The skull was nicknamed "Toumaï", a name from the local Daza language meaning "hope of life", given to infants born just before the dry season. The nickname was suggested by the president of Chad, Idriss Déby, in honour of one of his comrades-in-arms who had been killed in the coup d'état against the previous president, Hissène Habré. Toumaï also became a source of national pride, and Brunet announced the discovery before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a television audience in the capital of N'Djamena, ""l'ancêtre de l'humanité est Tchadien...Le berceau de l'humanité se trouve au Tchad. Toumaï est votre ancêtre"" ("The ancestor of humanity is Chadian...The cradle of humanity is in Chad. Toumaï is your ancestor.")