Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Don Ohadike- Eight Years After

The phrase used in my late Dad's time, which led many to drop their European names, was coined by Mbonu Ojike: "Boycott the boycottables!"  So a name may be boycottable, but education (which, though described as "Western", draws its content from the globe and all humanity") is not really boycottable.

Ayo

I invite you to follow me on Twitter @naijama

On 1 Sep 2013, at 23:26, "Akurang-Parry, Kwabena" <KAParr@ship.edu> wrote:

Oga Oyinlola:

 

This has not to do with "apologizing," at least, not what I wrote. You missed the right word: it is clarification or elucidation. If anything at all, it illustrates cultural assertiveness and intellectual empowerment that I attained at young age! Your choice of "apologizing" is obfuscating indeed.  And are you saying that  any African who changes his/her "Western" name must not be educated in the West?  What kind of "panfu" conclusion is that?

 

Kwabena

 

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From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] on behalf of Oyinlola Longe [honey.honour@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, September 01, 2013 5:33 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Don Ohadike- Eight Years After

Africans seem to be constantly apologising for who/what they are as a result of engaging the west and western education. Why change name and still remain in the west to obtain western education? A return to the place of origin and indigenous education and the advantages over what the west could ever have offered would have been more laudable. 

O.

On 1 Sep 2013 11:59, "Akurang-Parry, Kwabena" <KAParr@ship.edu> wrote:

Oga Segun:

 

You are right many of us dropped our "foreign" names. I did change my name from William Swaniker Akurang-Parry to Kwabena Opare-Akurang when I was in form three in secondary school. In fact, I was not the only one in the class who dropped what you describe as a "Hebrew" or "Western" names. Many of my classmates did. We were influenced by a young radical teacher who taught us African literature - African Writers Series of Chinua Achebe, Ferdinand Oyono, Mongo Beti, Alan Paton, Camara Laye, Ngugi W'Thiongo, etc. that truly and effectively empowered and conscientized us to  believe in our Africanity. My father never forgave me for changing the family name and on his death bed in 1998, his last message was that since I was his eldest son, I had to carry the family name: Akurang-Parry. Thus, I made a posthumous compromise with him: I use Kwabena instead of  William Swaniker with Akurang-Parry, the family name. The family name has a long history of its own! 

 

Kwabena 

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From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] on behalf of Segun Ogungbemi [seguno2013@gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, August 31, 2013 8:58 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Don Ohadike- Eight Years After

There are many of us who had a similar experience and got our names changed to African names. My par...

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