Lagos Deputy Governor Hamzat Appears on Masoyinbo, Shares Encounter With White Woman Teaching Yoruba
- Lagos Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat appeared on the 364th episode of Masoyinbo, a popular Yoruba-language cultural game show
- Hamzat shared an anecdote about a white woman who studied Yoruba under the late Alaafin of Oyo and now teaches it at a New York university
- Despite answering all 10 questions, code-switching penalties cut Hamzat's prize from ₦1 million to just ₦20,000
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Lagos state Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat made a memorable appearance on the 364th episode of Masoyinbo, the popular Yoruba-language cultural game show hosted by Lekan Fabilola, which aired on October 9, 2026.
During the programme's discussion segment, Hamzat recounted a striking encounter from his time abroad.
Source: Instagram
Obafemi Hamzat, who is the deputy to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, described visiting the City University of New York, where he discovered that the Yoruba language instructor was a white woman.
According to Obafemi Hamzat, the woman had studied directly under the late Alaafin of Oyo and now teaches the language to students in New York, speaking it with impressive fluency.
He used the anecdote to make a broader point about Yoruba's global footprint and argued that if a non-Nigerian could be so devoted to the language that she travelled to Oyo to learn it and eventually built a career around teaching it, Nigerians themselves owed the language far more attention and care at home.
Source: Instagram
Obafemi Hamzat's call to preserve Yoruba language
The deputy governor went on to advocate for stronger ties between Yoruba educators and government, as well as the introduction of dedicated seminars to raise the standard of language teaching and preservation across the country.
On the game show itself, Masoyinbo tasks contestants with answering questions entirely in Yoruba, with penalties applied whenever participants slip into English.
Obafemi Hamzat answered all 10 questions across the roughly 40-minute episode, but code-switching violations brought his prize down from the headline figure of ₦1 million to ₦20,000.
The show's ultimate prizes include ₦1 million, a car and a parcel of land.
Watch Lagos deputy governor Obafemi Hamzat speak about the white Yoruba teacher in the X video below:
After the show, Obafemi Hamzat posted on his X account alongside photographs from the set, describing Yoruba as something far greater than a means of communication.
"I had a great time on Masoyinbo, exploring the importance of Yoruba in our society and why we must preserve the language, celebrate our culture and pass our rich heritage on to future generations. Yoruba is more than a language. It is part of our identity, history, values and what connects us as a community," he wrote.
He also tied cultural preservation to his vision for Lagos, stating that building a greater Lagos required investment not just in infrastructure and public services but in people, culture and shared values.
Obafemi Hamzat, who is the 2027 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Lagos state, praised Masoyinbo for combining entertainment with cultural advocacy.
The show has previously featured prominent Nigerians, including Fuji musician Saheed Osupa, actresses Funke Akindele and Femi Adebayo, Yinka Quadri, Madam Saje, rapper Falz, singer Seun Kuti, Chinko Ekun, comedian Ali Baba, skit maker Cute Abiola and actor Lateef Adedimeji.
Check out Obafemi Hamzat's X post about his appearance on Masoyinbo below:
Watch the full Masoyinbo programme featuring Obafemi Hamzat in the YouTube video below:
Daddy Freeze reacts to Lagos government’s move on car spotters
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Daddy Freeze disagreed with the Lagos state government's decision to label car spotters as criminals, although he admitted that some needed to stop blocking traffic and chasing vehicles.
The media personality argued that the young people had created a legitimate content industry and questioned what alternative opportunities were available to them.
He urged the government to regulate the activity with clear guidelines, taxation, equipment and security instead of imposing a wholesale crackdown.
Source: Legit.ng
