What's the hype in titles???



My phone started acting up.Probably the skoin skoin had let loose. I had grown so attached to my phone that I resorted to take it for repairs immediately.I did not want to fall prey to quack phone repairer so I went to the one that had been tested and trusted.Thankfully, his shop was just a stone throw from where I stay.Before getting there,I had already  developed strategy on  what to do-I would not leave my phone with the phone repairer,I would also watch him closely so that he does not change some vital parts of the phone and lastly I would not spend over specified amount I deemed was worth the repairs.

The phone repairer was a young chap.He had other businesses that he managing- a barbing saloon and a shop for phone accessories.Well,I had gone there judging from previous jobs he had done and referrals too.I noticed he was acting pompous this time around.It was a task getting his attention.However,it all changed when I started addressing him as engineer as other fellow customers did.The effect of the title was amazing.It looked like melody to his ears.The once hostile phone repairer started to pay attention to my issue and applied solutions.Even when it came to issue of payment,I wasted no time in using the magic formula so that he does not over charge me.Calling him an engineer seemed to loosen the  tense atmosphere.

The issue of title is not peculiar to the man depicted above.It is a Nigerian thing. We kinda like to acquire certificates and accolades- #Not a bad thing though.It demands respect and followership. Being addressed as  a Doctor,Professor,Engineer,CEO,Director,Managing Director or Barrister is prestigious.One would not blame such people afterall they went through the process.And the process is  not that easy to pass through in an economy where there are many hindrances like strike,uncooperative lecturers,inconducive work environment,difficult colleagues,outdated materials,village forces(lol) and the likes.

To the married woman,one must not make the mistake of calling her Miss.She has acquired a new status and the ring on her finger can testify to that,In the academic world,people should know the difference between a doctor and professor.Mistaking the two can  cause  problems.The governor must be addressed as the His Excellency as well as the president.The ministers must be called honourables.The traditional leaders must be referred to as your royal highness.The minister of God must be regarded as Reverend or pastor or Father -in-the-Lord.The activist is called a comrade by his followers.

The good thing about titles is that it shows respect and regard.However,it draws a line between the common man and the elite,the proletariat and the bourgeois, the masses and those in authourity,the ordinary and the extra ordinary. When the addressee sees it as a form of ego booster and acts with pride then  it becomes an issue. These days every Tom ,Dick and Harry can give himself/herself titles even if it is unmerited. The phone repairer,the road side mechanic,the electrician are all engineers even if they did not see the four walls of the university and this applies to other sectors too.#Need I say more...

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