We, as a country, should really engage in some serious soul searching cos a lot of our problems have direct links to the erosion of our various cultures. I utterly hate the mass copying of other cultures in preference to our own. Just the other day when I visited 9ja, there was a guest in a wedding I attended who wore indian women's traditional dress. What happened to our own ashebi and etc?

If my Nigeria will be a place where foreign cultures would be so much preferred to our own then I must say that I prefer to die-off long before such things become rampant in our society.

We need nationalistic leaders who reason in our collective interest. Why is a name like Lagos still used? Doesn't this name have meaning with slave connotations? Why can't Lagos be fully named "Eko"? Why are names such as "Victoria Island", "Victoria Garden City" etc, still used?

Lots of questions. Its just that our leaders lack the mental capacity to do things.

ezeagu:

Please reomve Yar'Adua's name. Not to insult him, but he wasn't exactly the center of attention in those meetings he attended with his pyjamas.

I still disagree with you on the Yoruba retaining their native names the most, at least among the middle class and up.

My secondary as well as university education were in Yorubaland. I also had my Youth service in Yorubaland. This afforded me with the opportunity know their name patterns.
In Igboland, we do retain our surnames but tot compared to the Yorubas. How about our Igbo first names as compared to Yoruba first names.
Have you ever seen a Yorubaman called Alfonsus, Alloysius, Longinus, Donatus, Adolphus, Reginald etc.
It is an established fact that Yorubas bear their cultural names more than any group in Nigeria.

well nigerian would tell you.  Goodluck name have not been working for them .

EzeUche!:

I seen a lot of people in Warri with English and Portuguese surnames. It must a riverine phenomenon. Even many of the riverine Igbo have those surnames.

The Warri people's case is similar to the Creole's, only that Warri people with those names are actually directly and legitimately descended from 'pure' authentic ethnic Portuguese men and women, not by rape or pillage, but by marriage.

Someone like Jonathan may have had an ancestor that adopted this name though, but Portuguese names in Nigeria are not usually a result of name changing.

Andre Uweh:

My secondary as well as university education were in Yorubaland. I also had my Youth service in Yorubaland. This afforded me with the opportunity know their name patterns.
In Igboland, we do retain our surnames but tot compared to the Yorubas. How about our Igbo first names as compared to Yoruba first names.
Have you ever seen a Yorubaman called Alfonsus, Alloysius, Longinus, Donatus, Adolphus, Reginald etc.
It is an established fact that Yorubas bear their cultural names more than any group in Nigeria.

I'd struggle to find an Igbo man named 'Alfonsus, Alloysius, Longinus, Donatus, Adolphus, Reginald', just like finding a Yoruba man by those names. Unlike Yoruba, I would struggle finding an Igbo man whose surname is Wellignton.

matemate:

well nigerian would tell you.  Goodluck name have not been working for them .  

My name segun, means victory. So Bill clinton will like my name too.  because Bill Clinton need me to have victory. i am joking.

President 'Becomrichh'

I thought Segun means - See Gun!!!

Dont worry, your time will come with dat your 'Republic'

ezeagu:

I'd struggle to find an Igbo man named 'Alfonsus, Alloysius, Longinus, Donatus, Adolphus, Reginald', just like finding a Yoruba man by those names. Unlike Yoruba, I would struggle finding an Igbo man whose surname is Wellignton.

Come to Rivers state and you will see "Igbos" with English surnames. And they are proud about it.

I was actually told that in order to fit into the Krio elite in Lagos and other urban areas, many native Yoruba changed their surnames to European, Krio sounding names

not true.



and yes, the krios blended in with the general populace.

i dont know why the same didnt happen in liberia though i think it did to some extent, in sierra leone.

ezeagu:

I'd struggle to find an Igbo man named 'Alfonsus, Alloysius, Longinus, Donatus, Adolphus, Reginald', just like finding a Yoruba man by those names. Unlike Yoruba, I would struggle finding an Igbo man whose surname is Wellignton.

such people could be descended from returnees, not all of who came from brazil, though quite a few did.

EzeUche!:

There were Krios present in Onitsha as well if people have forgotten. I wonder what happened to them.  

The British didn't establish any hierarchy there so they probably melted in better, unlike in Lagos where their heads were inflated and others were trying to integrate with them.

EzeUche!:

Come to Rivers state and you will see "Igbos" with English surnames. And they are proud about it.

I know there are Igbo people with surnames like 'John' or 'Matthew', but the point is that there's no way anyone is telling me there are more Igbo people with non-Igbo surnames than there are Yoruba with non-Yoruba surnames.

