The Analysis Of A Name   

I have often heard it said from different quarters that the names we bear have an impact on the course of our lives. I had not really given it much thought until recently. Since charity begins at home, I shall start with my own names. Before I was born, my father decided that his baby would be named Akunnaya, irrespective of if it was a boy or girl. Akunnaya means, Her father’s wealth. If it’s a boy, it would be, His father’s wealth. The implication is that the parent has placed great emotional value on the child and believes that she is priceless. My grandmother added Obiageriaku, which means, one who comes must enjoy wealth. If the wealth they are talking about is of the creative variety, then they are right on the money. I know that names are very important since we have to answer to them for the rest of our lives. However, I live in a society where it is very difficult to take names seriously; certainly, not beyond the face value. Otherwise, how do you define names like Brandy and Brandywine? What is the deeper significance? As far I know, Brandy is a type of liquor. Maybe the names were thought of during drunken binges. And, why Brandy and not Rum, or Cognac? Other names that defy explanation include Potty, Sweat, Longfellow, Badd and Butkis.  I know that some names are the same in the African or Western society, For example, Offia and Bush both have the same meaning and people in both societies bear them. If a name is supposed to be a forecast of what your life is going to be like, then how did two generations with the name of Bush turn out to be, at different times in their lives, the most powerful men in the world?  If the belief is that a name affects the trajectory of our lives, then it would make sense that people with a name like that should display the attributes of that name. This is not the case.
Nigerians always take up any cause with a vengeance. They adopt trends and make them their very own. The belief that a name determines your destiny has led many parents to become very creative when it comes to naming babies, hoping against hope that the positive attributes of the names will lead to a very favourable outcome for their children. Cindy sounds like a name you wouldn’t think twice about, until you realise that the full name is Cinderella. What about Gold, which is the short for Goldilocks? Confidence, Godspower, Monday, Friday, Sunday, Government and so on. Anyone has a right to any name he/she likes so far as it is not offensive to other people. For instance, a couple decided to name their child Adolf Hitler and were surprised when a supermarket turned down a request from them to make a birthday cake with the name inscribed on it.  In fact, not long after that, Youth and Family Services removed the children from the custody of their parents reasoning that no sane parents would name their children after such an evil character. As if it is not enough to deal with the over-creative names, people have also decided to make their names stand out more by spelling them in different ways. As such, one name can have multiple spellings. Cindy, Cindee, Cindi, or Shelby, Shelbi, Shelbe.
However, if ever there was a strong case for how a name can affect a man’s destiny, then, our President is a chief point of interest. His name is Goodluck and it seems good luck has been following him for a very long time now. His recent history is very interesting. In 1999, the people of Otuike community nominated their distiguished son, Goodluck Jonathan, to run with Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha as a deputy governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. This was the launch pad he needed to live the meaning of his name in its totality. He served a first term as a deputy governor. During his second tenure, the Governor was impeached and Goodluck became the Governor. Toward the end of his tenure, he was picked as a running mate to Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua who was elected President and Jonathan eventually became the Vice-President. When the President became ill and had to go abroad for treatment, the Vice-President still went about his duties until the prolonged absence of his boss meant that he had to step in to fill the yawning void at the centre of government. He became the Acting President.  When the ailing president passed away, Goodluck Jonathan then had the unprecedented distinction in Nigerian history of assuming the role of the President of the Federal  Republic of Nigeria due to the death of a serving President. It would seem that he has had little to do with the course his destiny has taken and it is a big coincidence that his name is Goodluck. Some men are born great, some strive for it while others have greatness thrust upon them; the latter seems to be the case here. It is no surprise that the name, Goodluck has become very popular in Nigeria as people hope that some of that luck will shine on their offspring too.  This might be a good example as to the power of a name, but if his name had been anything other than Goodluck, would he not have arrived at the same point in his life today? There are too many conflicting outcomes to say for sure that the name had anything to do with how the Bushs and Goodlucks turned out. However, there is no underestimating the power of a good name.

Tags:  Aminu Masari, Goodluck Jonathan, Mohammadu Buhari, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu