₦airaland Forum

The online newspaper, TheCable, gave a very dramatic account that, among other things, linked Edun’s removal to sleepwalking over payments to Hitech Construction (Nig) Limited, a company linked to Tinubu’s influential friend, Gilbert Chagoury, handling the Lagos-Calabar Highway construction.

By Farooq A. Kperogi, Ph.D.

I have always been fascinated by Yoruba people’s creative morphological domestication of Arabic names. There are scores of Yoruba names that are derived from Arabic but which are barely recognizable to Arabs or other African Muslims because they have taken on the structural features of the Yoruba language.

This is not unique to Yoruba, of course. As scholars of onomastics or onomatology know only too well, when proper names leave their primordial shores to other climes they, in time, are often liable to local adaptation. (Onomastics or onomatology is the scientific study of the origins, forms, conventions, history and uses of proper names. Anthroponomastics specifically studies personal names, so this article is an anthroponamastic analysis of Yoruba Muslim names). That’s why, for instance, there are many Arabic-derived personal names in Hausa, the most Arabized ethnic group in Nigeria, that would be unrecognizable to Arabs. Names like Mamman (Muhammad), Lawan (Auwal), Shehu (Sheikh), etc. would hardly make much sense to an Arab.

I am drawn to the onomatology of Arabic-derived Yoruba names because their morphological adaptation to Yoruba’s structural attributes seems to follow an admirably predictable, rule-governed pattern. I have four preliminary observations on this pattern.

One, because most Niger- Congo languages (of which Yoruba is a prominent member) end almost every word with a terminal vowel, every Arabic name borrowed into Yoruba is fitted with one. This is important because the majority of Arabic names don’t end with a vowel. To give just a few examples, Arabic names like Muhammad, Saeed, Umar, Abdulmumin, etc. (with no vowel endings) are almost always rendered as Muhammadu, Saeedu, Umaru, Abdulmumini, etc. (with vowel endings) by speakers of Niger Congo and other African languages. I have tried several times to think of any word in Yoruba and in my native Baatonu that does not end with a vowel (that is, a, e, i, o, and u) and have not had any success. So the first thing Niger Congo languages do when they borrow a foreign word is to add a terminal vowel to the word if it doesn’t have one.

Two, in most cases, when Arabic names start with a vowel, the Yoruba morphological domestication process dispenses with the initial vowels and starts pronouncing the word from the next consonant after the vowel. So, for example, Imran is often rendered as Muroino in Yoruba. I can’t explain the linguistic logic behind this since several Yoruba names begin with vowels (e.g. Adewale, Iyabo, Olusegun, Ekundayo, etc.), but Yoruba is pretty consistent in doing away with initial vowels when it borrows names from Arabic.

Three, it also seems to be the case that whenever Yoruba borrows names from Arabic and, in fact, from all other languages, it usually replaces the “a” sound in the names with an “o” sound, especially if the “a” sound is intermediate or terminal. That’s why Rahman becomes Romonu and Imran becomes Muroino. There are exceptions, though.

Four, Yoruba Muslims tend to be way fonder of names that are derived from the 99 names of Allah than northern Nigerian Muslims. A prominent morphological feature of such names is that they are always prefixed with “Abdul,” which is Arabic for “servant.” So AbdulRaheem means “servant of the merciful.” Yoruba naming conventions tend to eliminate the “Abdul” part of the names of Allah, which northern Muslims consider borderline blasphemous because they say by dispensing with “Abdul,” bearers of such names are claiming Allah’s qualities. (My immediate younger brother is called Abdulmumin, and my dad, who is an Arabist, fought anybody, including my mother, who eliminated the “Abdul” from his name. To this day, I can’t bring myself to call my brother Mumini). This arises from the Yoruba fondness for the short forms of names. Even Yoruba names that start with “Oluwa” (God), “Ade” (royalty), “Ola” (wealth), etc. are often shortened. That’s why Oluwaseun is often rendered as Seun, Adewale as Wale, and Olanrewaju as Lanre, etc.

The following 10 Yorubaized Arabic names appear to be guided by the morphological rules I identified above.

1. Bakare. This is the Yoruba rendition of Abubakar (or Abu Bakr), the nickname of the first Caliph of Islam. As you can see, the “Abu” in the name is dispensed with, and the “Bakar” part of it is fitted with a terminal vowel. Refer to rules one and two above. Perhaps the most prominent bearer of this name in contemporary Nigeria is Pastor Tunde Bakare, former vice presidential candidate to General Muhammadu Buhari. Pastor Bakare was born a Muslim but converted to Christianity in his teens.