The British didn't establish any hierarchy there so they probably melted in better, unlike in Lagos where their heads were inflated and others were trying to integrate with them.

i think you've been corrected about the last part of your imaginary scenario.

and kindly stop rubbishing the returnees and what they experienced.

they went through a lot, and you should respect that.

enough of the unnecessary drama.

tpia@:

i think you've been corrected about the last part of your imaginary scenario.

Corrected by who with what authority?

Some Cross River people have English surnames as well. Donald Duke is one prominent example.

The Ijaws have English surnames, and Hausa of Muslims names. You will not find many Fulani with Muslim surnames.

ezeagu:

I'd struggle to find an Igbo man named 'Alfonsus, Alloysius, Longinus, Donatus, Adolphus, Reginald', just like finding a Yoruba man by those names. Unlike Yoruba, I would struggle finding an Igbo man whose surname is Wellignton.

But you will not struggle to find Pini Jackson, Sandra Damasus, Teco Benson, Rita Dominic etc.
Ezeagu believe me, Yorubas are more at home with their native names.
While I was in classroom with the Yorubas in Yorubaland, almost all their first and last names where in Yoruba. Even at my work place at the moment, none of the Yoruba guys there are bearing foreign names.

ezeagu:

Yar'Adua George Bush used to pat on the shoulder like boy-boy?

Elite creoles purposely trying to integrate with the 'natives'? Something they would never have thought of doing in Liberia or Sierra Leone?

This is what I read on Hebert Macaulay's wiki page oh!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Macaulay

I don't know if it is incorrect/exaggerated or not.

they didnt marry into the families who were not of nobility.

they married into indigenous royal families

Maximilan Assumpacio married maximiliano in Brazil just before the slave trade was abolished Between them they had 2 girls and 5 boys.One of the boys is sir Adeyemo Alakij. One of the girls later married the then Alake of abeokuta and had the late chief justice of Nigeria, Sir Adetokunbo Ademola. One of the boys could not settle down when the family returned to Nigeria and he went back to Bahia in Brazil to propagate the alakija in diaspora in Brazil.He had a son in Brazil who later became a professor of Psychiatry in the University of Bahia. He is still alive.Now, Sir Adeyemo had a half brother,Olayinka. Both Olayinka and Adeyemo went to St Gregorys college Ikoyi and worked as law clerks before proceeding to London to study law.Both of them qualified BL middle temple in 1912..Olayinka and Adeyemo returned to Nigeria and changed their surname of Assumpacio to Alakija

Andre Uweh:

But you will not struggle to find Pini Jackson, Sandra Damasus, Teco Benson, Rita Dominic etc.
Ezeagu believe me, Yorubas are more at home with their native names.
While I was in classroom with the Yorubas in Yorubaland, almost all their first and last names where in Yoruba. Even at my work place at the moment, none of the Yoruba guys there are bearing foreign names.

That is the truth! Yorubas love their names. No matter how long they are. They will have a Yoruba first name and a surname.

How many Igbos do we see with Christian first names? There are many, even though our names have religious meanings.

ezeagu:

Corrected by who with what authority?

I laughed so hard I fell off my chair.

Nwanne, she exercised the "pawarrrrr" invested in her.  

Andre Uweh:

But you will not struggle to find Pini Jackson, Sandra Damasus, Teco Benson, Rita Dominic etc.

If you're surname was Ojukwu in 1967 standing in front of the Nigerian military and they asked you what you're name is what would you say? If you're surname is 'Aturuocha' and a movie producer asked your for your name, what would you do?

Stage names.

Andre Uweh:

Ezeagu believe me, Yorubas are more at home with their native names.
While I was in classroom with the Yorubas in Yorubaland, almost all their first and last names where in Yoruba. Even at my work place at the moment, none of the Yoruba guys there are bearing foreign names.

And in the Igbo class almost all of their surnames would be Igbo, if we take it to the rural villages over 90% of their names would be Igbo. Even Olaudah, a former slave, kept his name. For publishing anyway.

EzeUche!:

That is the truth! Yorubas love their names. No matter how long they are. They will have a Yoruba first name and a surname.

How many Igbos do we see with Christian first names? There are many, even though our names have religious meanings.

Well said Uchenna. I wish our Igbo brethren will emulate them in this aspect. My son has got no English or foreign name. His first name, middle and last names are in Igbo. I hope you and my other younger brothers who are not married will not make this mistake of handing our children foreign names.

