bai Edwin Eriata Oribhabor
(Source: http://www.ifra-nigeria.org/spip.php?article192&lang=en)
The Honorable Minister of Information and Communication Professor Dora
Akunyili recently ordered that henceforth, no one should use the name
Naija in place of Nigeria. She threatened that all corporate bodies using
it would be communicated to desist from doing so forthwith. Her comments
and manner of delivery, reminded me of the days of the Military when
orders were handed in the "top down" military fashion without full
consultation between and amongst members of the Military team. As long as
oga hed of stet don tok, na so i go bi. Nobodi fit tok. Then, the culture
of obey bifo komplen and all manner of gra gra were commonplace. We were
encouraged to du eviritin wit militri alakriti weda gud oo bad.
Sometime in the recent past, Mr Reuben Abati, one of Nigeria's most
respected Columnist blasted the pop culture in Nigeria. His "treatise"
received a flurry of criticisms from within and outside the shores of this
country boosting his rating and readers' followership worldwide. It was a
confirmation of the fact that once a people are at home with a lifestyle,
it becomes a way of life and "culture" to them. Therefore, stopping it in
an abrupt manner is usually both uphill a task and counterproductive in
most cases especially when prior efforts were never made at engaging them
in this regard. As a private person, Mr Abati acted right to have
expressed his views and he needed to convince non but himself before
publishing his write-up. This is a far cry from the action of the
Honorable Minister of Information who, under normal circumstances, is
required to first seek the approval of the Federal Executive Council
before commenting on any important issue like the use of Naija by
Nigerians. Naija could be viewed from the perspective of a name, a brand,
language and the spirit & soul of Nigeria. Against this background, one
would simply state that di tin don pas wetin madam Minista de tink and we
shall be looking at this in the following.
In his latest album, "The Unstoppable", Innocent Idibia, Alias 2face
Idibia sang about the spirit of Naija in one of his musical numbers. The
album is the international edition of his earlier work repackaged for the
international market. It is currently receiving positive reviews and
airplay worldwide. Although it may be herculean identifying any musician
who wouldn't have in one way or the other used Naija, 2face Idibia is a
perfect example of a Nigerian that has successfully taken the Naija brand
to the international fora. Devoting efforts and space at mentioning
different songs, films, advertisements in which the Naija brand is being
promoted would amount to writing a whole book.
Naija is a nickname or gai nem fo Naijiria coined by Nigerians for the
convenience and pleasure of Nigerians and all that may come in contact
with it. It doesn't subtract from the meaning and essence of Nigeria. So
far, nothing suggests that the name is being used for negative purposes
nor associated with criminals, drug barons, kidnappers, corrupt
politicians or anything bad in Nigeria. In fact, the opposite is the case.
Like most popular home grown words/phrases that are in use in this
country, one may not immediately ascribe it to anyone. Therefore, its
neutrality and wide acceptance by all worldwide has made it the most
appropriate abbreviation for Nigeria.
Naija has gone way beyond a nomenclature; it's the "spirit and soul" of
the people of Nigeria who are still grappling with the challenges of
genuine nation-building. Its capacity of driving or motivating the
peoples' inner confidence wherever they may be is not in doubt. As
majority (individuals and corporate bodies) keep using it, their love for
their country increases as well as the readiness to keep tackling the
numerous problems of kidnapping that has become an industry, Boko Haram
which is waxing stronger, no lait, no wota, no rod and vision 20:2020;
begging for direction.
Naija is not a name one could "shout down" jos laik dat. Unlike the
nomenclature Nigeria, foisted on us by our Colonial masters, Naija is
simply a home grown. At a time, desperate efforts were made at changing
the name - Nigeria, why promote it now over and above Naija, locally
developed and widely accepted by Nigerians and foreigners alike? Why throw
away Naija a major factor in the continuous unification and integration of
the peoples of this country? Why give Naija a bad name like a dog
programmed for hanging? As a result of the usage of Naija, there's this
fire of nationalism that burns in the people. Any attempt at painting it
in bad light would be counterproductive. It will amount to putting a clog
in the wheel of the integrative process of the multifarious peoples of
this potentially great country. Naija no bi smol mata! Na propa ribrandin.
