In 2012, Joseph Akin Samson, founder of Value Miners International, created the Yoruba scrabble as a means of deepening Nigerians’ knowledge of the Yoruba language in a very interesting way. People have always embraced this as they agree it is one of the ways of preserving a Nigerian heritage.
But his main challenge has been funding to mass produce the scrabble boards and tiles. Samson says, “I have written letters to Lagos state government ministry of education, Ogun state government and Oyo state government and I secured their patronage for the use of the Yoruba scrabble in their schools. Many private schools in Ogun state have also asked for the boards, private individuals and shops both in and outside the country have asked for the products but I lack the fund to organise demonstrations, mass produce and market the product.”
Background
Young Joseph Akin Samson is an OND graduate of mass communication from Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) Abeokuta Ogun state. Joseph Samson although born and bred in Abeokuta hails from Akwa Ibom state but speaks and understands Yoruba language perfectly. He says his purpose is to revive, educate and entertain the world at large.
Business
Before now, Samson organised scrabble competitions among tertiary institutions in Abeokuta. This was what prompted him to register the business name ‘Value Miners International’ in 2009 with the right to invent games, organise workshops, talent hunt shows or any event aimed at building of individuals through lectures and seminars, grooming talents, empowering the youths by encouraging them with gifts and prices during the events. Samson has organised successful events which have earned him affiliations with the Ogun State Sport Council, Nigeria Scrabble Federation, and some other private individuals.
Inspiration
Though Value Miners International is a for profit business, it has a very strong socially inclined focus. Samson says, “By influencing the youth, we are influencing the society at large. I love God and I love Scrabble. It stimulates critical thinking and creativity, it is educative and entertaining. I also love the Yoruba language because it is rich, very deep and dynamic but I noticed the decadence in the Yoruba speaking culture today. A Yoruba indigene will score high marks in English language and fail Yoruba language, his mother tongue, woefully. Young people are interested in other languages but show little or no interest in their own very rich language. So when the idea came I decided to work on it.”
He further says, “Also Yoruba teachers lack practical teaching aids that they can use to effectively teach topics like “ATE FAWELLI”, “ISEDA ORO” and so on. This and more are the things that gave me the urge of meeting this need in 2009 when I developed the Yoruba scrabble of one board, 100 tiles, one manual and a Yoruba dictionary. I did a lot of research before developing the dictionary and making the tile distribution so it can be playable.
When scaled up, the scrabble will propagate the Yoruba language to the entire world, give teachers a modern day “SLATE” to effectively teach Yoruba language, give foreigners a very effective tool which they can use to learn Yoruba language quickly and revive the dying Yoruba speaking culture of the Yoruba people.
Yoruba people living in the Diaspora would find it most useful in teaching their children born and bred abroad the language. For instance, when a child spells a word like “IGBA” it gives the parent or teacher the opportunity to explain the various meanings of that word and pronounce them accordingly. It’s a fun way for a child to learn and the child would easily relate with the word. I developed the Yoruba dictionary because hardly will you find a home without an English dictionary but very few homes have a Yoruba dictionary.
Funding
The Yoruba scrabble has huge marketing potential and I expect that lovers of Yoruba language, creative minds and philanthropists that have the passion to make a change will support its scaling up so that we can together revive the Yoruba language. Marketers and other individuals with ideas are also welcome. For further enquires: 08060016639
OLUYINKA ALAWODE
