Editor’s note: The Naij.com columnist Mawuna Koutonin continues
to educate us on African and Nigerian identity and self-awareness. This
time, he concentrates on the peculiarities of Nigerian naming and the
fact that such primordial, authentic features as native names are being
replaced and erased by foreign ones.
(If you are not a Nigerian, you may not fully understand this post. You still can try.)
But, I’ve never seen them giving African names to their kids.
On the contrary, there is a growing tendency among African families to give European names to their kids. Our names are now Harry Òkégbèmí, Jason Ugochukwu, Francis Abdullahi, Oswald Waraka, Brighton Mohammad, Clemenceau Bámgbóṣé, Hamilton Waraka, Angela Indabawa, Leontine Òkúsànyà, Eduardo Akínrelérẹ̀, Hugo Murtala, etc.
In Nigeria, we’ve got a president who used only his foreign names while in office: Goodluck Jonathan.
Nowadays, 70+% of African families give foreign names to their newborns, probably with the hope that they will have better chance of success in life or after-life.
The first questions that arise from that observation are as follows: are African names so inferior that we need “superior” European names to feel modern or civilized? Is that a mandatory ticket to modernity?
Do you think African names are inferior to European names?
If adopting foreign names would lead to quick modernization, let’s check the case of the most exemplar modernization story in recent times: Singapore. Singapore has become a heralded model, sought out to be emulated. Some countries are even touted as the Singapore of Africa.
Our presidents and ministers, who usually do not read, were summoned to read the father of modern Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew’s, 400+pages memoirs. Many did not move further than the introduction; the few who had read it, failed to notice the cultural change Yew pioneered prior to the materialistic change.
One of the first things Yew did was to drop his foreign first name, Harry.
He was born Harry Yew. Once he returned from the UK and entered politics, he changed his name, because he did not want to set a bad example for Singapore youth to emulate foreign names. In his memoirs, he said he wanted to identify with his Chinese roots, and, as a politician he wouldn’t have a good career (votes) with a foreign name such as Harry.
The point of this post is not to convince anyone to feel bad about their foreign name, but to demonstrate how odd and sometimes funny we African look to outsiders when introducing ourselves as Bright Simon, or Goodluck Jonathan.
Here is the list of names. Now, go through, and tell us how it makes you feel.
So, how does it make you feel?
“Very powerful. Sadly, some cognitive dissonance at first. It’s only my head that likes this. My eyes (which means part of my unconscious brain) is fighting it. Shake my head! As a mixed-ethnicity Nigerian, it should have been easier for me. But apparently it’s not. … Just not used to. The brain seems to be processing it much slower. … Not laughable, but more somewhere between funny and strange. When we see a name like that occasionally, you’d guess (and rightly most times) that it’s either a child of ethnic mixed marriage, or if in America, a child of an American who was very Africa-conscious and looking back to their African roots. But you rarely see so many of such names at the same time in one place,” commented one of the interviewees.
Another participant added: “Honestly, it doesn’t sound normal having a Yoruba name + Hausa surname, but we have seen cases like Lanre Nzeribe, taking names from mum + dad, and Amaechi Rotimi, past governor, so I think it happens; but not normal or let’s say typical Nigerian style”.
At the end of my experiment, I was not sure if the cognitive dissonance my audience experienced was enough to make them aware of the oddness and dissonance Asians, Arabs, Russian, Europeans experience when they meet an African with a name like Bright Simon. Politeness obliges, and they contain their laughter.
Mawuna Remarque Koutonin is an editor of SiliconAfrica.com and
a social activist for Africa Renaissance. Koutonin’s ultimate dream is
to open a world-class human potential development school in Africa in
2017. Follow @siliconafrica on Twitter.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the original author. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Naij.com, its editors or other contributors.
Tags:
Source Naij.com
(If you are not a Nigerian, you may not fully understand this post. You still can try.)