Ezeagu,

I think the influence of catholic religion on the SE made a lot of easterners have Latin names. Calistus, Paulina, Cosmos etc.

I might be wrong but its difficult to see any Igbo/Catholic without a foreign name either first or middle.

In the SW around the seventies there was a kind of revolution whereby people started dropping their English/hebrew name for local ones e.g My parent dropped their English names and none of the children have a foreign name

This is random but compare the governors

Babatude fashola, Ibikunle Amosun, Abiola Ajimobi, Kayode fayemi, Segun Mimiko to SULLIVAN Chime, THOEDORE Orji, ROCHAS okorocha, PETER Obi, MARTIN Elechi

All the Yorubas have local names while All the igbos have foreign first names.

Rauf Aregbesola, Rauf might be arabic though

Ezeagu

Your argument is funny. In case you missed it; the point Andre is making is that people don't/can't really change their surnames but they can at least decide what their first names are. For instance, if you meet a Yoruba person with a foreign surname, he mostly likely will be called by a Yoruba first name even if he has an English middle name. It is very rare to meet a Yoruba person whose first name and surname are English. Yoruba people usually have Yoruba first names.

There are many Yoruba Christians who have English names just like Igbo Christians but they usually go by their Yoruba names. It is also true that Igbo rarely have English surnames but quite a number of Igbo people go with English first names.

The reference you made to that wiki has no bearing on the debate.

dayokanu:

Ezeagu,

I think the influence of catholic religion on the SE made a lot of easterners have Latin names. Calistus, Paulina, etc.

I might be wrong but its difficult to see any Igbo/Catholic without a foreign name either first or middle.

In the SW around the seventies there was a kind of revolution whereby people started dropping their English/hebrew name for local ones

This is random compare the governors

Babatude fashola, Ibikunle Amosun, Abiola Ajimobi, Kayode fayemi, Segun Mimiko to SULLIVAN Chime, THOEDORE Orji, ROCHAS okorocha, PETER Obi

All the Yorubas have local names while All the igbos have foreign first names.

Rauf Aregbesola, Rauf might be arabic though

Even the Yoruba catholics go with Yoruba first names and English middle names.

Why make a Mountain out of an anthill? How many Nigerians or persons world over have become Governor by d kicking out of dr Boss? GOODLUCK DID. How many have bcom President because d Oga Yamutu? Goodluck also did. If luck hadnt bein on his side, would he av smelled Aso Rock talkless of bcomin Presido of Naija? I 'd rather answer Onyibo name and bcom Presido dn answr Native name and be Mr. NOBODY! (FRANK TALK).

^^d.aft post.

dayokanu:

Ezeagu,

I think the influence of catholic religion on the SE made a lot of easterners have Latin names. Calistus, Paulina, Cosmos etc.

I might be wrong but its difficult to see any Igbo/Catholic without a foreign name either first or middle.

In the SW around the seventies there was a kind of revolution whereby people started dropping their English/hebrew name for local ones e.g My parent dropped their English names and none of the children have a foreign name

This is random but compare the governors

Babatude fashola, Ibikunle Amosun, Abiola Ajimobi, Kayode fayemi, Segun Mimiko to SULLIVAN Chime, THOEDORE Orji, ROCHAS okorocha, PETER Obi, MARTIN Elechi

All the Yorubas have local names while All the igbos have foreign first names.

Rauf Aregbesola, Rauf might be arabic though

They all have Igbo middle names/alternate names because of the Christianity.

Sullivan Iheanacho Chime
Theodore Ahamefule Orji
Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha

Many Igbo believe in having 'English' name and an Igbo name for home, but the point here is that there are less Igbo people with English/foreign surnames than there are Yoruba.

Katsumoto:

Ezeagu

Your argument is funny. In case you missed it; the point Andre is making is that people don't/can't really change their surnames but they can at least decide what their first names are. For instance, if you meet a Yoruba person with a foreign surname, he mostly likely will be called by a Yoruba first name even if he has an English middle name. It is very rare to meet a Yoruba person whose first name and surname are English. Yoruba people usually have Yoruba first names.

There are many Yoruba Christians who have English names just like Igbo Christians but they usually go by their Yoruba names. It is also true that Igbo rarely have English surnames but quite a number of Igbo people go with English first names.


Even the Yoruba catholics go with Yoruba first names and English middle names.

Read the response above.

Katsumoto:

The reference you made to that wiki has no bearing on the debate.

