Nigeria Content Online

Nigerians
may not have invented cars, but they have demonstrated the fact that
they are geniuses in the semiotics of renaming cars made in other parts
of the world.

Just as names
given to vehicles by their producers go beyond mere identification to
become rhetorical means of marketing them, nicknames given to such
vehicles by the public also speak subtly about the products and those
that use them.

In relation to how
cars signify social status, the Volkswagen Beetle car is for instance
referred to as “Boosu Nwamgbei (A bus for the poor),” an Igbo parody on
“Volkswagen” that narrates how the vehicle represents or belongs to the
poor person in society, even when many poor Nigerians could not afford
to purchase it. The car was also renamed “Azubuike” in recognition of
the unusual location of its engine at the rear where other car types
usually have their luggage compartments. “Azubuike” literally suggests
that its strength is at its behind, which is humorously related to the
idea of one’s strength being in having a successor (in the offspring,
usually the male child).

Deriving from this
same tradition is the identification of the 2008 model of Toyota Camry
car as “Big for Nothing”. Borrowed from the discourse of abuse in which
individuals are called derogatory names, this particular case refers to
the bearer’s abilities not matching their advertized or physical image.
“Big for Nothing” figuratively represents a Nigerian perception of how
the actual capacity of the car does not justify its reinvented big
size. In spite of the fact that the renaming of the car reveals an
awareness in the Nigerian consumer world about how frequent
reinventions of car shapes and sizes do not necessarily translate to
higher performance of the product, many Nigerians still have their eyes
on the car for the simple reason that its “bigness” is appropriate to
their own sense of what it means to be a “big man” in the society.

It seems that being
a “big man” is something that has to be demonstrated in material terms,
as seen not only in Nigeria but also in other parts of the world. The
longish Rolls Royce cars of America, the early generation of Chevrolet
cars, and the Cherokee Chief, all narrate a similar use of car size to
dominate, not just the road, but also the space of power and influence
in society. Space constraints and change in values of course have
forced cars users in the Western world to appreciate smaller cars.

But within this
discourse on space and power in Nigeria, one also finds humour.
Nigerians are indeed good at laughing at and with the other, whatever
their social and economic conditions. Such humour is found in almost
all the nicknames they have for automobiles. The Golf 2 was once a
dream car for many Nigerians, but with the massive importation of
various “tokunbo” (used) vehicles in Nigeria, coupled with a remarkable
improvement in monthly income in the country, the car became common on
Nigerian roads and consequently fell in prestige. It fell to the level
of taxicabs in a society where taxis are seen as low-grade vehicles.
Many taxi drivers also prefer it for its low fuel consumption and
maintenance cost. Thus, because the car has become “common” to many
Nigerians for whom uniqueness is part of the construction of class
superiority, it has come to be nicknamed “Pure Water,” a name derived
from “sachet water” which is again common in Nigeria as a result of the
crisis in public water supply.

I particularly like the Igbo nickname for pick-up vans – Azuanuuka (A turned back listens to no gossip).

Understood within
the context of aggressive and unfriendly driving on Nigerian roads, the
nickname recalls the I-don’t-care posture of drivers of the pick-up
vans who, shielded away in the front compartment of the vehicles,
present a deaf ear to the invectives directed to them by drivers of
other vehicles whose road rights have been violated. Indeed, vehicle
users who are inconsiderate of other road users tend to take advantage
of some protective features built onto their vehicles.

Drivers of
articulated vehicles like trucks are inclined to frighten away drivers
of other fragile vehicles, sometimes causing accidents that involve
mass deaths. Thus in popular Igbo discourse on road transport, the
trailer or tanker is referred to as “Achaghi akuo” (Ready for
collision, if not avoided).

Such humour may
also be linked to an acknowledgement of a similar quality in the
automobile. For instance, the nickname of the 1984 model of Mercedes
Benz car “German Mistake” ironically conveys the recognition of its
superior durability, compared to other car models, or even other
Mercedes Benz cars.

It is considered a
“mistake” in a changing automobile world where the survival of the
automobile company may depend on how high their sales figures rise and
not how many decades a customer enjoys the product before considering
whether to change the spark plugs!

A talking public is
very useful to business, and the Nigerian vehicle nickname geniuses are
doing a good job in semiotically reinventing the vehicles for the
overflooded Nigerian automobile market.