“If you do not know who you are, anyone can name you. If anyone can name you, you will answer to anything” African Proverb
I love my name now, but it has not always been that way. I have always thought my name was too African, cultural, or too Nigerian. I wonder how my life would have turned out if I had a different name. I thought of changing my name at some point. A while back, I remember getting frustrated on the phone with my family:
Me: “Yeah, I think I will change my name”
Dad: “haha! You are not serious. Why?”
Me: “People out here cannot pronounce it”
Dad: “But that is who you are, that is your identity. Why change that.”
You see, I have always struggled to fit into certain spaces (like most immigrants) and the color of my skin is a major barrier to entry into those “spaces” and my name surprisingly happens to be an added barrier.
I believe that there is some level of ignorance around the world about who we are as Africans. An Uber driver told me once:
“You know I have a friend who lives in Africa and his name is Steven…. His name is so different from yours.. Why is that?”.
How would you have responded to that question? Firstly, Africa is not a country! It is a continent of 55…
