Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday denounced his Christian
name, Matthew, saying he should no more be called by it because he is
not a tax collector like his biblical namesake.
Accordingly, he adopted only Olusegun Okikiola Aremu as his names, even
as he noted that names have lots of connotations in African setting.
He said, while his decision was borne out of the fact that Matthew in
the Bible was known as a stupid tax collector, anybody who does not want
to see his (Obasanjo’s) eyes red should stop calling him Matthew.
He stated this in Abuja at an event organised by the Nigerian Society of
Engineers (NSE) in commemoration of his 80th birthday celebration in
Abuja.
Obasanjo who clocked 80 years in March this year said, “When I was born
in my part of Nigeria, the system was that after eight days, you must be
given a name and for people to know that you were born into a Christian
family, you will be given one Hebrew name.
“My mother and father decided to name me Matthew but when I grew up, I
started asking myself the meaning of Matthew. Not only does it not have
meaning as long as I am concerned, the biblical Matthew is a stupid tax
collector. Anybody who does not want to see my eyes red should stop
calling me Matthew”.
Obasanjo commended the NSE presidential system of election and
governance, wishing that it could be introduced into Nigerian politics.
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