INTRODUCTION
Many persons believe so much that name contributes to what someone may likely be and that is why many are being so careful with the names they answer. From the ancient days of our people till date, many persons take into consideration names they give to their children and the names people also take, because in my dialect, eha ne eso mmadu (name follows the bearer). Going back to the days of our forbearers, they were answering names based on what they achieved in life, circumstances surrounding their birth, names of good deities in their land and so on. These formed some of the names of which we have today in our different tribes and villages today. Taking Nsukka as a case study: We have names like, Attama from the Atta Igala, we have Okonkwo, maybe one born on Nkwo day, we have Oyima, maybe one born on the day of masquerade feast, we have Ogbuagu, maybe one who has killed lion before, we have Oyiodo, maybe one born on the day Odo is having feast and so many names attributed to many things. Some of these names were names of famous people in different fields and that have brought prestige to them those days.
These days, so many are now leaving these names to embracing new names of their biological fathers, either the English or Igbo names of their fathers. Some do this for many reasons. Some even do it without any reason while some are forced to do it. In many newspapers, we see every now and then, change of name by so many, and it is on increase daily. If you look closely, you will notice that, they majorly change their surnames because of one reason or the other.
REASONS FOR REJECTING PREVIOUS SURNAMES
Many persons do leave their surnames to embrace their direct fathers’ name which is not a bad thing. It is a wonderful thing but not very wonderful. Many have been giving so many reason for doing that. Their reasons are welcomed but they are not serious and for me, they do not hold water. The reasons are below:
1. Some claim that they want to maintain their own fathers’ names since their fathers have kept their own fathers’ names. The issue of maintaining your father’s name is not bad but you have to ask some questions before doing that. Your father protected that name because (from my own view) it reminds him of his origin just like the genealogy of Jesus Christ was traced in the gospel of Matthew (Matthew 1:1-18). Anyone who hears that can trace back from where you are from without asking too much question. As we all know, Jesus was not properly addressed as the son of Joseph rather, son of David, going back to his root and that is what our different surnames do to us. Leaving your real surname does not show how much you love your father rather it shows how much you hate the origin of your father. Hating the origin of your father may also be a way of hating your father indirectly. Many problems we do have in this part of the world can be attributed to lack of documentation and even in the little ways our forbearers tried to document for us to learn, we have left them to following the bad wagon. A white man can trace his origin from day one till the end because of documentation, we do not document and even the little that can show us our origin, and we are now leaving it to answering new names. Emmanuel Sunday Christian or Christopher Jennifer Charity, which one is now the Surname, Igbo name and so on. When someone sees this, the person cannot trace your origin. So this reason for me does not hold water for it is a rejection of origin which is not good. Our people will always say, onye amaghi ebe mmrir bidoro mawa ya, agaghi ama ebe oga akwusi (if you do not know where the rain started falling on you, you will not also know when it will stop). If you do not know your origin, you are doomed.
2. Some claim that there is attachment of evils with their forefathers’ names. I cannot deny the fact that there are some of these name that were gotten from many shrines and names of some known deities. The fact that they are from there does not mean they have effect on us. They can be of serious help for us in the area of documentation. From them, we can know some names of deities that our fore bearers worshipped and we can also use them to make histories. Leaving the name of your fore parents because of possible evils attached to them without leaving those evils is just like the Pharisees who were washing the back of the cup without washing the inside (Matthew 23:26). The evil lies in our behaviours and consciences and not on the name. We cling to many devilish things in the name of culture but to hold the wonderful Igbo and award merit names of our forefathers’, we are losing them. Taking my own home town as an example, my people till now still hold tenaciously Akatakpa masquerade and many other towns and their own different masquerades, but some of them are no longer comfortable with their surnames. Who is deceiving who? An Igbo boy or girl will be answering, Emmanuel Stanley Sunday or a girl, Frank Cynthia Juliet. How do we know that you are from the Igbo land? How do we know the part of Igbo land you are from? Our different surnames tell more about our origin, both good and bad. Let us go back to our drawing board. Let us hold the tradition of surnames as we received from our fathers just as St. Paul 2 Thessalonians 2:15.