2. Buraimo. I doubt that many non-Yoruba Muslims will recognize this name as Ibrahim, but it is. It follows the second morphological principle I identified in my introductory remarks. The “I” in Ibrahim is dispensed with, and intermediate and terminal vowels are added to produce Buraimo, which is sometimes spelled as Buraimoh. People who follow Lagos politics are probably familiar with the “Baale Buraimo Edu of Epe.”

3. Disu. This is the Yoruba rendition of the Arabic name Idris. The initial vowel in Idris (that is “I”) is eliminated and a terminal vowel (that is, “u”) is added to it. Abdul Karim Disu, the first Nigerian to earn a graduate degree in journalism from Columbia University in 1944, is perhaps the first known Disu in Yorubaland.

4. Lamidi. I once had a conversation with a friend from Kastina about prominent Yoruba Muslims who bear no Muslim names. I mentioned former Minister of Justice Prince Bola Ajibola, First Republic politician Alhaji Adegoke “Penkelemesi” Adelabu (who is late). My friend interrupted me and mentioned “Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu.” He was shocked when I told him Lamidi was a Muslim name.

“Which Muslim name is Lamidi?” he asked.

“Abdulhamid,” I said.

He was unconvinced. I told him because of Yoruba people’s fondness for the short forms of names, they often dispense with “Abdul” in Muslim names that begin with that prefix. So that leaves us with Hamid. Now, there is something some people call the “h-factor” in Yoruba, which is the tendency for Yoruba speakers to unconsciously eliminate the “h” sound in words in which it is normally pronounced and to add it to words that don’t have it. So “eat” is often pronounced as “heat” and “heat” is pronounced as “it.” Given this phonological characteristic, “Hamid” becomes “Amid,” but the interference of the “l” sound in “Abdul” can also cause it to be rendered as “Lamid.” Now, like all Niger Congo languages, it’s unnatural for words to not have a terminal vowel, so a terminal vowel is added to Lamid to produce Lamidi. My friend was persuaded.

5. Muroino or Muraino. As I explained in my introductory remarks, this is the Yoruba domestication of Imran, the father of Maryam (Mary) in the Qur’an. The initial vowel is eliminated and intermediate and terminal vowels are added.

6. Lasisi. This is Abdulaziz. The “Abdul” in the original name is dispensed with, the “z” sound in the other half of the name is replaced with an “s” sound since there is no “z” in Yoruba phonology and orthography, and a terminal vowel (“i”) is added.

7. Romonu (Raymond). This is the shortened form of Abdulrahman. Its domestication follows the same morphological principle as the preceding name. The only thing to add is that in contemporary times many people who bear Romonu (or Ramonu) tend to Anglicize it to Raymond.

8. Sulu (and Sulufilu). Most Nigerians are familiar with the name Sulu-Gambari courtesy of the traditional ruling family in Ilorin. Well, the “Sulu” in the name is the Yorubaization of Zulkarnain (which is more correctly transliterated as Dhul-Qarnayn). Since Yoruba has no “z” sound, the “z” in Zulkarnain is replaced with an “s,” and the rest of the name is lopped off. Sulufilu, another Arabic name that is popular with Yoruba Muslims, is the domestication of Zulkifil.

9. Sumonu. That is Usman. Its formation follows the same morphological process that gave birth to names like Bakare, Buraimo, Disu, and Muraino. I used to have a classmate in primary school whose name was Sumonu Lamidi Lasisi.

10. Sunmola. That is Ismaeel. Like Bakare, Buraimo, Disu, Muraino, Sumonu, the first vowel in Ismaeel is chopped off and intermediate and terminal vowels are added to it.

Concluding Thoughts

Several other names came to mind when I thought of this article—names like Waidi (Abdulwahid), Mukoila (Mikail), Muda, (Mudassar), etc. There are also other names that I simply couldn’t trace to any existing Arabic name I know of, but which Yoruba Muslims bear nonetheless. This includes names like Shittu, Gbadamosi (now rendered as Bhadmus, which Hausa people bear as Badamasi), Raji (which many Fulani from northeastern Nigeria also bear), etc. I hope someone reading this can educate me on the origins of these names.

