Harare — Since time immemorial, people and places have been given names that reflect not only the prevailing conditions, but also the historical and future implications of the name.

Okonkwo, the main protagonist in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, names the first daughter born while he is in exile in his motherland Nneka, an Igbo name that means "mother is great/supreme". The name embodied his appreciation of the crucial role a mother plays in our lives.

Recently, South African President Thabo Mbeki made remarks about the South African national soccer team's name, Bafana Bafana, that have ruffled feathers among the generality of soccer-loving fans across the globe, but particularly among South Africans. President Mbeki suggested that South Africans should rethink the names/monikers of their national sporting teams. He was especially concerned with the name of the men's national soccer team, Bafana Bafana (The Boys, The Boys) whose name he said was unsuitable for the hosts of the 2010 World Cup.

"What kind of a name (Bafana Bafana) is it? I don't think it is fit for a senior national team or for the hosts of the 2010 Fifa World Cup," Mbeki told a South African radio station. "We need to revisit the names of teams like Bafana Bafana, Banyana Banyana, Amaglug-glug (the Under-23 football team)".

No one anticipated this, and maybe millions never thought about the names, their meanings and their implications. And worse still, many never associated South Africa's standing in the world soccer bonanza vis-à-vis the name "Bafana Bafana".

Suddenly the name that has been synonymous with South African soccer for more than a decade has to be dropped and be replaced with an appropriate and more relevant one before 2010. A mammoth task, for name changes are not as easy as people think they are. It is a costly affair, and we are talking of changing the whole culture and ethos of South African thinking, especially the way they view the game of soccer: the passion, fun, entertainment, amusement, professionalism, entrepreneurship, wealth creation, opportunities, etc. We are also talking about changing mindsets. And we are also talking megabucks.

The mixed reactions to President Mbeki's suggestion show that 2010 is definitely a magical year and it has indeed become Africa's slogan. The media have imbibed it with unprecedented gusto, so have governments, commerce and industry and the soccer-loving public. The reactions ranged from extreme delight, with former Bafana Bafana coach Jomo Sono agreeing totally with President Mbeki that the name was inappropriate and also urging a rethink on the team's strip, whose colours he claimed had been overtaken by events since the apartheid era. Others like the Banyana Banyana manager felt that it would be difficult to change the names and colours of the teams because "they are synonymous with the team, and people already know them by those names".

Then there were also the outrageous, extreme and very racist responses from the likes of one Siegfried and other neo-conservatives on the Internet with Siegfried writing on his blog that: "Pretoria is not the only name the ANC is trying to change. South Africa has numerous pressing problems, yet its president chooses to dabble into the national soccer team's name and uniform . . . It is comforting to know that when South Africa's leaders are not stealing, they are handling the country's most urgent matters like the soccer team's name . . ." (Siegfried

Notwithstanding this, I think President Mbeki made very interesting and positive suggestions, for, names reveal character, an observation that I made in the past when I wrote about the values of a good name.

Some names provoke people to analyse them and make conclusions that might not necessarily be appropriate. A name is a person's identity and a window to his/her life story. It is no secret that African names like in other cultures around the world have depth of meaning and they tell a story. I think that the South African president's comments were also made within the context of the monikers of other national soccer teams across Africa, teams that are likely to be part of the 2010 World Cup line-up.

President Mbeki's call also focuses on the art of naming, i.e. looking at the name as a single unit, analysing its origins (etymology) and meaning, and how it impacts the carrier of the name. Apparently a journalist jokingly coined Bafana Bafana soon after South Africa was admitted to the international family of soccer, and it stuck. It is also a suggestion that should not be separated from South African history where the government and people of South Africa are currently renaming cities, towns, buildings, etc in order to reflect the prevailing democratic dispensation. It is thus understandable that the ruling African National Congress also made the call.

How then does Bafana Bafana compare with the other African teams' names such as the Warriors (Zimbabwe); Crocodiles (Lesotho); Super Eagles (Nigeria); Flames (Malawi); Lions of Teranga (Senegal); Desert Foxes (Algeria); Chipolopolo (Zambia); Black Stars (Ghana); Elephants (Cote d'Ivoire); Pharaohs (Egypt); Atlas Lions (Morocco), etc?