3. Some do change theirs because of quarrel. I have seen a united family divided and also refused their surname because of a single fight between their kids. This one family of three boys and two girls was going by Odo as their surname. Children of two of the three boys fought in the school and they used that as a case that destroyed them and that brought serious division which led them to abandoning even their different surname. One changed theirs to Obetta and the other to Osondu leaving Odo. Many persons have done the same thing. Instead of resolving the conflict among relations, some decide to change names so that they will cut the relationship link totally. Even the Lord God, through his words in the Bible is against quarrel or conflict and that made him to say that we should not even offer him gifts or sacrifice if we are not in good terms with our fellow human beings (Matthew 5:24). Changing surname because of conflict can never solve the problem. In our traditional belief, when children are fighting, they grieve their both alive and dead parents. Even your parents both dead and alive will not be happy with you leaving their legacy because of quarrel.
4. Another reason maybe, because their surname is not popular. A family friend once told me that he will change his surname from Ezugwu to Eze. His reason was that, Eze is more popular and very respectful. I tried convincing him not to go on with his decision for there is nothing in Eze that is not in Ezugwu. I even went to the extent of telling him that Ezugwu has a kingdom but Eze has none. Ezugwu shows it has a territory but Eze has no territory (Eze of which kingdom?). Many have also done this because of this particular reason which for me do not hold water. Uniqueness should be appreciated a lot. That your surname is not popular shows that you are unique and that will tell more about you. Some who go by the name Ogbuagu shows that their forbearers killed lion or even lions which is never a simple thing. It is a thing to be proud of and not a shameful thing and there are many other names which should be treated as such.
5. Some even do not have reasons. They just change surnames because they see others change theirs. Just like when we were in the primary school. We saw people put “h” in their surnames and we joined them in doing it without thinking. Some names like “Ezeh, Odoh, Onah” and many others. Even if you will change surname, do not just follow the wagon, try to find a reasonable reason for doing it not just following others to do it. This is not the issue of leaving what is written on the body of the car and enter the car. Please, read comprehensively what is written on the body of the car before entering it so that you will not be lost. It is always good to have a tangible reason for doing something before doing it.
THE IMPLICATIONS OF REJECTING THEM
Every action on earth has an implication or even many implications. These implications may be positive or negative. Here I will concentrate more on the negative implications of changing surname.
1. Loss of origin. Many have lost their origin because they cannot be traced back to where they are coming from. Traditionally, surnames tell people the area someone is coming from. Whenever someone hear “Ugwuanyi”, certainly, the person will know that such person is from Nsukka. Then, if you come to Nsukka and you hear “Ape” you will just conclude that this person is from Enugu-Ezike and this takes one back to the person’s origin. This lost origin can lead to many things very ugly to hear. A story was told of two brothers from one father but not from one mother. One was living in Lagos and the other in Ibadan. The one living in Lagos has a son as the first child and the one living at Ibadan has a daughter as the third child. The boy was in third year in a university when the girl got admission. Two of them were in the University of Lagos. The boy has his name as, Peter James Sunday while the girl has her name as Philip Jenifer Rita. They saw themselves and loved each other and started dating. At his graduation, he used pregnancy to celebrate it for the girl and accepted that he will marry. Being born and brought up in Lagos and Ibadan respectively, they did not know they are relations. The boy took the girl home to tell his people what has happened. Inquiries were made to know the parents of the girl and on the ‘D’ day, the two brothers saw that their children were dating and the girl was already pregnant for her brother. Had it been they were answering their real surname, they would have known on time that they are relations. Your surname tell more about your origin. Do not joke with your surname.
