By Dr. Pedus Eweama

Nigeria is witnessing an unprecedented misuse of religious, traditional, academic, and professional titles across its sociocultural landscape. Increasingly, individuals appear incomplete without a prefix to their names—whether earned or assumed—creating a society where titles are often valued more than merit.

While titles are meaningful when properly earned, their widespread abuse reflects a deeper national concern. At a time when Nigeria urgently needs economic and institutional reform, it also requires moral reorientation and socio-cultural reengineering.

In today’s reality, a bricklayer and his assistant may assume the title “engineer,” while a furniture maker may do the same. With little more than a Bible and public visibility, individuals are addressed as “Pastor,” “Reverend,” or “Bishop,” regardless of theological training or ecclesiastical authority. Traditional and academic titles have not been spared this inflation of identity.

The title “Professor,” once a symbol of rigorous academic achievement, is now casually used beyond its rightful confines. Similarly, “Doctor” has become increasingly ambiguous, sometimes detached from medical or doctoral qualifications. Even honorary doctorates are frequently presented in ways that blur the line between recognition and earned academic status.
Traditional institutions are also affected. Titles such as “Chief,” “High Chief,” and even “Triple Chief” are increasingly commodified, often stripped of their cultural and communal significance. The integrity of traditional leadership risks being reduced to transactional exchange.

Political honorifics such as “Honourable” and “His Excellency” are also loosely applied, sometimes without the institutional weight they are meant to carry. This widespread inflation of titles undermines public trust and distorts perceptions of competence.

Curiously, some professional titles, such as “Barrister,” remain relatively protected from such misuse. However, the broader culture of title inflation continues unchecked.

This trend reflects a deeper societal crisis: the erosion of authenticity and value systems. False titles produce false identities, and false identities inevitably generate false narratives about competence and credibility.

Of particular concern is the increasing tendency of political aspirants to adopt academic prefixes based on incomplete qualifications. For instance, describing oneself as “Dr.” due to a “PhD in view” is misleading and ethically problematic. A qualification in progress cannot credibly serve as an honorific title.

Nigeria urgently needs structural and legal reforms to address this issue. In many jurisdictions, the misuse of protected professional and academic titles is a punishable offence. Nigeria cannot afford to remain an exception.

Beyond legislation, there is a deeper need for national reorientation. A society that rewards appearance over substance risks institutional decay. National dignity is weakened when misrepresentation becomes normalised.

This is therefore an appeal to the national conscience: Nigerians must resist the normalisation of unearned titles. Government should also consider legislation that criminalises wilful misrepresentation of protected academic and professional titles.

A new Nigeria cannot be built on false identities, but on truth, merit, and integrity.

Dr. Pedus Eweama, Medical Practitioner & National Merit Award Recipient