The silence was interrupted by the phone of the young man sitting next to me screaming “Oya Shakitii Bobo”, some people’s choice of ring tones, though… I said to myself as I stole a glance at his screen and made out the word “Mother” on the caller ID which I read as “Mother!!!”
Many thoughts went through my head, like why would someone save his mum’s number as mother? It sounds too formal for me.
Arriving at our destination after five hours of travelling, a woman brought out her phone to make a call. I observed that she is placed a call to ‘My Sweet Loving Daddy’. From the conversation I presumed she was talking to her husband. I stopped to think of how husband changed to daddy. It’s her phone and it’s her hubby…not my business.
Another day, I was strolling down the street with a sister after an evening service, she decided to call her husband. The name on the screen was “Bro. Harrison”.
This was too much for me! Why would you save your husband’s number as “Bro.”!? I decided to seek the opinion of a friend, and she analysed that the husband was a brother at one point before the dating and marriage, and she never bothered re-saving the name in a more endearing way. OK.
After that conversation, I went through my phone book to see how I save numbers, starting with my parents-A’ma and A’ba.
My siblings numbers are saved with their pet names-Edede, Boyi and Misese, My friends vary a lot, it could be their real names or nicknames, for instance, one of my friend’s number is saved as “Little Dove” – because that was how a prospective boyfriend addressed her. She found it annoying, while I found it hilarious.
My classmates had an extension of our course code attached to their name e.g. Raphael C.S.
My colleagues at work also have an extension of the office affixed to their names-Johnson FBC.
My tailor has Tailor before his name; I have Keke 1,2,3 and also Keke KD 1,2,3 for times when I travel out of town.
My boss number, hmm, it is saved as “My boss”, “Dictator” or “Head of my office” depending on how nice or unnice to me he is at a particular point in time. Changing his number to a mean name is my quiet way of taking out my anger at him.
I save the number of any annoying guy asking me out as “Do not Pick” I had 2 of that as at the time of this survey. And while I was carrying out this survey, I came across a number saved as “Expectant Lover” I honestly cannot recall who the person is and why I saved the number that way.
My personal numbers are saved with my name and the network extension “Nammytel”, “Namtn”, “Nammysalat”, “Namglo”.
If I get to know someone through another person, then I save the second person’s name as an extension of the first’s person’s name e.g Suur’s Becky.
For my Christian family of faith, I add the prefix, Bro. or Sis. Before their names.
And that’s that about my phonebook
I had a friend who saved the number of guys she didn’t like that asked her out as Goat 1,2,3,4 etc.
My mum had a ward who was too fat that his walk seemed like a waddle so she saved his number as “Tunde WAD” (walking and dancing). He once stumbled upon it and asked her the meaning, she said it meant Wale Adenuga Development, because he bore a close resemblance to an actor on Super story.
I think the way a number is saved reflects our relationship with the individual.
It is paramount to stress the importance of everyone having ICE (In Case of Emergency) numbers because we sometimes do not save numbers in a way that strangers going through our phonebook can easily identify, grouping a few numbers as ICE enables anyone going through our phonebook to know easily who to contact in case of an emergency.
So, what’s in your phonebook?
Photo Credit: Ron Chapple | Dreamstime.com
OK, I laughed
Our phone book saving style are alike
Cc: Ifeoma’s Ken
Drop John
Oge FBN
Oh, I do “mother” too, don’t even ask
Haha Namicit I love your profile! I saved my auntie’s number as “do not pick” when she was constantly draining my bank akant. And I have not picked till this day lol. My mom is Tea and my dad, Coffee (their early morning addictions). I saved my ex’s contact with his first and last name and a close friend thot it was really weird. And that’s how I save everyone’s contacts, even my dear siblings. So formal! BTW, for some extra fat, take Apetamin. Thank me later ?
Lmao… Most times I don’t like people seeing what I saved their contact with on my phone.