(received 19/11/2010 — Published 02/12/2010)
NAIJA: A MAJOR FORCE IN REBRANDING – 2
bai Edwin Eriata Oribhabor
The Ministerial "ban" on the use of Naija sounds more of an "order from
above". Most of such orders hardly stand the test of time. I have tried to
rationalize it with the phrase Warri no de kari last now popularized by
Comedians. Although associated with "Waferians", it is now common to hear
people say Naija no de kari last meaning, Nigeria would always triumph. I
cannot imagine an elected governor of Delta State pass an order to ban the
use of the use of Warri no de kari last in Warri or anywhere in Delta
State. Should he embark on such a delicate ride, his opponents who
appreciate its importance may use it against him. If you say he would lose
the next election as a result of this hori hori oda, you may not be far
from the truth. Whenever a "Waferian" finds his/herself in any difficult
situation, he says Warri no de kari last and takes a brief time to reflect
on a way out. A new approach and thinking of the way forward is
compulsorily drawn form a latent or hidden energy to surmount whatever the
challenge may be. Warri no de kari last is the same as Naija no de kari
last and in the same category with such powerful shout of
comradeship/identification like Igbo kwenu. Just imagine an Igbo Chief,
Eze, or King ordering his people to stop using Igbo Kwenu which is more
than just a shout or whatever. Naija is more than a nomenclature and
should be treated as such.
While Nigerians are taking a cursory look at the use of Nigerian Pidgin,
international organizations like IFRA – Nigeria (Institut Francais de
Recherches en Afrique) has put in place a Naija Langwej Akedemi (NLA)
working assiduously towards producing a full-fledged language from our
pidgin to be studied in schools in Nigeria and across our shores like
French, English, German etc. Interestingly, the adopted name for Nigerian
Pidgin is now Naija or Naija Langwej. The order being handed down by the
Minister of Information may be coming at a time when Naija has gone beyond
just a name as has been severally stressed in this article. If the
Honorable Minister is well briefed about Naija, and many other forces of
rebranding (yet to be tapped into), she would most likely step down her
"ban".
Naija is a neutral Language, long accepted and recognized as the
unofficial lingua franca of the people of Nigeria, spoken by more than 30
million people. The conference on Nigerian Pidgin organized by IFRA in
2009 at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria was where the name Naija was
coined and adopted as the name for the new Nigerian Pidgin that would
evolve after ol di panebitin. The reason is simple and not far to seek. As
a word, it is widely accepted by Nigerians. Should all requirements of a
language provided for our Pidgin, for Nigerians and the world, why not
Naija as a name for the language?
In one of my serials on "Warri and the Nigerian Pidgin", I stated inter
alia that while growing up in Warri, pidgin was referred as Wafi; drawn
from the adopted name of Warri. Similarly, whenever a "Waferian" (one
raised in Warri) comes in contact with any one that speaks pidgin the Wafi
way, you will hear something like yu sabi spik Wafi? Therefore, the
adoption of Naija as the new name for an improved Nigerian Pidgin makes it
nationalistic and ready for the international "language market".
The wide acceptance of Naija is the reason why so many companies are
successfully using it in selling their products. If the best
advertisements in Nigeria are those that are rendered in Nigerian Pidgin
(Naija), the ban on Naija would have wide ranging economic and social
implications for individuals and numerous companies. In civilized
settings, companies could seek for compensations from Government for all
the different advertisements currently running on national radio &
television as well as bill boards across the length and breadth of Nigeria
to fully comply with the ministerial ban from the Minister of Information
and Communication. If the adoption of the use Naija as the name of our
pidgin would be taken seriously, the ban on the use of the word Naija
automatically voids Naija as the name of a language.
The acceptance and patronage of Naija as an adopted name for Nigeria is
not associated with only the youths as perceived by a section of our
society. This perception is likened to the old thinking that once believed
that pidgin is for the uneducated or lowly classed peoples. The former
President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo used pidgin at will and at the recent
event of the declaration of intention by Goodluck Jonathan to fly the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag in the forthcoming presidential
elections, governors and big-wigs of PDP freely used pidgin (Naija). The
Minister of Information and Communication need to have a rethink about her
ban on the use of Naija bikos di tin pas levul.
(received 19/11/2010 — Published 02/12/2010)
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