By Azuka Onwuka
In the cardinal points, it is impossible to have “south-south” or “north-north”, but as a zone, south-south exists in Nigeria, and there is nothing wrong with the name.
Our people say that whatever name a person gives to his dog is the name the dog bears. When I got a puppy, I named her Aguiyi. Many people told me that I should have named her Lion or Tiger or Jaguar. I thanked them but told them that her name is Aguiyi. Some said Aguiyi is a masculine name that a female dog should not bear. I thanked them and told them that her name is Aguiyi. And Aguiyi has remained her name. If I call her by that name, she responds.
If you buy your own dog, you can choose to call him or her Chairman or Zeus or Washington or Obasanjo. It is your business. I can’t tell you what to call your dog.
It is also thoughtless to tell another what to call his or her dog.
Yet regularly we see educated Nigerians who dissipate energy telling another group the name they should not bear. Why always try to force other people to be in the same group with you when you are from a people known not to be beggars?
Yes, south-south is not in the compass but that is the name a zone in Nigeria is called, and it should not be your business, unless your plan is to annex and colonise them. They are not complaining about the name. If they hate the name, it is for them to reject it, not for you to sweat over it not being the right name. You are simply making yourself a meddlesome interloper!
Science has proved that the sun does not rise or fall but the world has named early morning “sunrise” and named evening “sunset.” Those are their names. “December” means 10th month but in today’s calendar, it is the 12th month. Similarly September, October, and November mean 7th, 8th and 9th months respectively, but they are the 9th,10th and 11th months respectively in today’s calender.
Stop poking your nose into the name your neighbour bears. This beggary and overbearing attitude make them insult us as land grabbers. I beg you guys: Stop bringing insult upon us please.
If they like, let them call themselves South-North-South. It is not your name. Don’t cry more than the bereaved please.
You should also note that the place called Southeast in Nigeria is not in the Southeast. If you look at the Nigerian map, the Southeast should be Akwa Ibom State and Cross River State. That was why when Gowon created 12 states in 1967, the state he named South-Eastern State is what is called Akwa Ibom State and Cross River State today.
Ladybird is not a bird but a beetle. Prairie dog is a rodent and not a dog.
Susan Rice is not a brand of rice. Barry White is a black man. Phil Black is a white man. Robert Green is not a green man. George Bush Snr and Jnr lived in the White House and not the bush.
A name is just a name. It does not need to follow any logic.
The reason for this pointless argument is that many people don’t like to think for themselves. They franchise their thinking to others and simply regurgitate what they are told. If someone says that hopping on one foot is the wisest way to walk, it becomes the new normal. Our people are not known to be acting like sheep led by the nose. They are a thinking, logical and discerning people who interrogate things before they accept them. We need to return to who we are.
