Empty barrels also sound loud. Its all gragra and no substance. I for one don't respect titles. I refuse to use any even when I can legaly use a title confered by nature of my duties in America.

I have said this on several threads, the government should abolish this nonsense chieftancy stuff or curb it to a near extinct minimum. Everytime we keep going backwards with this tradition stuff, people will rather be enslaved and oppressed by their people and yet they call it tradition. The society can elect people before or during traditional stuffs like new yam festivals and other traditional occassions but that chieftancy title and traditional ruler stuff should be wiped out. IN THAT PICTURE I SEE NOTHING BUT OLODOS CLAIMING THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO LEAD PEOPLE.

The real question however is this the only thing in our nation that is been abused? Is there
anything else left in Nigeria that originally would have gone to people of merit but which has
now being sold to the highest bidders and crooks? How many Nigerian office holders or
leaders that one can honestly say he or she has respect for? I can't think of any that I can
vouch for.

This is just another mirror reflection of our sorry state of affairs. The problem itself is not the
titles, but the institutions that offers those awards, the decaying standards, and the people
manning those institutions. If the greedy, myopic, and selfish traditional rulers were to make
it a requirement for anyone wanting to be a Chief to complete projects like schools, roads,
clinic, etc. or a demonstrated love for their communites, Nigeria will not be in the bad shape
it is today. But then how do you expect the traditional rulers to remain immuned from the
corruption that is overflowing around them, most especially when they have to answer to
governors (military or civilian) that epitomizes corruption and abuse of power?

It is part of our heritage, but it needs to be better regulated. Age restrictions, the track records
of the individuals, and their contributions to their immediate communities needs to be factored in
before an award is conferred on anyone. The Queen of England knights people from all of works
of life, it is part of their culture and has not been discontinued simply because they are advanced.
The real Chiefs know themselves and people are also able to separate the frauds from the real
deal - they may not say so openly.