2. Loss of History. When you have left the history of your existence that is not documented on papers, how can you tell the history of your existence biologically? Our early parents could not document what they achieved and what they were known for in papers and writing, they decided to use names to make sure that his lineage not to go into extinction. They were giving names according to the achievements of people or what they are known best for. This we should extend so that we will have stories to tell about our origin. Just as I have cited above, Jesus’ our Lord and Master has his own genealogy and his name is taken back to David who existed many year before the birth of Jesus. “Jesus son of David”. He already has a history, what about you changing your surname or you changing your children’s surnames. It is a pity.
3. Seed of enmity. Many who changed their surnames because of conflict or quarrel will forever live as enemies for they do not have anything in common again. They are tending towards enemies forever. As the parents train their children in the seed of hatred, so shall they grow in it and they will never make move for reconciliation except if God visits them.
4. Unnecessary division of thing. As names are being changed, many things may also follow it. Our people believe so much in “anu gbaa ofu ofu, egbuo ha ofu ofu”. If we divide ourselves into our present fathers, we may also divide properties of our grandparents and there will be nothing that will exist between that is common. In a family that should go by the name, “Odo”, we will get Ifeanyi as a surname, Ikechukwu as a surname and may be again, Okechukwu. This may have physical, spiritual and psychological implication and they will manifest gradually. Surname can remind us that we are still one.
5. Loss of opportunities. Man naturally is inclined with his blood and that gave birth to the adage that say “Blood is thicker than water”. Many have lost job opportunities because of names and languages. Someone may have position of job looking for someone to occupy. Many will come for the interview, when the person sees a name related to his/her own, the person may likely take the person for the person is his/her blood. I personally have given someone a favour just because of the surname. I was in a bus, someone was answering an unknown number, and he was introducing himself to the person and called his name as “Ezema” and that caught my attention and I decided to help him when the need came.
I cannot exhaust the implications of this particular trend for I may not know all but with this, it can show people the way to discover more and work towards avoiding them.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO THIS PROBLEM
Every problem with God may possibly have solutions and this that I am discussing is not an exception. I will always say that I will not exhaust the needed points but I will make effort to bring out some.
1. Everything is not spiritual. Our people have the tendency of attributing everything that happens around them to the spiritual world. When one experiences hardship, the person will attribute it to the spiritual world, when the person experiences sickness, the person will attribute it to the spiritual world and that is how also many attribute their surnames to the spiritual world. It is true that our surnames may have come from one deity or the other but that does not mean they are following us. They are just names to show what our people believed in and how ignorant they were. They are to show us about their passed lives and not to follow us.
Again, as Catholics, we believe that through baptism, we are made children of God and we are separated from the shackles of the enemy the devil. If so, why should the devil follow us again if we have separated ourselves from them? The only thing that will enslave us again and make us their subjects is sin. If we avoid sin, we will not be hurt by them.
2. The love of History. Many of us who hate history are also the major problem with regards to this topic. Had it been they cherish history, they will also know that surnames are parts and parcels of our history. They will know that genealogy should be a vital course all must study to know your beginning and possibly your ending. Bible majorly dwelt on the history of the people of Israel. Almost all of us like the Bible, why then do we hate our own history which is documented in our surnames? The earlier we cherish our history, the better for us.
3. Love of our Heroes. To continue answering the name of our early fathers shows that we love our passed heroes. And when we show that we love them, we will likely extend the love to our present heroes which are our present parents. Loving their children and hating them is just like the Protestants who love Jesus and hate Mary his mother. We ought to love them and extend the love to our parents.
There are many other ways out but I may not know all. We can see them through our experiences in life and they will teach us more. One or two persons many have multiples of solutions, they can also help to make them reach all.
CONCLUSION.
Having gone through experiences and questioning of many, I came up with this and hoping it will go a long way to help us. I am not saying that it is a sin to leave your surname and take up your father’s name as your surname but we have to check ups and downs before doing that. Our reasons may seem wonderful to us but have we ever presented them to others to know how wonderful they may be to them? Have we checked what they may cost us? Have we checked what we may experience in future? Have we checked what we are leaving and so many others? These are what I expect people to check before going into changing of their surnames. We may gain small by changing it and gain more by leaving them. THANKS.
TOBE EZE
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