Olalekan Maxwell Fabilola is a Nigerian cultural entrepreneur and educator dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the Yoruba language and heritage.
He hails from Oba-Ile, Akure in Ondo State, and was raised in a Yoruba-speaking environment where his mother guided him in proper pronunciation and tonal marks of the language despite schooling that discouraged native-language use.
While studying computer science at Covenant University, Fabilola turned his passion for Yoruba culture into practical innovation.
He developed a Yoruba keyboard using QBASIC and for his final year project built a software translating 5,000 Yoruba proverbs into English and back. These initiatives reflect a blending of technology, language and culture in his work.
Fabilola is best known as the creator and host of the game show Masoyinbo (“Don’t Speak English”), a Yoruba-language quiz where contestants must answer ten questions entirely in Yoruba; any slip into English reduces their prize-money.
Through Masoyinbo, he invites celebrities and everyday people alike to engage deeply with Yoruba language, proverbs and culture, making the show both entertaining and educational.
Beyond television, Fabilola founded the platform EAYoruba, offering live Zoom classes and social-media content to teach Yoruba language and cultural expressions. He is also the author of The Ancient Wisdom, Òwe Yorùbá, a collection of 500 Yoruba proverbs that further his mission of documenting and sharing indigenous wisdom.
His work has earned recognition, including an honorary award by prominent Yoruba entertainment figures for his consistent efforts in preserving the language and culture.
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