Congo was named by Europeans. Congo’s dictator Mobuto later changed the name of the country and the river to Zaire with the objective of Afticanising names of persons and spaces. However, the name Zaire was a Portuguese alteration of N=adi o Nzere, a local African term meaning ‘River that swallows Rivers’. Zaire was the Portuguese name for the Congo river in the 16th and 17th centuries. ‘Which one of the following statements can be inferred from the paragraph above?

The correct option is: Mobuto was not entirely successful in Africanising the name of his country

Step-by-step Explanation:

1. Analyze the Dictator's Objective: The passage states that the dictator Mobuto changed the name of the country and the river to "Zaire" with the specific objective of "Africanising names of persons and spaces."
2. Examine the Origin of the Name "Zaire": The passage explains that the name "Zaire" was actually a "Portuguese alteration" of the local African term N-adi o Nzere. Furthermore, "Zaire" served as the Portuguese name for the Congo river during the 16th and 17th centuries.
3. Connect the Objective to the Outcome: Because Mobuto chose the name "Zaire" to Africanise the country's name, but "Zaire" itself was a Portuguese alteration (a European colonial adaptation) rather than a purely authentic African term, his objective of fully Africanising the name was not completely successful.
4. Evaluate the Options:
- The statement "Mobuto was not entirely successful in Africanising the name of his country" directly reflects this irony and can be logically inferred from the text.
- The term N-adi o Nzere was local African, not of Portuguese origin.
- There is no evidence that the Portuguese active prevented Mobuto or that Mobuto ordered the Portuguese to alter the name, as the alteration had already occurred in the 16th and 17th centuries.