Otito Ntogbu Na Egbu Nwa Nkita: Igbo Naming, Identity, and the Decolonization Philosophy of Names

Abstract

This article examines the cultural and philosophical significance of Igbo naming traditions within the framework of decolonization theory and African identity studies. Building on Oyeronke Oyewumi’s thesis that gender was not the central organizing principle in African societies, the study argues that Igbo names encode moral, spiritual, and communal philosophies that challenge Western assumptions about hierarchy and personhood. Names such as Nneka (“mother is supreme”), Nwakaego (“a child is more valuable than money”), and Chinualumogu (“may God fight for me”) illustrate how language serves as both ethical guide and spiritual invocation, foregrounding life, community, and divine providence over wealth and patriarchy. The analysis engages historical contexts, including the erasure and distortion of Igbo names during slavery, colonial impositions of Christian and European names, and the nationalist reclamation of indigenous identities by figures such as Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chinua Achebe, and Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. It also considers the persistence of philosophical depth in names recorded on slave ship manifests and the adaptation of Igbo names in diasporic and postwar contexts. By situating Igbo onomastics within debates about memory, identity, and reparative justice, the article demonstrates how naming functions as an archive of resilience and cultural continuity. Far from being arbitrary, Igbo names are deliberate philosophical texts, embodying prayers, blessings, and injunctions for ethical living. The proverb ezi aha ka ego (“a good name is better than money”) encapsulates this worldview, reminding us that names remain crucial to decolonization identity and to struggles for dignity and justice in Africa and its diasporas.