Indigenous Igbo towns renamed by the British colonial masters

It is no longer news that some Igbo towns were renamed mostly by the British colonial masters who found it difficult to pronounce the names and also for administrative reasons, however, there is a historical need for Ndigbo and indeed indigenes of such towns to know or to be reminded of the indigenous names of their towns so they can make an informed future decision of what name they want to be addressed as

Names evokes emotions greater than our words and  is a symbol of an individuals or peoples identity and have major role in defining peoples deep personality, cultural, ancestral, and historical connections. It provides a sense of who people are, what community they belong to, and their place in this world.

In most instances a mispronunciations, misuse or deliberate changing of people’s names have negatively affected and impacted their sense of belonging, and this makes one wonder why the colonial masters and the Nigerian politicians are not sensitive to the impact that renaming some Igbo towns had on the indigenous Igbo people in such towns.

Often, people whose names were mispronounced, misused or deliberately changed are put in the difficult position of attempting to correct the micro-aggressions and full aggression they experienced. Micro-aggression is simply a derogatory actions targeted or intended to marginalize a group of people, thereby robbing them of their true identity.  

It is important for Ndigbo to have the difficult conversation of changing these Igbo towns back to their indigenous/original names as a way of restoring the people’s true identity, ancestral connection and place in Nigerian society. The towns affected includes

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