Actually that was for some that were saying the Krios were purposefully integrating into Yoruba natives, at least before Hebert Macaulay when I talked about people dropping their names for Krio sounding one.

People calling this honest interaction with Bill Clinton may just be over reacting. You have to be there to read the body language too.

ezeagu:

They all have Igbo middle names/alternate names because of the Christianity, many Igbo believe in having 'English' name and an Igbo name for home, but the point here is that there are less Igbo people with English/foreign surnames than there are Yoruba.

Surely we had more returnee slaves among Yorubas than among Igbos and We have more coastal Interaraction with European in the SW than in the SE which would explain the foreign surnames else where would you get Fernandez, Da Silva, George etc from

Most Yorubas dont have an English first name and those who have middle English names supress it and dont flaunt it like SEasterners do

Examples are those Governors I showed you, I dont know if they have a native name because they trumped their Foreign names above it Compare that to the SW governors and you would notice that reverse is the case, I dont know if any of the SW govs have Foreign names maybe they trumped their local over the foreign

dayokanu:

Surely we had more returnee slaves among Yorubas than among Igbos and We have more coastal Interaraction with European in the SW than in the SE which would explain the foreign surnames else where would you get Fernandez, Da Silva, George etc from

Most Yorubas dont have an English first name and those who have middle English names supress it and dont flaunt it like SEasterners do

Examples are those Governors I showed you, I dont know if they have a native name because they trumped their Foreign names above it Compare that to the SW governors and you would notice that reverse is the case, I dont know if any of the SW govs have Foreign names maybe they trumped their local over the foreign

akala name is chris does he look like a chris lol

dayokanu:

Surely we had more returnee slaves among Yorubas than among Igbos and We have more coastal Interaraction with European in the SW than in the SE which would explain the foreign surnames else where would you get Fernandez, Da Silva, George etc from

Most Yorubas dont have an English first name and those who have middle English names supress it and dont flaunt it like SEasterners do

Examples are those Governors I showed you, I dont know if they have a native name because they trumped their Foreign names above it Compare that to the SW governors and you would notice that reverse is the case, I dont know if any of the SW govs have Foreign names maybe they trumped their local over the foreign

That is true about the coastal interactions. The only Igbo groups that really had interactions with the Europeans were my own group, the Aro Igbo. But we still have our Igbo names. Coastal people are more likely to have European names.

dayokanu:

Surely we had more returnee slaves among Yorubas than among Igbos and We have more coastal Interaraction with European in the SW than in the SE which would explain the foreign surnames else where would you get Fernandez, Da Silva, George etc from

The Kalabari traded with the Europeans for sometime, so they are like the Itsekiri, the Aboh traded as well, but they don't have a traditiona of foreign names. Another is Calabar, although that's Efik. But the amount of Yoruba people with foreign names makes it seem like the whole Sierra Leone marched into Lagos sometime, I don't know, maybe the Creole's had less infant mortality/longer life span.

dayokanu:

Most Yorubas dont have an English first name and those who have middle English names supress it and dont flaunt it like SEasterners do

Examples are those Governors I showed you, I dont know if they have a native name because they trumped their Foreign names above it Compare that to the SW governors and you would notice that reverse is the case, I dont know if any of the SW govs have Foreign names maybe they trumped their local over the foreign

Most Igbo people don't have an English first name either. But there's no Igbo politician with a surname like 'Bello' or 'George' or any Arabic names for that matter.

Let us get back on topic. We as Africans should be proud of cultures. Sometimes I have to laugh at Jonathan, Ijaws and even some foolish Igbos who choose to wear those hats.

This is what we should look like.

The English surname were as a result of many retunee slaves and Coastal interaction, See evidence in Delta, Bayelsa, Cross River etc else where would names like Timipre Silva, Donald Duke, Rufus Ada George, Goodluck Jonathan come from.

The amount of Yorubas with foreign surname is largely in Lagos and Ogun States and this allude more to the returnee slave theory.

Your surname in most cases you cant change

Most Igbo people don't have an English first name either. But there's no Igbo politician with a surname like 'Bello' or 'George' or any Arabic names for that matter.

Are you saying its conincidental that all 5 Igbo governors have foreign first names and No SW Governor have a foreign first or surname?

EzeUche!:

Let us get back on topic. We as Africans should be proud of cultures. Sometimes I have to laugh at Jonathan, Ijaws and even some foolish Igbos who choose to wear those hats.

This is what we should look like.

Yes I agree with you, Those African attire get swagga die. Did you see OBJ and Jimmy carters picture? Carter looked like OBJ's chaffeur



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