NIGERIA. N-I-G-E-R-I-A. The name Nigeria, unique in its exclusivity to the geographical zone it describesis not so different from the names of many African states in the sense that it is an imposed name, an inherited name, a name which as Awolowo’s remark “Nigeria is a mere geographical expression” goes, was coined by some men who with knifes in their hands sliced through the cake called Africa and helped themselves to pieces of it.

The history of Nigeria’s name can be conveniently traced to the Berlin convention in 1884 to 1885 where the said cake was sliced and distributed and then to George Dashwood Goldie, a businessman who sought to create a business empire from the Niles down to the Niger River deltas. He also wanted to resuscitate a family owned venture that depended on the purchase of palm oil from the Niger delta. His interests were well vested in the region now known as Nigeria. To facilitate his transactions, he enlisted the services of imperialist Lord Lugard who eventually amalgamated the Northern and Southern territories that make up today’s Nigeria.

As a tribute to Goldie and as in Rhode’s Rhodesia, Nigeria was to be named Goldesia, the name idea was eventually discarded and alternatives were found in Nigretia, and Niger Sudan. These too were discarded as they gave way to Nigeria, a name coined by Flora Shaw some sixteen years earlier. Flora Shaw would eventually marry Lord Lugard and add a spice of romance to the history of the name Nigeria.

In the past, suggestions have been made that the name Nigeria be changed, the most recent one being the clamour for the name Wazobia. Africa has had her share of countries that successfully changed their names some of which include Thomas Sankara’s anti-imperialist movement inspired 1984 change from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso –a significant change that symbolised the prise from the clutches of their colonialist and venture into self-dependence. Other countries like Gold Coast and Rhodesia changed their names for similar reasons to Ghana and Zimbabwe respectively.

In certain cases as in Republic of Benin’s 1974 name change from Republic of Dahomey, the change was fuelled by a desire to have a name that was neutral to all tribes and not particular to the cultural peculiarities of any one tribe -the Fon in this case. Interestingly, Tanzania found another solution to the problem of internal cultural diversity by merging bits from the names Tangayika and Zanzibar to form Tanzania. This is somewhat reminiscent of the logic behind the name Wazobia.

Another case that can't expressly be categorised as a name change but rather an enforcement of a particular name is Houphet Boigny's Côte d'Ivoire where other countries took the liberty to translate the name into their local languages as in the anglophones' Ivory Coast. It is worthy of mention that several countries routinely have their names translated into other languages as in Germany and Allemagne, the English and French variants of the same name.

One can't help but marvel at the possibilities that could have followed a name change from Nigeria; would Nigeria have profited from it? As deduced from the drama that followed the Wazobia suggestion, is Nigeria capable of settling on one name that doesn’t make any of her many fragments feel secluded?

It is hard to tell, but the little voices that chirp what if will always be there whenever we go back in history and assess the name Nigeria and the name change that never happened.

Jogbojogbo Abdulrahman tweet @UrbanPxet)