These names say a lot about the game of football in Africa and the attributes of their teams. On the football pitch, it is war, and one never engages in a fight without the hope of winning. Sport is synonymous with victory. Names are also more than colours and emblems. They denote stamina, strength, competitiveness, professionalism, combativeness, courage, conquest, strength, victory, devotion, and skills such as being calculating and shrewd. These are monikers that make the other side squirm, e.g. when one hears Super Eagles of Nigeria, one immediately thinks about the eagle's eye and its precision, its flying power and speed, and the power of the talons when picking up its prey. Stars like Nwankwo Kanu and Austin "Jay Jay" Okocha encapsulate these.

The same with the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon or the Lions of Teranga. The lion is the king of the jungle, and the king of beasts. The Cameroonian team's many victories are also captured in its name. Their physique, stamina, speed and dribbling skills and professionalism have made African soccer what it is today.

Our Warriors' name is synonymous with combatants, assailants, aggressors, fighters or soldiers. One does not go to war to lose. Chipolopolo (the copper bullets) reflect a team that should act like deadly missiles when they are on the pitch, missiles that do not miss their target. The former Zambian star Kalusha Bwalya was a missile on the pitch.

An elephant speaks volumes: size, strength, stamina and total destruction of whatever is in its way. And, Crocodile reflects aggression, resilience and danger for a crocodile is a large voracious aquatic reptile with massive jaws and a body covered in bony plates, no opponent can easily vanquish it in its domain, water.

Meanwhile, the term "boy" is very uncomplimentary and politically incorrect when used to refer to adult men, for the history of the relationship between black and white is a history of power games and supremacy. From slavery to date, some sections of the white community have always had a dim view of blacks -- forever boys, who are grown up physiologically, but not mentally. Read Mark Twain's epic novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", and you will find the derogatory term "nigger" used more than two hundred times. In Rhodesia and other parts of Africa, there was "kaffir", and Madam or Baas always called grown up men "boy". This was the hallmark of the apartheid system. Therefore the more need to revisit Bafana Bafana and change it.

My understanding, therefore, is that President Mbeki wishes to see the transition from apartheid to being readmitted into the world football family, and to hosting the first soccer World Cup in Africa holistically. It should combine the hosting skills with the dribbling skills. The success scored will give Africa, and South Africa in particular, the leverage to host the first summer Olympic Games on the continent.

If South Africans fought an evil system and restored democratic rule, and also succeeded in winning the confidence of the world to host such a landmark event for Africa, then President Mbeki's suggestion should also not be limited to sports and to South Africa. For 2010 should be a turning point in Africa's fortunes. World Cup 2010 should put the continent on an equal footing with the nether world. Our organising capacity and the players' dribbling feet should take Africa out of poverty.

The revolutionary paradigm shift is actually a call to us by President Mbeki to do a soul searching / introspection / review / evaluation as individuals, families, corporate entities and governments continent wide.

While it lasted, Bafana Bafana was useful and served its purpose. South African soccer at national, regional and international levels was celebrated through this name. It will still shape the future of not only the South African soccer teams, but also the African landscape in general. However, the new name should tell the South African story and its soccer team's conquests. It should have a name that says we are here, ready to conquer the world on the soccer pitch and in the management of hosting mega events. It should be a name that presents challenges to competitors, a name full of vision and hope for the future. It should also be a name that celebrates South Africa and Africa's all round exploits, achievements, hopes, aspirations, dreams and forays.

It should not be a name that only zeroes in on the 2010 World Cup, but a name that future generations would not find scope in changing. The name should celebrate the team's exploits without forgetting the history and fullness of meaning that the name entails, for the past cannot be denied and neither should the door be closed on the future.

Thus President Mbeki's call is a lesson in self-evaluation, reorientation; remoulding; remodelling; rebranding, repackaging; re-presentation and transformation. It is part of the search for homegrown solutions to Africa's problems.