Why don’t we bear names from other regions in Nigeria?

Wait ooó my people, I'm just thinking ooó, please it's just me wondering, perhaps you can say I'm not in touch with reality after I air my mind...  But I'm just thinking if in Nigeria we can adopt ‘oyinbo’ (white) people's names, what stops us from bearing names from other regions or ethnic groups in Nigeria where we are not originally from.

The funniest part is that some of us bearing those white people's names from cultures that are completely foreign to us, don't even know the meaning let alone the origin. Think about it, is that not a pity?!

I mean what stops a Yoruba man from bearing an Igbo name, or an Igbo man bearing a Hausa name, and Hausa man bearing an Edo man’s name. What stops an Igbo man from bearing a Hausa man’s name? Why can’t a Hausa man bear Chinedu? Tell me, will an Igbo man die if he bears Magaji, or will a Yoruba man stops breathing if he decides to bear Kelechi? I mean I can’t wait to see a Hausa man bearing Osazee, a name of Edo origin meaning ‘God has chosen’. You agree with me that’s a beautiful name. (Man in this context represent both sexes).

If all the tribes in Nigeria can bear the name of an ‘oyinbo’ man (with no positive impact whatsoever) miles away across the ocean, without having a knowledge of the origin or meaning, then we should begin to question our rational as a people, whether we believe in the united entity called Nigeria or not. The question is, using your common sense, which name should be a stranger to you? Is it the fellow Nigerians you share a common history, heritage, value, geography, and culture with, or the white guys who live on the other end of the world? Who do not really give a damn about the name you bear or might not even know you exist.

Mind you, this is not an anti-white message, this is simply a call to snap us from blindness of reason, and awaken us to the reality of our reality and existence. In fact I love white and foreign guys we bear their names, and my love for them has never fade and will not decline now or never. But this is only a call to awaken us, to think differently, and not only to think outside the box, but to come out of the box, and perhaps set the box on fire so we are never tempted again to go back to the box. 

  

My people, this might look funny but its serious ooó... Think about it, it still beats my imagination if we can cross the ocean miles away to adopt a foreign name. What about the human beings around us who are our neighbours, even if you say we are not one people, but at least we are one Africa, and obviously you can’t deny that.

I'm just wondering, but I hope we are thinking ‘sha’.... Imagine a Yoruba man bearing a powerful and meaningful name like Nwaolisa, a name of Igbo origin meaning ‘Child of God’. Or a Hausa man bearing a Yoruba name like Adewale, meaning ‘The Crown has Come Home’, be sincere with yourself, how beautiful will it be, or what about an Igbo man bearing Yelwa, a name from the Hausa descent, meaning ‘Born at The Time of Abundance or Wealth’.

See if you are from the South of Nigeria, instead of giving your child the name ‘Gift’, why don’t you call him or her ‘Kyauta’, or instead of naming your daughter ‘Love’, why don’t you call her a beautiful name like ‘Kauna’, both names of Hausa origin.

And if you are from the Northern Nigeria, instead of calling that bouncing baby boy a foreign name, why don’t you call him ‘Tamuno’, meaning ‘God is Great’, a name of Kalabari origin. What about when your beautiful princess arrives, and you call her Emem, meaning ‘Peace’, a name of Efik/Ibibio origin.

Some people will read this and laugh loud, like in my mind, I’m leaving in an idealistic world, far from reality, or what some fellows refer to as the Utopian dream. And you see I don’t dispute your reality like I said it’s your reality, but I have lived enough to know that anything is possible under the sun. And be careful how you argue or doubt this possibility so that you are not cut off from it when it eventually happens, because one of the laws of nature is, whatever you don’t appreciate leaves your life!

And perhaps the next question to me might be, but you are not showing an example, you have a foreign name and that of your origin? And I will humbly submit here that I have not always had this insight, but circumstances and challenge makes us question status quo, and all through history, whenever man is able to succinctly answer a question of challenge in any field of human endeavour, it leads to innovation and progress to a better world for all of us. And I hope this do.

Let me tell you, my people, if we can take this step, we would have burned the bridge that continually promises us the possibility of separation and secession. Yes, burn the bridge and say ‘if we perish, we perish’, so we can all embrace our fears fearlessly, and with a blind faith in pursuit of what is truly the purpose for our co-existence, what is the vision for our nation, what is truly the Nigerians Dream, whether we believe in the marriage of this nation or not, the question of our collective and common humanity with flesh and blood is undeniable.

“Whether we believe in the marriage of this nation or not, the question of our collective and common humanity with flesh and blood is undeniable”. - Ernest Ademola Ehigie

Come to think of it, Nigeria is not the only nation that has undergone migrations, amalgamation, conflicts, and war. But the understanding of the higher calling keeps people together. Even siblings do have rivalry among themselves, leading to hurts and sometimes worst situations, but the reality as one blood cannot be denied.

‘We must burn down completely, the bridge behind us that continually reminds and promise us the possibility of separation and secession”. – Ernest Ademola Ehigie

Trust me if we have exchange of names in the manner mentioned here, we will avoid anything that will cause tribal conflict, that might lead to killing, because you know if you are bearing another tribe's name, and your so called people have a conflict with them, you might be mistaken for a stranger or the enemy, and be dealt with by ‘your people’, so by fire by force, everyone will coordinate in such an environment. Mind you, I’m not a bedfellow of swallowing injustice and dying in silence, but like siblings, they argue and look for more creative ways to solve their difference for the good of everyone.

 “I’m not a bedfellow of swallowing injustice and dying in silence, but like siblings, look for more creative ways to solve their difference for the good of everyone”. – Ernest Ademola Ehigie

Think about this ooó, my people. Nigeria must unite by fire by force! I have said my own ooh… if you like you hear, if you like you don’t, but I know our individual happiness is tied to our collective happiness as a nation. Now is the time to rise up and make Nigeria Great Again! God bless Nigeria.   

“Our individual happiness is tied to our collective happiness as a nation”. – Ernest Ademola Ehigie