In His Book “The Stabbing Of Nigeria,” Agbakoba Suggests A Name Change For Nigeria 

Yinka Olatunbosun 

On the heels of many conflicting issues bedeviling Nigeria, a poet, author and historian, Nnamdi Agbakoba in his book, “The Stabbing Of Nigeria” remarked that the onus of Nigeria’s problem lies in the name, hence has suggested for a change of the name ‘Nigeria’.

He opined in the book that the name, Nigeria is a coinage or derivative of a terrible racial slur or insult NIGGER generated centuries ago in the slave plantations of America and Europe and was long overdue for a change. 

He also noted in the book that other ECOWAS countries have changed their names and Nigeria seemed to be the only country bearing a name given to her by her oppressors. “Is there a secret pact with Britain that the word NIGERIA must never be changed?” he asked.

He explained further, “The word NIGERIA is a simple coinage or derivative of the words NIGGER or NIGER. The three words are completely identical apart from the occurrence of double “g” in the word NIGGER and the “ia” that appears at the end of Niger thereby creating the name NIGERIA. This is exactly how the word NIGERIA came into existence.

“The word NIGERIA is part of the problem of a dwarfed growth and development in all areas of nation building. It is a mystery how the name of someone or something can determine the destiny of that thing but if name changing has always been a part of how God operates and indeed all nations of ECOWAS, then why are we operating in the opposite direction.”

Agbakoba who wrote ‘Terrors of War’ and numerous poems also postulated in the book the possibility of HE Peter Obi’s victory at the polls in the 2023 presidential election. 

He made known his intentions for writing the book at a media parley. Perched on a period where Nigeria is at another political crossroads towards the polls come February 2023. The author maintained that if nothing is done quickly to salvage the educational system in Nigeria, things will go awry.

The author also took a swipe at West African Examinations Council WAEC in his book, exposing the rot in the examination body and the illegal expo sites which he said students and parents gained access to questions and answers to exams before the actual exams.

In his words: “How is Nigeria under attack one may ask? When the brains and creativity of millions of WAEC candidates are sabotaged by exam questions leakage, year after year when candidates can easily browse the internet and find a host of sites selling WAEC questions and answers, that is a direct attack on the vocational and academic system of Nigeria. 
“WAEC is the very first major external examination candidates must scale for academic authorities to know the strength and weaknesses of students and the academic system, but the whole process is shrouded in corruption. So, the Government is managing a blind academic system because what WAEC announces as credits or distinctions is grossly incorrect.”

He continued: “Toying with an institution like WAEC is like killing the quality of the work and labour force of the future. Hence, the title ‘The Stabbing of Nigeria’ is like mortgaging the future of Nigeria because a Nation is only as good as its labour professional and vocational work force.”

On Peter Obi’s emergence and victory, the author noted that his predictions were based on past events and revelations which he called a precedent. He also claimed that in his book, “Terrors Of War” two of his predictions came to pass: Niger Delta violence and the America/Iraq crisis. Needless to say, he is confident of his prediction on Obi coming to pass.