User:Ogundipekunle/sandbox

NAME Name is a very sensitive, spirit-filled and historical life “tag” which should be cherished as it’s so important. What does a name depict in your view? Why do names mean so much to our ancestors? Why do parents name us after occurrences in the family? Some are called “Yetunde, Iyabo” meaning, Mother is back. One thing we should know is that ‘NAME’ is so sensitive that we should not just give it to children anyhow. Names have crucial roles to play in human lives. Some parents give names to their children because they do not want to forget some occurrences in their lives. As the Yoruba will say, “Ile ni a n wo ki ato so omo ni oruko” meaning we look into situations around us before giving names to the child. Take for instance “Ayodeji” this means the combination of two joyful moments. That is, the joy of the child born and probably something else that brings joy happened the moment the child was born. “Ene” in Idoma language means “Mother”. It is a name given to an Idoma lady. It should be noticed that most children when they grow to know what these names mean, they tend to change their names. They do not know the reasons behind the names they bear, and this brings about discouragement in Bearing such names or carrying it about. For this reason, you will see a child calling herself names that do not exist even among the names given to her at birth, Such names like “Suzy, Joys, Jazzy” e.t.c. A parent has the responsibility of telling the children the reason for the name and to let them know why they were given such names. Taylor says: “if you teach a child what he needs to know, he tends not to make a mistake from it”. When a child is getting to the age when he/she can understand things, A parent has the responsibility of telling the child the reason or reasons behind the name. As this would make the child happy and proud bearing such name, but in a case where the child doesn’t know the origin of his/her name, he tends not to know what it means and would not be able to cope since he/she does not know. In conclusion, “JABEZ” in the bible did not start prospering until he begged God to change his name which meant SORROW. Keeping history is good, it is part of our Cultural Heritage, but we should try and learn not to name children after unfortunate occurrences. Names are strong and should be chosen with care because the name given to one has a way of affecting one and telling on its bearer either positively or negatively depends on the meaning of the name. By: Ogundipe A. James