MINE IS VERY YORUBA-TIC!
MOM IS MAMA.
DAD IS DAD
SISTERS WITH NICKMANES….
THEN, MUYIWA A.C
IYA TOSIN LEKKI MARKET
SEGUN GOAT LEG
RILIWAN MAZDA
WASIU RANGE.
TOSAN HAIR
ABIGAIL UNDER BRIDGE IKEJA (FOR MY HAIR BRAIDER)
VERY YORUIBA-TIC!!!
Segun Goat Leg 😀
LMAO I’m sooo guilty of saving numbers with evil names. just this evening I saved one of my cousin’s number as onecousin, another number as annoying customer, I have terrible customer too. I’m reviewing my contacts now and I just can’t with some names eg iyaonibra. damn am I terrible?
Don’t worry, you’re not alone, I have an “annoying-I-beg-to-apply”, I Dey tell you
??????????……. just negodu this my course mate…… I saved one person’s number as BRAGADOOO and another as TIME SLICE…… am sure you know who they are…….. Lao
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Unijos… we always killing it. Nice write up dearie.
I once fought with my husband, then i changed his name from honey to “low battery” on my phone
I save names based on your relationship with me. My husband is baby,my siblings numbers are saved with their pet names But I have some funny one like bad neighbour, mama Kobe’s friend, 419 tailor, I-too-know,slow talker etc. If only these people can see their names on my phone??????? E go bad oh
I’m guilty as charged, i save numbers depending on the situation or way we metmet.Namy I’m really really impressed by your way of thought I think I just got inspired…..
Your Mum is a gangster. Tunde must have believed her in totality. Wale Adenuga Development.
hahaha. on the bus i’ve seen phones with : Baba Bayo, Baba Dele, Baba Femi, Baba Lai, Baba Tope, … loool or Iya Alaja, Iya Elepo, Iya Fade, Iya this and that.
I do have a lot of names that I should have changed, like my sister’s number is still saved as __ Corper even though she was a corper many years ago, and many former colleagues are still saved as CompanyName ___ . 🙂
My phone book is quite formal.
First name and last Name for everyone on my phone book except my sister. I actually started with her full name until I got to “dhshg” lol? She keeps losing her phones!
I do not edit the names except to correct the spelling errors!
*sigh*
A friend was with me one day my dad had to call me severally. She was surprised to find out I had been talking to my dad all the while. I saved his name as Muhammad Goodluck Buhari ???. The fact that there were lots of laughs in between did not help to prove he was not a potential toaster.
When 2 or 3 people have the same first name, what am I supposed to do? I have to link each name to where I sabi the person, so for instance, I have FemiBudapest, FemiRCCG , FemiDallas, I also have ThelmaUni, ThelmaHookUpforGoatMeat, ThelmaParis, my ex is saved as HEADACHE, and my crush is saved as TemiPendingBoo because I have so many Temis in my list. I really pray that I will be able to change Temi’s name to My Heartbeat on my list soon….amen.
Lmaoo at Wale Adenuga Development. Your mum is the real MVP. And I can imagine she said that with a very straight face ??. I save the names of most people with their first and last names and then their company/school where necessary. If I don’t know their last name then just the first name and how/where I met them. Even my parents and bae’s names are saved this way complete with the Mr. … and Mrs. … Others are something like uncle this, aunty that, big mummy ikeja, big mummy VI, bike man, Moses mami market, Moyo’s mummy, Mr. Destiny hair, Mr. Femi agent, Segun nysc, Uncle B’s wife, Bro… and sis.. for my church people
Make I famz small, my name was mentioned. Who would have thought Namicit had this writing skills up her sleeves.
