Date Published: 01/14/10

THE VANITY AND SHAME OF TITLE CHASERS By Yakubu Ahmed BK

It took the mendacious frenzy and the unprecedented media hype which followed the announcement of the conferment of the title of the Sardauna of Kano on Governor Ibrahim Shekarau by the Emir of Kano to wake me up to the reality that indeed our elites’ craze and their maddening rat race for vexatious traditional and other titles has reached mental retardation point. Of course, it has always been like that for as long as I can remember; but of late, the mad rush for one form of title or the other has assumed a rather disturbing and frightening dimension. What actually is in a title that will warrant the kind of desire for it by people that have no blood link with tradition or its custody? What is in it that tent to make a serving governor to break the bank in order to knick it and to what extent will it add any measure of credibility to them?

I may be a novice in matters of tradition but I know for certain that whatever one is conferred with by any Emir, Oba or Igwe from wherever is just vanity which will make no difference whatsoever to the overall context in which a man is largely seen by the larger community. Let them call you the Zege Mule of any land, the Sarkin Yaki of any community or the Garkuwa of any society, the incontrovertible truth about it all is that you are nobody if in your immediate environment you are seen and regarded as an integral part of the problems of underdevelopment which the people have been stewing in on end. Come to think of it, what will it profit a common criminal that has found himself in a position of authority through manners that are largely fraudulent even if he ends up adding the prefix of the Sardauna or Balogun or Ikemba of any place? Of course, I understand the ego messaging that comes with it or the feeling of big manism that accompany it; but I still see it as vain gloriously inconsequential and matter-of-factly ultra vice and immaterial if you are, in the real sense of it, not what they ascribe to you. For I know that there is a burden that comes with it.

  It used to be very credible; that was when they give it only to those that have worked for it. The thing about credible people is that they are like a golden fish that have no hiding place. If you have the stuff, the encomiums will naturally come your way without you scrambling for it, or using your fraudulently acquired political office to either intimidate or lure a traditional ruler into giving it to you. In any case, it looked to me that it is sweeter if you get it when you are no longer in office. The Sardauna of Sokoto was on the block to become the Sultan of Sokoto and so when he was eventually made the Sardauna it looked perfectly fitting because his blood, his audacity and charm made it fitting. Again, the title of Sardauna became popular not because of its own value but because it rode on the towering credentials of the man holding it to become such attractive. If Ahmadu Bello had not worked as hard, as transparent and as visionary as he did, the title will have remained its obscure self. The first generation title holders like the Sardaunas of Sokoto, the Makamas of Nupe and the Aros of Mokwa were absolutely above board and died with not a single criminally acquired property either for themselves, their wives or children and on the basis of this Spartan lifestyle, fear of God and love for their people their stars have continued to shine till today. What about the hundreds of others that have laid their lives on the line for Nigeria to prosper but who were not recognised by their respective communities? None of them holds any title, yet they are highly regarded (till today) many years after their demise. If you ask me, I will quickly tell you that such titles should be the exclusive preserve of those who delude themselves into believing that there is a blue blood, a yellow blood or a green blood.

 Aside traditional titles, even the routine meritorious awards from educational institutions and the likes have become highly commercialised such that have rendered them highly suspicious and questionable. In the past, communities hosting universities have always looked forward to graduations ceremony days. Part of the show which singlehandedly attract the cream of the society is the award of honourary degrees. Very credible people who have impacted very positively on their communities and those that have, through dint of hard work positively change the face of their societies are usually honoured in very moving, genuine and catalytic disposition and mien. It has always been time for communities to return love, show gratitude and say thank you to people who have excelled in their pursuit for happiness and development for their people.  Not anymore. What we now see is the celebration of crooks, rogues, criminals and common thieves who have so bastardized our time tested and beautiful societal norms and behaviours through the flaunting of ill-gotten wealth which they deploy to harass and flog a society that has lost all sense of morality into one straight shameless line of acquiescing.

It is like this odium regardless, the dregs of the society that have successfully edged out the taciturn and reclusive achievers to the throne but who have, in the process drawn the nation backwards will continue to have a field day at the expense of a nation’s legitimate cry for true democracy and development.

BK Ahmed, a Consultant Writer contributed this piece from 114 Kashim Ibrahim Road Maiduguri and can be reached on beekayyaks@gmail.com