In this article, I will be discussing some of the problems those of us who are ‘unlukcy’ to bear African names in the West go through. If you are lucky to be called John or Harriet, this will probably not make much sense to you. But I know to most of us it will.
First of all, let me admit, and of course if we’re going to be honest with ourselves, we all have some formulaic, rigid, over-simplified image of other people or group of people. The phenomenon just gets too wearisome when it is applied to Africa, an African or group of Africans. Everything about African is so simplified that a kindergarten kid should be able to comprehend it in its entirety. As Chimamanda Adichie described it, it is always a ‘single story’
It is not the over-simplification of the ‘African thing’ that is the problem. The problem is that in most cases, they tend to be untrue. This false African mindset enslaves the one that holds it, not the one about whom the label is held. As Jesus said, ‘and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free”?
I cannot count the of times I’ve met people who will not even endeavor to mention my name for fear that it is too ‘African’ and they might get it wrong. Some years ago, I work in a company where the mail carrier never mentioned my name or even ever attempted to mutter it once. He used to stand at the entrance to my cube and throw my mails at my table and laugh it off saying, “man, I dare not try to pronounce your name”. “That’s fine”, I’ll interject. The paradox is that this man was someone I knew could easily say ‘very hard to say names’ on our floor such as those I have below as if he was singing ‘‘twinkle, twinkle little star”.
I know ‘hard to say’ is always relative but please come on, be objective and help me through this.
If someone can say Kuzszczak even in a dream, why can’t he utter Kwaku?
Why would someone who said Przemyslaw with ease ever complain about Prempeh or Gyamfi or Amponsah (all from Ghana)?
How about kizhcikzwarzcy against Abibola (Yuroba?)
Then help me with Solskjaer versus Similoluwa (Yuroba)?
Finally weight Szvzeven or Tzeentch against Kimutai (Kenya), or Tshabalala (South African)?
This is my explanation and I know I may be wrong. The first step in this process is for the person to see the name as African name, and there is nothing wrong with that. I see names that I can easily identify to be Chinese or Iranian names. However, when it comes to African names, this realization subsequently means that, as formula predicts, it should be difficult to pronounce and therefore even too scary to make the attempt. The individual gets incarcerated by his or her mathematical opinion of Africans and their stuff.
Does this bother me? No, not at all. But I know to a lot of people it does. Can we do something about it? May be not much except to show pride in our names, customs and traditions just as Indians and Chinese in the west do. It is ordinary people like you and I who have to embark on a mission to change the narrative for our children.
African names are cool.