For ICE case, my mom is ‘sweet momma’ and dad is papa. Siblings are their names then the exes vary from ‘aja’ to ‘carrygo’. There’s this primary sch mate named Giwa who was never in the good books of ant teacher… We christened him ‘Giwa in trouble’ saw him some weeks back then felt funny cause I didn’t remember. I had a boss I named ‘slave master’ and so on.
one time i was helping an older friend who has a provision shop to write down numbers from her phone…lol it was so funny….saw names like madam akpu,drink man,sugar woman,madam pepper,egg woman…the list goes on…i thought it was funny but i guesss dats her way of easily identifying her numerous suppliers….
Here for the comments and laughing my ass off. I am the only with no Ex’s no in the phone book. I don’t have a pattern joo. Use first names for everyone except for parents and hubby with a few nick names in between. Your mum is bad ass mehn! Loved her answer, sharp one. Loving the comments keep it coming.
Lmaoo at Wale Adenuga Development.!!! Your mom is something else.
Permit me to write an epistle. All those calling about my bvn etc are saved as 419 1, 2, 3 etc. My uncles and aunts have where they live attached e g uncle Iluoyinbo cause he lives in U.K,, neighbours saved with neighbour so so, colleagues saved with our establishment name fist then real name and if two people have same name it becomes so so so Joseph Admin or Accounts, friends from secondary or tertiary institutions saved as I knew them no husband name attached. My oga at work saved as oga so, so but there is this particular one that is always saying im in charge here so I removed oga and put in charge for her. My senior siblings saved as sister so so(dont have a senior brother but junior) so the junior siblings are saved with their names. My husband is daddy( though he is not old enough to father me) Mother was Mami and father Bami( my mother my father before they died) My children as Ayomi( my joy) 1, 2, 3, 4. My two inlaws as Iremi ( My goodness)1, 2 praying to get up to 4 Ires soon.A friends sister misbehaved recently and she changed her name to Agba osika(wicked elder) another friends husband asked her why she didnt save towards her retirement( this woman single handedly trained their five children built a house and did everything for the family for 35 years she worked while the man did nothing but sitdown look) The woman cried and cried then consoled herself by changing the husband from Baba so so to Agbako(evil one)When she was asked why she said there is no other demon than her husband who contributed nothing to the house for over 30years but has the gut to ask her why she didnt save for her retirement but rather sit down waiting for pension. I pitied her and encouraged here to change the name.
My phone book is very formal.
First and Last names plus titles(Drs, Pastor, Barrister, pharm) and in some cases locations where i met you.
However my Siblings are just first names.
Just yesterday my mothers phone was ringing beside me, and i turned to see, FISH LONGMOUTH. i was alarmed. i asked her who and why is the contact saved like that, she said it is her fish customer.
Una no kill me with laughter. I save with where you live, how we met, your profession or traiid e.g my tailor is Tailor Mercy, dry cleaner James etc,, husband as Olowo- Orimi (He that paid my dowry) children with pet names, senior siblings with Mama or Baba this, junior siblings with their names same for cousins auntys etc. I have wicked neighbour why other neighbours are just neighbour then name. Any one that call and its funny is saved as fake caller so that when he calls again I will know he had called before.
Lol I actually have “He-goat-1 ” and “he-goat-2″…God forgv me
i actually save people’s names in my phonebook using their surnames and first names, i never save a contact if i don’t have both names- i know when i need to call the person, i would remember either the surname or the firtsname, and with friends , i add their nicknames- so which ever comes to mind first . Family too, i save their names as so- (uncle, parents , siblings- Surname, Firstname) .
for the ICE (in case of emergency part) i use my iPhone’s siri feature ( so hey siri, call my mother, sister , or girlfriend actually digs theyr contact out and makes the call- i just hope see naija reach the level wen everybody sabi use siri and internet doesn’t fail you.
saving method- (kinikan MTN 1, GLO 2,kinda irritates me, i only have one phone
I saved everyone as first nam and last name except for members of my family.
If I just met you, I’ll ask for your surname. Until I met some idiot that must have been feeling fly and when I asked for the last name, talmabout ‘why?’. Errrr…..are you the child of the President?