Nigeria

Naming children: traditions in 13 different countries

How are children’s names chosen in your country? Do you follow ancient naming traditions or are modern names more popular? Do you pass names down through family generations or invent new ones?

We’ve had a lot of fun writing this post and the subject of how children are named in our various countries has inspired a lot of discussion within our team of contributors. So, read on to find out how children’s names are chosen in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey and the USA.

Have something to add? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

There aren’t many clear-cut naming traditions in Argentina nowadays. In the past, first-born babies were named after their parents but now the focus is on distinctiveness. Parents choose names they like or that are fashionable. For example, when Argentinean-born Maxima Zorriegueta married Crown Prince Wilhelm-Alexander of the Netherlands, the name Maxima became very popular.

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The best and worst of both worlds

Rosemary A. Ajayi is the founder of The 419Positive Project, an interactive documentary project which seeks out positive attributes of Nigeria and Nigerians. After we connected on Twitter I met Rosemary in London earlier this year, and as we chatted it was clear that she is passionate about challenging negative stereotypes of Nigeria both at home and in the rest of the world.

In this interview she shares her own perspectives, the motivation behind the project and some resources for anyone who wants to know more about Nigeria. As the country prepares to celebrate 50 years of independence tomorrow, it’s a good time to learn more.

You’ve spent many years in both the UK and Nigeria. Do you identify more with one country or the other? Do you feel British or Nigerian, or both?

Like many Nigerian families, my parents came to England to study and ended up setting up home here for over twenty years. I spent my formative years in Nigeria and despite having lived in London for more than half of my life, my heart is in Nigeria. I feel drawn to Nigeria like there’s some unseen force drawing me to Nigeria, seducing me.

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You don’t need to live abroad

Here’s the first of our interviews with People of the World, all over the world. As we wrote last week, there are many different kinds of people of the world; it’s not a narrowly defined category. Today’s interview demonstrates how it’s very possible to have a global outlook and be passionate about getting to know other cultures even without living or travelling abroad. We talked to Sylva Nze Ifedigbo, a writer and journalist living in Abuja, Nigeria.

Could you start by telling us something about yourself?

I am a Nigerian. You know Nigeria, with a population of over 150 million people, is said to be the largest black nation in the world and is as multi-cultural as it is multi-religious.

Politically though we categorize the country into six geopolitical zones. I hail from the South East geopolitical zone which has Igbo as the predominant tribe. I was born however in the Abuja the Federal Capital Territory where I live currently too. I was born to teacher parents and grew up reading many books. That perhaps informed my love for reading and writing. I studied Veterinary Medicine though at the University of Nigeria. Today I work in Project Management as well as being a creative writer and freelance journalist. I contribute articles and opinions on socio-political issues to many Nigerian online forums and NEXT newspaper. I also moderate a personal blog ‘Nzesylva’.

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Group B: Argentina 1 – Nigeria 0

Photo: La Nacion – Cancha Llena

Today’s match against Nigeria began at 11 am, Buenos Aires time. My mum, my sister and I were chit-chatting in the kitchen over cups of coffee and rounds of mate when we heard honking, wild cheering and even firecrackers. We’d missed the beginning of the match and Gabriel Heinze’s goal 6 minutes into the game. That was fast! (more…)

Nigerian Conversationalist

PDBraide serves musings on Nigerian life by Pam, an artiste / NGO volunteer / consultant / producer.

She writes about varied aspects of Nigeria; celebrations of Nigerian achievers and calls to action on social problems.

A self-confessed ‘collector of conversations’, in this post she shares some insights from the people she meets.

Read more:
Every place has a thousand stories: Africa is not a country
Abocco in Ghana: another West African blog
Wired Africa: Internet and electricity across Africa