RETURN TO FACTORY SETTINGS: The Names We Buried

RETURN TO FACTORY SETTINGS: The Names We Buried

Ekemma. Ekeodu. Mgbafo.

Once common, beautiful Igbo names. Today, almost extinct , buried for sounding “primitive” and “pagan,” because of their ties to our market days and spirituality.

Now look at Victoria: over 2,000 years old, named after a Roman goddess, and the badge of our own c0lonial conquest.

Nobody calls it “primitive” , “pagan” or associates it with c0lonialism. We still love it. Our children still bear it proudly.

We buried our own history and values hidden in our names while helping the Oyibo preserve theirs.

I have nothing against Victoria or foreign names. I have everything against the mentality that made us hate ourselves.

Our mentality is the root of our poverty and backwardness.

God has given us everything we need to be successful and happy.

Our prayers for prosperity won’t be answered until we return our brains to factory settings because we are the ones meant to answer them, with resources buried right over our necks and under our feet.

Unfortunately, we cannot discover any of this until we begin to love ourselves which includes cherishing our history, origin, outlook, culture, environment, and values.