Whatever it is, it is remarkable that Yoruba Muslims have successfully domesticated Arabic names to the point of making them sound like native Yoruba names.

but tinubu wife told every body that there is nothing like that

GUY MAN JONATHAN should rest.
if not for tinubu and atiku who lied to Nigerian about Jonathan buhari would have never smelled the position

FAT AND BIG LIE

angelboy01:
The guy that posted about taking pepsi twice a day, this is one of the effects of taking too much sugar o.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense has officially suspended the supply of Chinese electric vehicles from BYD to IDF officers due to concerns over data collection via embedded communication systems and sensors.

Ynetnews reported on this.

The ban came after numerous warnings from cybersecurity experts, who emphasized that Chinese vehicles could be used as tools for espionage.


Earlier, the Israeli Ministry of Defense had already received over 600 Chinese vehicles, including the MG ZS EV and Chery Tiggo 8 models, which were actively used as official transport for officers, even near the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Автомобіль BYD Atto 3. Фото: Hubert Berberich
BYD Atto 3 car. Photo credits: Hubert Berberich
However, the new BYD Atto 3 electric cars, which were planned to be assigned to IDF lieutenant colonels, were not put into operation after their electronics were checked.

To minimize the risk of information leakage, the e-Call system — the automatic emergency services communication feature — was forcibly disabled in the received vehicles.

However, experts believe that this is not enough. Dr. Harel Menashri, one of the founders of the cybersecurity department at the Israel Security Agency (Shabak), pointed out that Chinese cars should be considered mobile intelligence platforms capable of collecting audio, video, geolocation, and biometric data, and transmitting it to servers in China.
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https://militarnyi.com/en/news/chinese-electric-cars-in-israel-found-to-be-transmitting-data-to-china/#google_vignette

he has stared buying back at N10

nosa2:
Chuka wey dey wait for the stock to reach N2 so e go buy back

According to available information, parts of advanced missile defense systems previously stationed in South Korea have been moved to support operations linked to the situation involving Iran. toothless bulldogs

“I can tell you that the effect is devastating. To this day, Nigeria is still facing this threat.”
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Those of you who claimed that when Jonathan leaves by power or by fire all these rubbish will end are you still there

in any game or competiton, bribe the the umpire or referee then you will surely win the game

Karlovich:
No amount of pre election bribery and rigging can bring the convicted drug dealer back

The people have decided!

protein is the major causes of kidney failure and this is a very big truth your doctors will not tell you.

if you are having issues with kidney stay away completely from protein and the kidney will heal it self without any medications

i sincerely apologise for the spamming. i have start to think the regulators might have a big stakes or huge bites from ellah lakes

KarlTom:
You've posted this same thing twice.

I blame the regulators who allowed such infractions (undisclosure of insider trading) to go unpunished...

KarlTom:
It's not an excuse for non disclosure.

That is the aspect I have an issue with...

Chuka is not a fool or clown for allowing such result to be published.
Most CEOs usually cleaned and whitewash result before been release for public consumption. My verdict on ellah lakes is HOLD

emmasoft:
More details on the margin loan

Oga Emma i want to change my stock account from my name to my company name what am i to forfeit or to pay or loose in the process.
thanks

Streetinvestors,
nosa2,
chimex38,
.
in as much i always like to read your write ups. Chuka is not a fool or clown for allowing such result to be published.
Most CEOs usually cleaned and whitewash result before been release for public consumption. My verdict on ellah lakes is HOLD

