Diplomat proposes change of nation’s name to Naijiria

TO stave off the embarrassments suffered Nigeria suffers internationally, a former United Nations (UN) Assistant Secretary General and founder of Okali Seminal Ideas Foundation for Africa (OSIFA), Dr Agwu Ukiwe Okali, has proposed a change of the name “Nigeria” to Naijiria.

   In his submission at a press conference at the venue of the 2014 National Conference in Abuja Tuesday, Okali said the height of the various embarrassments arising from the name, Nigeria, was the erroneous hoisting of Niger Republic flag in place of Nigeria’s at the opening of the ongoing World Cup in Brazil.

   According to Okali, the name “Nigeria” lacks African content, unlike many other African names. He traced the origin of “Niger” to a Latin word that he said also means “nigger,” saying the colonialists probably drew the nation’s name from there.

   Another delegate, Prof Chinedu Nwajiuba, said he was going to make the proposal to the plenary, adding that since Nigerian youths in their music and arts have already keyed into the name, Naija, it becomes imperative to recommend it to the Federal Government.

   Meanwhile, another delegate, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, disclosed yesterday that the Federal Government’s ceding of the oil rich Bakassi peninsula to Cameroun was a litmus test in sealing the Green Tree Agreement.

   In her contribution on the report of the Committee on Foreign Policy and Diaspora Matters yesterday, she said the ceding arrangement, ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague and carried out by Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, was just to show to the world that both countries could settle their dispute without necessarily spilling blood or pursuing legal proceedings perpetually.

   Ita-Giwa said it would have been a misplaced priority had the issue led to war between both countries, adding that all that the people needed was a better resettlement through compensation.

   To that end, she appealed to Nigerians to prevail on the Federal Government to facilitate adequate compensation to the people of Bakassi, even though they have been relocated.

   However, irked by the recent bomb expulsion in Kano on Monday by suspected members of the Islamic terrorist sect, Boko Haram, a delegate, Sani Zoro, has accused President Goodluck Jonathan of bias against states administered by opposition political parties in his condolence messages.

   Zoro, who represents the media at the parley, yesterday drew the attention of the conference to the failure of the Presidency to commiserate with the people of Kano State over the blast. Also reacting, Senator Adefemi Killa urged the government to declare total war on terrorism.

     Responding, conference Vice Chairman, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, said “the bombing in Kano is a very disturbing phenomenon, it is one too many, but let us be careful not to politicize tragedy.”

   He recalled how he was insulted by one of the victims of a bomb blast in Kano, but when the victim later opened his wound, it was clear he was under pressure, and his aggression justifiable.

   He also mentioned how his team was attacked by Boko Haram in Borno State while on a visit to commiserate with victims of terror attacks but was saved by the military.

   The conference thereafter agreed to send a condolence letter to the victims of Kano blast, the Kano State Government and the Federal Government.

   Okali added: “We think that the occasion of the centenary and the national conference affords us the opportunity, in fact imposes on us a responsibility to use the occasion to tidy up some of the legacies of our colonial past that are still hunting us,” he said. “One of those is ‘Nigeria,’ as it is written.”

  

 “During the opening ceremony of the ongoing World Cup, there was a very embarrassing incident. This incident was that the flag of Niger was displayed as the Nigerian Flag. Now, many people may wonder why. The reason is that the way those countries’ names were written makes it very easy to confuse and requires a high level of concentration to differentiate.”

   Noting that sometimes the nation’s national anthem is not played at international events because of the same confusion, he said that “Nigeria,” with its undertone of “nigger,” has been derogatorily applied to Nigerians in many instances by the white.

   “The second problem is the way it is spelt. It should be pronounced as Ni-ge-ria. In any African language, including your own, and in many other languages in Africa, that is the case. So, what happened is that it now becomes associated with Nigger-Area and as you know, the word “nigger” is the most derogatory term you can use on a black person, as far as racism is concerned. 

   “Our name suggests it and we are saying this is absurd, the greatest black African country is flirting with the worst word that you should be using for a black person.”