A soccer participant who was just lately drafted to play within the Nationwide Soccer League (NFL) two weeks in the past has determined to reclaim his identify after years of permitting others to name him one other identify as a result of they couldn’t pronounce it.
In response to the Baltimore Solar, the Baltimore Ravens’ first-round draft decide, exterior linebacker Odafe Oweh, will begin utilizing his given first identify when he might be taking part in within the NFL. Oweh, who allowed folks to consult with him by his center identify, Jayson, has determined that, in a nod to his Nigerian heritage and to begin the newest chapter in his life, he’ll revert again to Odafe.
Oweh’s dad and mom, Henry, and Tania, grew up in Nigeria. Henry was born and raised there, Tania moved there from London when she was a preteen. They each went to high school in Nigeria and attended school in London, the place they met earlier than settling in New Jersey within the late Nineteen Nineties.
The identify, Odafe, pronounced uh-DAH-fay, has its roots within the Urhobo tribe, which is his father’s ethnic group. That group primarily resides in Southwest Nigeria; Tania is from the Igbo tribe, one other Nigerian ethnic group. Odafe means ” rich particular person.”
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“Often when Nigerians identify children, it’s both one thing that’s being projected on a child or one thing that’s indicative of the present scenario,” stated Tania, who runs a medical gear enterprise with Henry. “Clearly, this was extra a projection, like, ‘You’re going to be a rich man.’ Wealth, not simply monetarily however holistically. And that was the proclamation on him.”
Oweh began to understand his tradition as he matured. “As I bought to school, I actually discovered myself. I actually understood that I’ve all the time liked to be Nigerian. I’ve all the time liked to be African…I began actually embracing my African tradition as I bought older. I understood it was good to be totally different. It was good to have tradition.”
In response to The Undefeated, when Oweh initially addressed the Baltimore Ravens media, the thirty first participant chosen within the 2023 NFL draft merely said, “Jayson is my center identify. My first identify is Odafe. I’m of Nigerian descent. Folks had been having hassle announcing Odafe, so I went to Jayson in my earlier years, however I don’t care anymore, you’re going to should learn to pronounce it.”
And with that assertion, Oweh reclaimed his identify.
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