MAN AND NICKNAMES

 

I was thinking this morning.... as I listened to Pst E.A Adeboye give his sermon last Sunday at the dedication of Rev Esther Ajayi's new church in Lagos, I went down memory lane thinking about the multiple nicknames or aliases I have been known by since birth.

For most people, your dominant nickname depends on the phase of life you are in. After I was born, my parents gave me the Itsekiri name Oritseweyimi meaning 'God's got my back.' But as a baby, I am sure many called me 'bomboy' because that was the name Warri people called every male child.

As I grew up and ready to begin school, it became obvious that I wasn't as tall as my mates. That immediately gave me another nickname as adults started calling me 'ete' (short man) or smallie. Though I found this alias quite annoying, there was nothing I could do. The alias stuck through primary school until I got into secondary school. As my academic brilliance shone, a new nickname emerged. For some reason, my parents and uncles chose a profession for me and started calling me doctor. Depending on who is doing the calling, one might wonder if the aim was to see me become of medical doctor, academic doctor or native doctor. Lol...

Finally, I got into the University and for the first time, had the opportunity to influence what my nickname will be. It was after we did Botany 204 in our second year that we had to give ourselves scientific names. Having been intrigued by such names as Mangifera indica (Mango) and Bamboosa aridinarifolia (Bamboo), I chose 'Weyimiliscus Kpoliae' birthing my alias for the next 20 years. Friends and those that knew me from university started and still call me 'Kpoliae' which was derived from my family name, Kpoli. Others called me Wemo.

As time went by, I joined the corporate world, began writing and became an author. I upgraded my alias to be 21st century compliant and was now to be simply called Wey Mey.

As I started a family and became a leader in church, I was now being called by new names. While my children call me daddy, in church circles, they call me pastor or bishop and sometimes 'daddy.'

Fact is, when you are young, people call you by what they think of you. When you are of age, you determine what you should be called but as you get older, people will call you by the impact you make on their lives. The difference between 'Baba-agba' and 'Baba-agbaya' is impact. Which would you rather be in your latter years? Are you making the right impact, because whether you like it or not, people will call you a name. No wonder Jesus asked in Mark 8:27 ' Who do people say that I am?'

Stay hopeful. God's got your back.

Happy Sunday.

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey