Change of name should be optional — Mary Njoku

Filmmaker, Mary Remy Njoku has posted that, except she wants to, a woman has the option of not dropping her marital name in the event of a divorce.

She was weighing in on the debate of whether, May Edochie, estranged wife of actor, Yul Edochie, should change her name having moved out of her matrimonial home. In recent weeks, the Edochies have been having back and forth over their marital status. While some have advised May to revert to her maiden name, others have said that a change of name is her exclusive prerogative.

Joining the debate, Njoku said that if a marriage ends, a change of name should be optional. According to her, a woman cannot build a name for many years and be asked to change it just because “Oga no wan do again”.

“A mother shouldn’t be compelled to have a different name from her underaged kids. Except she is allowed to change their names too. Besides, some wives have been responsible for putting their surnames on the map. Asking them to drop it is like stealing her copyright. Except she wants to,” she said.

At the beginning of the year, May, who lost her 16-year-old son last year, said that 2023 stole a lot from her.

She wrote; “I lost all hope and nearly gave up, I had too many questions eating me all up but I kept hearing that voice echoing, ‘Who am I to question God?’

“I struggled so hard and stood on God’s words commanding us to give Him praise in every situation despite how difficult it is. Truly, I appreciate all the good people you made me cross paths with (my family, friends, strangers turned friends and my online family)…

“I’m grateful to God Almighty for being God in my life, in other words, I’m so glad that man is not God.”