The Myth and the negative influence of Honorary titles as compared to traditional titles and how they have become an albatross and have also become an Open Sesame to pervasive atrocities of Bribery and Corruption in Nigeria.
Nigerians love titles arguably more than our neighbors in the African Continent.
Most of our traditional rulers nation-wide from the Jaja of Opobo to the Amayannabo of Buguma, to the Alaafin of Oyo or the Oonirisa of Ile Ife, the Ohinoyi the Attah of Igbira land to the Emir of Kano, the Shehu of Bornu and the Sultan of Sokoto are all guilty of the malfeasance.
They all claim they all confer those titles to promote national unity but we all know it is also an effort to raise funds for themselves by conferring such titles on very rich and very influential people in our country.
Our royal fathers in particular and Nigerians in general don’t care about how you make your money and whether or not you bought the titles you put behind your names as long as you are willing to share or squander some of your loot with them with a plan to recoupe what you spend by taking a job in Abuja that is far beyond your capacity or pay grade..
The “Bow and Go” policy adopted in the Red Chamber in Abuja for their most important duty in their Confirmation Ritual of Presidential nominees goes out the door and all those chains of degrees they all claim to have acquired before their election are immediately swept under the carpet.
The so-called Honorable Members all go to Abuja to compound the vicious circle of Bribery and Corruption in Nigeria
The country cannot continue to wallow in sins or to keep on repeating the same mistakes, time and again, but expecting a different result or outcome
Our current President got his own when he became not just “Asiwaju” of Lagos, but the Jagaban of Borgu in preparation for his presidential ambition.
Are Gani Adams of Arigidi a Generlissimo without an Army of his own and without a single weapon to effectively perform as the Are Onakankanfo of Yoruba Land
A new Okanlomo Odua which really means little , if you really think about it has just been installed by the Oonirisa of Ile Ife with pomp and pageantry and the Nigerian First Lady has just been installed the Yeye Asiwaju Oodua by the same Oonirisa arguably to curry the favor of the most powerful politician in Nigeria.
The young man has to do that to prove a point and we all hail him for it.
Filthy-rich Wasiu Ayinde was picked by the late Awujale to succeed the rich and highly influential Subomi Balogun, the owner and Chairman of Monument Bank with Branches in Nigeria and the UK
Wasiu Ayinde is now using that honorary and ceremonial title as a launching pad for his ambition to be crowned the next Awujale regardless of whether or not he is a member of the Ruling House next in line to produce the new Awujale as clearly laid out in the 1958 Chieftaincy Declaration Law in reference to the Awujale throne and as amended in Ogun State.
Can we really blame Wasiu Ayinde as I forcefully argued in one of my articles on the vacant stool of the Awujale.
Can anybody blame former Ogun State Governor Osoba also installed the Aremo by the same Awujale, if the former Governor were to throw his hat to the ring to be a contender for the throne at some future date as the titular Aremo of Awujale.
Can the powerful Oba of Benin go out of his way to appoint an Aremo of Benin when he fully knows that Edo tradition does not permit that or can King Charles of the UK do something like that in Britain?
We now know that the late Awujale could be blamed for choosing Wasiu Ayinde as successor to Subomi Balogun out of many qualified Ijebu multi-millionaires and well qualified candidates he could have picked from at Ijebu Ode?
Wasiu Ayinde was already pronounced the King of Fuji Music by acclamation and consensus of his fans in Nigeria and the late Alaafin of Oyo Oba Lamidi. Adeyemi the Third, Omo Iku Omo Arun has added the title of “Maiyegun” of Yoruba Land to further inflate the super ego of Wasiu to now believe he could easily be the one to step into the giant shoes of Subomi Balogun and from there to become the one to succeed the longest-serving Awujale in living memory.
Can we really blame the man who tried to stop a Plane on the tarmac from taking off because he felt insulted by one of the Air Hostesses
What would such a man do if he becomes the new “Kabi o ko si” as the new Awujale?
Your guess is as good as mine.
I think the time has now come for all of our highly respected royal fathers to be more restrained and more circumspect in giving out all of these honorary and ceremonial titles to just anybody without thinking out the full ramifications of such a move in our society
Well what do I know? I am only a lonely voice in the Wilderness but somebody with some knowledge of the 1958. Chieftaincy Declaration Law of 1958 in the old Western Region. and what it was designed to do ab initio.
As an Akure Prince and a former General Secretary to the Asodeboyede Ruling House of Akure before it was broken into two by a Decree signed into Law by Navy Captain Sunday Abiodun Olukoya, I have a pretty good idea about how that Chieftaincy Law, if strictly followed by all concerned in the Selection Exercise, can help bring some sanity and peace and tranquility to the exercise.
There are far too many qualified candidates than Wasiu whose connection to the Fusengbuwa Ruling House has become damn too controversial to have any chance of being upheld when all is said and done.
Among the rock- solid candidates are Om’Oba Otumba Giwa Abiodun Onanuga, the husband of the former Deputy Governor of Ogun State.
Others include Dr. Kunle Hassan and Om’Oba Odunsi to mention a few who are all prima facie qualified and ready to become the new Awujale -in-Council.
I rest my case.
Om’Oba Dr. Wumi Akintide
