faced by women and children in accessing education and cultural resources in Yoruba language?
The barriers to learning Yoruba are real, we have issues of limited appropriate resources, lack of time (on the part of learners), lack of trained instructors, and digital divides. One of the issues we continue to face is that people still cannot differentiate between teaching Yoruba as a second/foreign language (to someone who did not grow up speaking it) and teaching Yoruba to native speakers. The solutions are within reach. While we need policies that prioritize teaching Yoruba in South-West Nigerian schools, we also need to train more educators to be able to teach Yoruba as a second/foreign language.
This is one of the reasons I’ve been so committed to training female Yorùbá educators. I know the ripple effect is generational. Some of the women I’ve trained and mentored now run their own Yorùbá schools and build safe spaces for children, shaping identities, and preserving culture in ways that are deeply local and powerfully global.
We need more collaboration in the digital Yoruba teaching industry. Many of the challenges we face with limited appropriate resources can drastically reduce if we all come together and pool resources to create a standard. That way, we will create more needed content and reduce duplicate efforts. Lastly, learners also have to play their part. It is not enough if we have transformative Yoruba programs that our learners don’t actively participate in. This means moms have to speak Yoruba with their children and help them with their assignments. We have impeccable results with families where parents participate actively in their children’s learning.
How do you think the representation of Yoruba language and culture in media and popular culture can impact women and children’s sense of identity and self-worth?
Representation is affirmation. When women and children see their language and cultural elements in mainstream media, from Nollywood to Netflix, they begin to understand that their heritage is worthy of celebration. It challenges negative stereotypes and fosters pride. A child hearing Yoruba in a cartoon or watching a film with Ifa philosophy portrayed with dignity will know that they belong, that they matter, and that their culture has value.
What role do you believe cultural representation plays in shaping the experiences and opportunities of women and children in the community?
Cultural representation is like holding up a mirror. It allows women and children to see themselves in stories, characters, and narratives. It validates their experiences and opens doors to identity-driven opportunities, whether it’s scholarships, creative jobs, or cultural advocacy. When children grow up seeing their language and history reflected in the world, they become confident participants in shaping that world.
How can we promote more diverse and inclusive representation of Yoruba language and culture in media and popular culture?
We need more storytellers, producers, and content creators who are intentional about representation. That means partnering with Yoruba experts, investing in authentic narratives, and elevating local creators. We must also support Yorùbá language content through funding, distribution, and visibility. Platforms like YouTube, podcasts, and streaming services are powerful tools when used with purpose. Inclusion means showing the diversity within Yoruba culture itself: urban, rural, diasporic, traditional, and modern. This is why I frown at the latest trend of Netflix not showing African content outside the continent. I wonder how they expect Yoruba children in the diaspora to feel seen through their culture being represented on international platforms.
How can community engagement and activism help promote the preservation and promotion of Yoruba language and culture among women and children?
Community is where culture lives and where it is either preserved or forgotten. When we engage communities intentionally, we give women and children permission to reconnect with their roots, proudly and publicly. Activism doesn’t always wear a placard. Sometimes it sounds like a mother joining a language class or a youth-led group organizing a local storytelling night. These micro-movements matter. I’ve seen them become the foundation for macro impact. When communities take ownership of their heritage, magic happens. Community engagement ensures that cultural preservation isn’t just a top-down effort but something organic and alive.
What initiatives or programs do you think would be most effective in engaging women and children in language and cultural preservation efforts?
We must design initiatives that make participation easy, joyful, and dignifying. For example, culturally immersive summer camps for children like I did with the 2019 Yoruba Summer Camp at Freedom Park Lagos. My goal that year was simple, I wanted to create the childhood experience that the modern day child no longer enjoys (i.e. tales by moonlight, indigenous games and more) and we achieved it. We need more women-led language clubs, and digital content series that center Yorùbá proverbs, songs, or folktales. When women and children are not just passive consumers but active participants in creating cultural content, that’s when we win.
With our Yoruba learning programs at Alamoja, we often co-create with our learners. We don’t just teach Yorùbá, we make it fun and encourage our students to apply it in real life. That’s how one of our female students went from “I’m shy to speak” to scripting short videos in Yorùbá that now have thousands of views online.
Other initiatives I would suggest include intergenerational language clubs where older Yoruba women, matriarchs, are paired with younger women to learn. Such programs will help us reclaim the fading trend of modern Yoruba women losing their status as cultural custodians. Mother-child language learning sessions can also be very beneficial in these language and cultural preservation efforts.
How can we build partnerships and collaborations between community organizations, educational institutions, and cultural institutions to support language and cultural preservation efforts?
We need to stop operating in isolation. Cultural preservation is not a solo performance, it’s a symphony. As schools, edtech platforms, cultural centers, content creators, we all have a part to play. When we work in silos, we duplicate efforts, burn out faster, and limit our collective impact. But when we collaborate, we multiply power.
In the digital Yoruba education space, I’ve observed a concerning trend: many educators are building similar resources in isolation, often in silent competition rather than collaboration. The result? Learners get stuck at the same level, cycling through the same kind of content without real growth. That doesn’t serve the mission — it weakens it. It’s time to shift the narrative. We need to start co-creating language teaching materials — not just for efficiency, but for the sake of our learners. Collaboration isn’t just a smart strategy; it’s how we build a sustainable future for Yorùbá language education.
It’s also high time for Yoruba language specialists to reconnect with our alma maters and collaborate with home institutions. We need to develop practical, real-world language teaching courses for undergraduates studying Yoruba. Too often, what is taught remains stuck in theory. It’s time to make it real, relevant, and applicable.
Finally, we need more Yoruba language experts in the language technology space. We need to work with artificial intelligence specialists and natural language processing specialists. We’re still facing limitations when it comes to using Yoruba in digital tools. I still can’t dictate to my phone in Yoruba. That has to change. We need to make Yoruba fully digital — searchable, speakable, and smart-compatible.