“In modern time, truly great men abhor titles as their deeds are sufficient in elevating them among nobles,” writes Nigerian academic and journalist, Desmond Okocha.
This piece, exclusively done for Politico, address a phenomenon that has seen dubious academic institutions conniving with title craze and failed African leaders for money and illusory fame.
By Desmond Okocha
How time flies! Titles that were formerly associated with nobility, heroism, achievements, triumphs and great feats have surprisingly suddenly become a cheap commodity in the open market.
In years gone-by, our fathers went to wars, labored daily and invested time and energy to serve their communities and nations and were in return honoured with titles that depicted their achievements and respected place in societies. Fast-forward to the 21st century, there are no more restrain on who can access or acquire these highly valued titles. In fact, they are now hawked at street corners.
In view of the above ugly state of things, many modern paraded titles are mere comical.
While there is nothing wrong with well-desired titles as one can earn them as a result of genuine labour and contributions to society, I must point out that many people have abused titles that were treasured by societies and past generations out of greed, power intoxication, sycophancy, ignorance or malicious tendencies.
David Kowalski recognized this madness and pointed that it has even encroached into our religious circle. He said, "I believe phony doctorates are a moral scandal in the church today. Many ministers are deliberately misrepresenting their academic qualifications with fake degrees."
He added that honorary doctorates may be a nice gesture toward a respected person, but these gestures are abused when recipients subsequently call themselves "Dr.", implying they have done the necessary academic work to receive such title and that the quality of such work was verified by authorities in that field.
How many of us would want an honorary doctor to perform brain surgery on us? It's as serious as that.
Daniel Luzer, a former web editor of the Washington Post stated that an honorary degree is a ridiculous throw device and represents a present only between a college and someone it wishes to honor. It by no means confers any academic qualifications on the person who got the piece of paper and he should take care never to reference it outside of the institution that issued it.
In Sierra Leone, you cannot publicly address the president or vice president, especially in the media controlled by the state, without using "Dr", despite the title is mere honorary. All these unnecessary appellations are affecting the quality of news reportage coming from Africa.
The accumulation of many distorted titles by some mortals is obviously a show of intellectual shallowness, inferiority complex and lack of social validation. They amass titles for themselves as a deliberate move to console themselves and conjure some feelings of importance. The titles are sometimes a display of highly crafted mockery from those who bestowed the titles on the individual.
Among the clergies, we hear of titles like "Pastor Dr ","Most High Reverend", "Eminent High Bishop ", "Most Reverend Father Dr" and many others that space would not allow us to mention,
Another class of funny titles is false titles of nobility. These are titles of nobility that are not recognized by any government, even in countries in which titles of nobility once existed or still exist. President Yayha Jammeh of Gambia got one of such few years ago. These titles are sometimes connected to self-styled orders of chivalry.
Church of St Lazarus, Alberta, Canada is one of the many bodies awarding titles like Knight, Lord, or an Honorary Doctorate on the payment of fees by willing recipients irrespective of the individual's character. This leads one to question the integrity and ethics of institutions awarding these titles to "unhonourable" and "questionable" men in our societies.
This indiscriminate awarding of titles shows the depth of decadence in our formal institutions. Once a politician patronizes an institution by way of donation, the institution reciprocate by giving honorary title to the individual without taking into cognition wider societal implications, the individual's ideology and due process. When last did an institution in our countries refuse a donation on the ground of principle and integrity? Our institutions have virtually lost their souls. We are not even told the criteria that are used in arriving on these decisions to award an individual other than patronage.
In Nigeria, "Dr" Williams Babatunde Flowler, who was appointed by President Muhammad Buharia to head Nigeria's Federal Inland Revenue Service, was disclosed to hold a dubious honorary doctorate degree in England from a fake institution know as the "Irish International University." Before this time, you dare not address him without the title "Dr". His CV and online profiles had the title boldly written.
South Africa is not left out as it has an interesting list of pseudo-intellectuals falsely claiming academic qualifications.
Ghanaian writer Elizabeth Ohene, noted that the practice of acquiring a long list of titles started with our earliest presidents as soon as independence came.
"That, after all, is how our traditional chiefs are addressed and the new presidents saw themselves as big chiefs- that probably explains why they couldn't come to terms with term limits and wanted to be presidents for life," she noted.
This sad tale cuts across Africa, from east to west, north to south. Recipients are mostly politicians and moneybags. If you don’t belong to this class then your chances are limited.
Africans are obsessed with titles. It's quite common for African engineers to adopt the prefix Engineer (often shortened to Engr.), architect hands out a business card with "Arc." as a title, quality surveyors use "Surv" while pharmacists go for Pharm. Often, the title craze is plain ludicrous.
Institutions have been accused of going to the disgraceful extent of advertising awards and honorary titles to politicians and the elites in exchange for some monetary benefits. Other times, it is the recipients that initiate the process.
The irony of it all is that instead of the titles bringing some measure of relief and pride to the bearers, they rather compound their miseries, devalue their already depreciated status and to crown it all, make them an exciting theatrical figure. In modern time, truly great men abhor titles as their deeds are sufficient in elevating them among nobles.
Robert Mugabe was in October awarded the Confucius Peace Prize, an award that is meant to be China's answer to the Nobel Peace Prize. Mugabe decided to turn it down and refused to collect his prize money of $80,000 or attend the lavish award ceremony. Meanwhile, the wife was dubious awarded a doctorate degree sometime this year.
Barrack Obama, Goodluck Jonathan, Kofi Annan and countless others are highly educated and respected globally, yet use no title. Chinua Achebe, the writer of Things Fall Apart had more than 40 honorary doctorate degrees from prestigious universities but preferred to be addressed by his name even without the adding of Mr.
Ironically, Joseph Mobutu preferred to be called Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Waza Banga, meaning The Warrior who goes from Conquest to Conquest leaving fire in his wake.
Ex-president of Malawi, Hastings Kamuzu Banda, loved to be called Ngwazi Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda- Life President of the Republic of Malawi.
Idi Amin went with Field Marshall Dr Idi Amin Dada MC DSO CBE, meaning conqueror of the British Empire and Life President of Uganda.
President of the Gambia goes by His Excellency, Commander in Chief, Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya A J J Jammeh Babili Mansa. Babili Mansa is a Mandika language meaning Bridge Builder, or Conqueror of Rivers.
It is only in a fictional world that a man who has never written a single paragraph in a local newspaper will ascribe professor to his name. Such insanity will resurrect Nelson Mandela from his grave and equally install Sanni Abacha as the president of International Court of Justice. Those scenarios will be too complex for our scientists to unravel.
It's non-achievers that battle to acquire titles that laughably they cannot even explain because they are unlearned and ignorant of the responsibilities associated with the titles.
I view the excessive devotion to titles as part of a culture that celebrates loudness, mistaking the gaudy for the golden, quantity for quality.
Across the continent, many of this breed of humans will seek to intimidate and harass you if you fail to address them by their titles. I have seen some dragging people to court for this self-presumed offense. It seems they can no longer exist or breathe without these titles. They seem naked and empty without these titles.
In a nutshell, all these insatiable accumulation of titles by proud and power-drunks is tantamount to the dance of a naked man in the market place.
Desmond O. Okocha is a Nigerian multidisciplinary scholar, consultant and journalist with special focus on Management, Mass Communication, Leadership, Theology and Social theories. He has published widely on these areas. He is a member of many prestigious professional bodies. He currently serves as a Senior Lecturer and Career Development Director with the Stratford College of Management - The Gambia.
(C) Politico 16/11/15
