Something in me isn't comfortable with people(Nigerians) having an English last name.
I tend to view people who have an English last name as without an identity of self or origin.
Your first name can be whatever but your last name is a continuation of life, culture, family, tribes, kingdom, history etc. Why do we Afrikans feel it's okay to give those up and have names like Victoria Mark and Simon Peter?
Maybe I'm a little obsessed with the whole Afrikan and cultural thing but I went to my village not long ago and the only way my cousins and father's people were able to identify me was because of my last name; Ochei.
My uncles shared and explained my family’s history and stories in very exciting ways that at the end of the day, I vowed I'll live up to the name and impress generations before and after me.
I felt a sense of belonging or maybe pride when I walked towards my father's compound and saw 'Ochei's Compound' in front.
Conversely, however, there are several reasons why some people have or were born into a family with an English last name;
For example, my friend, Stanley Thomas, his granddad thought his family name - Ohu - came with a curse that they'll always be servants to other people and decided his children would break out from the curse then made his English first name his children's last name.
Ohu translates to servant in the Igbo language.
Also, I can understand how you might be Adolf Hitler's or General Sani Abacha's great-grandchild only to grow to a certain age and people begin to associate you with evil or you begin to experience discrimination from your peers simply because you have a last name of men who did evil in the past.
The smart thing to do would be to adopt a new last name to be at least safe in society.
But last names are our identity and shouldn't end because we think we're modern and woke. We should encourage future generations (especially boys) to be proud of their family name because most if not all, Afrikan names always have great meaning to them if we look closer.
Lastly, I'd love to know your last name and its meaning. Send a DM.