Panji Anoff speaks on his Nigeria roots

Songwriter and creative director Panji Anoff has said he believes his family has Igbo ancestry, pointing to his surname as evidence of historical migration between present-day Nigeria and Ghana.

Speaking on Richie Mensah’s Masterminds podcast, Panji said his family name appears to have evolved over generations and likely originated from the Igbo name “Amadi.”

“Some of my relatives disagree with me, but our family name, Amedi, doesn’t mean anything in Twi. It’s Amadi, and it’s an Igbo name,” he said.

Panji said this suggests that some members of his family may have descended from Igbo traders who settled in Ghana several generations ago.

“That means five, six or seven generations ago, Igbo businessmen came to Ghana,” he explained.

According to him, migration and intermarriage have long shaped communities across Africa, with people settling in new countries and becoming part of local societies over time.

“Typical in Africa, if you go somewhere, you stay, you marry. This kind of pollination has been happening for centuries,” Panji said.