Not immediately clear
I lived in Europe for 15 years. I have seen Europeans dancing African dances. I’ve seen Europeans singing African songs. I’ve seen Europeans eating African food. Europeans are having sex with Africans, too.But, I’ve never seen them giving African names to their kids.
On the contrary, there is a growing tendency among African families to give European names to their kids. Our names are now Harry Òkégbèmí, Jason Ugochukwu, Francis Abdullahi, Oswald Waraka, Brighton Mohammad, Clemenceau Bámgbóṣé, Hamilton Waraka, Angela Indabawa, Leontine Òkúsànyà, Eduardo Akínrelérẹ̀, Hugo Murtala, etc.
In Nigeria, we’ve got a president who used only his foreign names while in office: Goodluck Jonathan.
Nowadays, 70+% of African families give foreign names to their newborns, probably with the hope that they will have better chance of success in life or after-life.
The first questions that arise from that observation are as follows: are African names so inferior that we need “superior” European names to feel modern or civilized? Is that a mandatory ticket to modernity?
Examples set by the most worthy
The funny side of the story is when, in an international meeting, an African would stand up and say: “My name is Bright Simon from Ghana”. Laughter is barely contained, and our Asian, Arab, Russian friends roll their eyes in deep fascination for our new African names.Do you think African names are inferior to European names?
If adopting foreign names would lead to quick modernization, let’s check the case of the most exemplar modernization story in recent times: Singapore. Singapore has become a heralded model, sought out to be emulated. Some countries are even touted as the Singapore of Africa.
Our presidents and ministers, who usually do not read, were summoned to read the father of modern Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew’s, 400+pages memoirs. Many did not move further than the introduction; the few who had read it, failed to notice the cultural change Yew pioneered prior to the materialistic change.
One of the first things Yew did was to drop his foreign first name, Harry.
He was born Harry Yew. Once he returned from the UK and entered politics, he changed his name, because he did not want to set a bad example for Singapore youth to emulate foreign names. In his memoirs, he said he wanted to identify with his Chinese roots, and, as a politician he wouldn’t have a good career (votes) with a foreign name such as Harry.
The point of this post is not to convince anyone to feel bad about their foreign name, but to demonstrate how odd and sometimes funny we African look to outsiders when introducing ourselves as Bright Simon, or Goodluck Jonathan.
See for yourself
To prove that oddness, I’ve conducted a social experiment, asking a handful of Nigerians to react to the following list of names, where I mixed Igbo first names with Hausa and Yoruba surnames, and vice versa.Here is the list of names. Now, go through, and tell us how it makes you feel.
Overcoming cognitive dissonances
Below are two excerpts from my interviews. They are quite representative of the overall feeling.“Very powerful. Sadly, some cognitive dissonance at first. It’s only my head that likes this. My eyes (which means part of my unconscious brain) is fighting it. Shake my head! As a mixed-ethnicity Nigerian, it should have been easier for me. But apparently it’s not. … Just not used to. The brain seems to be processing it much slower. … Not laughable, but more somewhere between funny and strange. When we see a name like that occasionally, you’d guess (and rightly most times) that it’s either a child of ethnic mixed marriage, or if in America, a child of an American who was very Africa-conscious and looking back to their African roots. But you rarely see so many of such names at the same time in one place,” commented one of the interviewees.
Another participant added: “Honestly, it doesn’t sound normal having a Yoruba name + Hausa surname, but we have seen cases like Lanre Nzeribe, taking names from mum + dad, and Amaechi Rotimi, past governor, so I think it happens; but not normal or let’s say typical Nigerian style”.
At the end of my experiment, I was not sure if the cognitive dissonance my audience experienced was enough to make them aware of the oddness and dissonance Asians, Arabs, Russian, Europeans experience when they meet an African with a name like Bright Simon. Politeness obliges, and they contain their laughter.
Mawuna R. Koutonin
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the original author. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Naij.com, its editors or other contributors.
Tags:
Source Naij.com
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