Mankind2024:
CHUKA MORDI’S TOTAL COLLAPSE AT ELLAH LAKES PLC – BROKEN PROMISES, N235 BILLION PUBLIC OFFER DISASTER, AND THE BETRAYAL OF NIGERIAN INVESTORS.
In 2019, Mr. Chuka Mordi, the former Director of Telluria Farm, was appointed CEO and Managing Director of Ellah Lakes Plc.
In his maiden address and grand strategic plan for the company, he peddled these lofty but now utterly failed dreams:
To start paying dividends by 2023.
To list the company on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
To transform Ellah Lakes into a N1 trillion powerhouse.
To commission a 1,000-ton mill.
To aggressively diversify operations across West Africa.
Every single objective this man personally set for Ellah Lakes has been failed woefully – a complete and spectacular disaster on all fronts.
In my previous review and open letter to Mr. Mordi, I warned that he appeared to be toeing the exact same reckless path as his kinsman, the Tingo Farms owner, who shamelessly listed a nonexistent agrofarm on the NYSE before that bubble burst in disgrace.
Now, after Mr. Mordi squandered over N1.7 billion on a botched public offer (the ambitious N235 billion raise that crashed and burned without meeting the minimum subscription threshold), it is crystal clear: he has bitten off far more than he can chew.
People like Mr. Mordi are the primary reason for the deep-seated investor apathy plaguing the Nigerian Exchange (NGX). Retail investors have repeatedly been used as pawns to pump liquidity and prop up share prices, while Mr. Mordi and his criminal gang were busy offloading billions of Ellah Lakes shares without filing the required insider reports.
I can already see the SEC and NGX moving to deregister this company – and rightly so.
What a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity completely wasted by Chuka Mordi, the mysterious CEO whose date of birth remains invisible in the public domain. Nigerian investors, take note: this is what happens when unchecked ambition meets zero delivery.

preach on boss even though the poor are too hungry to read anything

ask russia what America did to them in Ukrain

muyico:
Make America do anyhow
Dey go anyhow

ministry of finance real estate scam or what

OBAGADAFFI:
Anyone with MOFIREIF In the house.

but let us be sincere with tinubu he has not achieve anything beneficial to the common man but just using propaganda to whine the heads of his followers. who ever will come after tinubu will hava a big problem

The military identified the officials as Abdallah Jalali-Nasab and Amir Shariat, and said the operation was carried out with precise guidance from Israeli Military Intelligence.

why dangote and NIDF that have been paying over 22% dividend constitently every year

Shalom428:
Long term, you want peace of mind, you want growth, you want consistent yearly dividend?

Answer: Dangote Cement

Follow The Money

blue chip: buy NDIF or MTN
Penny stock: ...............

Kesta22:
Good day gurus in the house, I want to buy I blue chip stock and one penny stock tomorrow. I know stocks are at their peak now, but please, can you people suggest 2 stocks. Thanks

see the management are very greedy they happily and greedily return people money with interest of 1.23%

mikeapollo:

But really, if they are truly cash-strapped, then they should be desperate for the IPO money. Such refund by them could mean they have a reliable alternative unless by regulatory compulsion

ellah lake have gotten serious investors hence they decide to return the money back to IPO People. now who is fooling who

all muslim countries doing what they know best

Fifty-eight students of the University of Ibadan have graduated with first class honours from the institution’s faculty of law for the 2024/2025 academic session.
coming out with first class is a problem on its own

most of dont understand the evils of LASAG to commuters on that raod

vicfajeze:
Lagos government, keep up the good work

The commission said the report claimed that recommendations had already been made to cede certain oil wells to particular states. But it described the report as “misleading, premature, and does not represent the position or conclusions of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.


Crude Oil has always been a curse to most nation except UAE and

thrashhhhh

2023Blessed:
Lessons learnt.

Should you return a lost phone again? YES

How should you do it? Get 3 witnesses and draft a simple lost but found agreement, stating exactly what you found. Let the owner of the lost item sign that he accepts that you are not to be held liable for anything after returning the phone which you saw.

Ideally, this should be done in a police station but only very few of those criminals in uniform can be trusted.

Document the events (most likely with video recordings) from when you found out, how you were able to reach out to the owner, etc.

Include in the agreement that if the owner of the lost item ever turns out around to falsely accuse you, you are at liberty to sue him/her to court.

Corollary:
I just saw a post where someone said something about picking up the phone of someone who was murdered.

That's a tricky one. And that is where proper documentation is important. Do not pick up a phone with your bare hands. It's not like we have proper criminal forensic capacity in Nigeria, but better be safe than sorry.
While making a video, draw the attention of 3-4 passers-by. Let them know you saw the phone and you are not willing to carry it. One idiot might claim it's his/hers, the wayray don claim problem be that.
However, if nobody claims it, then the police can be notified via call (no waka enter police station o....hmm) to come and pick it up. As soon as police appear, and you don video their face, moveeeeeee!

Make sure your video recording is a live stream. E get why too..... God go help us

The Nigerian Society of Engineers notes that the reasons cited above do not reflect the position of technically proficient professional organisations such as the NSE.
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too many clowns in nigeria

blunt craze mad i greet you.
one thing about the constitution is the ambiguity.
that is why people interpret and accept it any how depending who it favours