Stop calling Nigeria ‘Naija’ – NOA warns

In an attempt to preserve the country’s name originally for generations unborn, the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr. Garba Abari, has appealed to Nigerians to stop referring to Nigeria as ‘Naija.’

The DG stated this while speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, stressing that making the country’s name funky, was not in its best interest.

Abari warned the individuals, corporate organisation and the media especially not to follow the trend but to help correct it for the sake of the children and generations unborn who might think that ‘Naija’ is the original name instead of Nigeria.

In Abari’s words: “We try in all our advocacy visits to insist that Nigeria must be referred to as Nigeria and not Naija.

“So, our schools have a role to play in this; the media itself has also got a very fundamental role to play because it is the media that helps in the propagation of this kind of misnomer.

“All of us, as individuals, as corporate organisations, as media, whether broadcast, print or online, must wake up to the reality.

“That the more we use these misnomers referring to our country, the fallout of it is that, a significant percentage of our younger ones will not even remember that Nigeria is the original name of our country.

“I want to appeal to all Nigerians, young and old to always refer to our country as Nigeria,” he said.

Abari also urged parents to discourage their children and wards from using the name `Naija’.