War Is Fearful: The Recollection of War Memories Through Personal Naming Practices in Southeastern Nigeria

The Nigeria–Biafra war (1967–1970) has been regarded as the first major civil war in post-colonial Africa, with an attendant and colossal loss of lives, property, and infrastructure. There are many representations of memories of the war in fiction, non-fiction, symbols, memoires, and post-war relics (usually found in museums) but the role of personal naming practices has been largely neglected in the literature and social narratives of the war history. This article, therefore, aims to investigate the performance of personal names as significant memorial sites that convey trajectories of post-traumatic experiences of the war and the desire for healing and reconciliation. The study adopts the theoretical lens of the socio-onomastic analytic framework, which explores the social contexts in which names are given and used. Drawing on ethnographic data sourced mainly from personal histories and semi-structured interviews with 30 participants in Nsukka (Enugu State) and Owerri (Imo State) in southeastern Nigeria, we argue that personal naming practices form essential elements of the war memory, which positively impact self-recovery and meaningful connection with the people. The study concludes that war-related names are based on name-givers’ lived experiences and life-altering situations that greeted the war and are useful in sharing and preserving collective memory of the war.