One of the most beautiful questions ever asked by a mortal is the one, which William Shakespeare made a character called Juliet to ask in his play Romeo and Juliet. She asked: “What is in a name?”
Most times I try to ponder on this question and as I reflect on it, I try to imagine what parents would have had in mind while christening their new born babies or anything they cherish.
In a traditional Igbo setting as well as other cultures, names are mainly given based on life experiences, period of baby’s birth, victory in war, delay in child birth, and survival from certain mysterious circumstances among other things.
Igbo names such as Chinwemmeri (victory belongs to God), Amarachi (God’s favour), Ugochi (God’s special eagle), Uchenna (the will of the father) and Tiv names such as Terna (God gives), Dooshima (beautiful lady) among others clearly bring to the front burner the passion attached to names in all cultures.
A name given to a child is one thing and the influence the name has on the bearer is another thing. In as much as it has been established that we do not determine our names at birth – our parents and relatives do, unless one grows up to think otherwise – most times, if not eternally, we grow up to appreciate those names and try to live up to the meaning and standard of the name.
And when such things happen we have no option than to believe that our parents and relatives spoke the mind of God when they give us names. For, it will be an embarrassment both in heaven and on earth for someone who bears Nwachukwu (God’s child), for instance, to go to hell.
In the Nigerian political arena, every Dick, Tom and Harry has a reason to believe that the name “Goodluck” has positively affected President Goodluck Jonathan, going by the way he climbed the rung of the political ladder without ‘sweat’ and struggle unlike many, who struggled through the eye of the needle to get elected for a seat in the local government.
As an individual with a very good name, I have also heard and called several other names and have also associated myself with those bearing the names. One of such names is Ngozi.
I have met a number of people, who bear the name but I can’t recall if any of them has influenced my life as much as the late Ngozi Agbo (nee Nwozor), the late Editor of CAMPUSLIFE.
Ngozi is an Igbo name that means blessing. The subject of this piece is someone who lived up to her name in her life time.
As a child, I had dreamt of becoming a writer. And whatever it is that I had written did not find its way beyond the notebook in which it was written. To me, it was like a fairy tale to know that I would one day be published in a widely read national newspaper just by writing and submitting.
But Ngozi made me realise that whatever one believes in will definitely work for him only if he is on the right track. Through Ngozi, I saw my articles published in The Nation newspaper. To me, it was a dream come true and Ngozi Nwozor made it possible.
Aunty Ngozi, as we all fondly called her, was a blessing to my generation. Whatever was in the mind of her parents that made them to christen her Ngozi may not have been clear to us but one thing her family should forever be grateful for is that Aunty Ngozi lived up to her name. While she was alive, she remained an endless blessing to my generation.
As the Editor and Co-ordinator of CAMPUSLIFE, she gave many youths in our nation the map to discover their God-given talents. She believed so much in the youth and their ability to effect positive changes in Nigeria.
Her demise at the age of 36 is heart-rending but we are consoled by the fact that her 36 years on earth were loaded with blessings, which she did not keep to herself and her family members. She spread the blessings to whoever she came in contact with.
A philosopher once said “age is compulsory but wisdom is optional”. At 36, Aunty Ngozi possessed the agility of a seven-year-old and the wisdom of a 70-year- old. History has recorded that most men and women whose names still glow like a candle light lived and achieved notable things tagged with their names in a short time they lived on earth.
For instance, Jesus Christ, our saviour, did not have to live to eternity to save us; he gave us salvation in his early 30s. Alexander the Great, with all the glory his name bears, achieved all he did in 33 years, three years younger than our own Aunty Ngozi.
St. Theresa, whose name Aunty Ngozi also answered, lived a short life. The few years she lived were spent rendering selfless service and doing unforgettable things for Jesus Christ and for humanity.
To all of us, her students, Aunty Ngozi left us quite early, but to heaven, she may have done the will of her Creator; so we cannot question heaven. If we want to ask God any question about her death, we should first ask ourselves if we had a hand in Aunty Ngozi’s creation in the first instance.
We can only take solace in the fact that her way of life and philosophy made light to reflect in the lives of many youths, who would have gone astray and lost focus of their destinies. Aunty Ngozi, even in death, remains a blessing to the country.
As we continue to remember her and her good works, we can’t help but thank God that her life was a paradigm to be followed by all of us. Physically, she is not with us but Aunty Ngozi lives on.
Obioma, is an ex- Campus Life correspondent, ABSU
