On the way home from church this morning, my mother and I were discussing the correct pronunciation of my last name and she told me some interesting things. All Nigerian names are sentences in a Nigerian language. My first name, Idahosa, means: "I am listening to God". My last name, Edokpayi, means: "Only the edo tribe is worthy of glory". My middle name, Igbinoba, means: "I have seen the king". My other middle name, (given to me by maternal grandfather) is Irubo for "a child is better than wealth". My paternal grandfather gave me his name as my first, and an aunt named me Igbinoba because she really had seen the king. All my names but Omoviro are Benin.
My mother told me a little more about my family history and why my Dad is so proud of the family heritage. The king (the oba) in benin had a castle surrounded by a moat, and all the important people - his servants - lived within that moat. The people who lived outside the moat were merely villagers. I suppose that is why my family chose such a proud name.
What is more, I am the first son of a first son. By Nigerian tradition I am to inherit the family possesions and become the next leader of the family. Weird huh?