There was a time in Nigeria when being called “Dr.” or “Professor” was a badge of honour earned through sleepless nights, intellectual inquiry, and years of academic rigour. That time, sadly, is slipping away, re- placed by an age of frivolous decora- tion, honorary shortcuts, and titular masquerade. In what can only be described as a national tragedy, the highest academic titles are now ban- died about with reckless abandon, degraded by the ease with which they are claimed rather than earned. The result is a dangerous erosion of aca- demic prestige and public trust in the nation’s educational system.
The problem is twofold. On the one hand, there is the bastardisation of honorary degrees, which are now conferred not for intellectual or civic contributions but for political loyalty, patronage, and, in some cases, outright monetary donations. On the other hand, there is the troubling ease with which PhD degrees are allegedly obtained in certain Nigerian universi- ties, degrees issued without rigorous scholarship, meaningful research, or proper peer scrutiny.
ThisNigeria has previously reported on the proliferation of “academic vendors” who, under the guise of le- gitimate institutions, award doctorate degrees to anyone with deep pockets or high connections. The result is a generation of so-called “Doctors” whose qualifications are not rooted in research or academic inquiry but in privilege and vanity. This is not only dishonourable. It is dangerous.
When the Association of Vice Chan- cellors of Nigerian Universities ad- opted the Keffi Declaration in 2012, they correctly identified the core is- sue: honorary degrees should not be awarded to sitting public officials, and only universities with established doc- toral programmes should confer such honours. More importantly, they in- sisted that honorary degree holders must not prefix their names with “Dr.”
The logic was simple: academic titles must remain sacrosanct, the preserve of earned merit. Unfortunately, this guidance has been routinely flouted, ignored by the very institutions that crafted it, and mocked by those eager to launder their reputations with bor- rowed prestige.
This corruption of academic stan-
Other African countries are taking bolder steps. Ghana, for example, has announced that it will begin prosecuting individuals who falsely prefix “Dr.” to their names based on honorary doctorates dards is not peculiar to Nigeria. But what makes it more tragic here is how deeply rooted and widely tolerated it has become. We have seen business moguls, entertainers, clerics, and traditional rulers flaunt the “Dr.” title after brief ceremonies at obscure institutions, some without even functional postgraduate departments. We have even witnessed public figures demand to be addressed as “Professors” after a single guest lecture or fleeting affili- ation with a university. The rot is now so pervasive that it threatens to ren- der legitimate academic credentials meaningless.
Encouragingly, other African countries are taking bolder steps. Ghana, for example, has announced that it will begin prosecuting individuals who falsely prefix “Dr.” to their names based on honorary doctorates. Mala- wi has issued similar guidelines, reinforcing the idea that titles must be earned, not merely conferred. These countries are doing what Nigeria has so far lacked the political and institu- tional will to do: enforce respect for academic integrity.
We must ask ourselves: What does it mean when the pursuit of academic
knowledge is devalued? When people begin to believe that doctorates can be purchased and that titles can be worn like costumes without the substance to back them up? It means our uni- versities are failing as gatekeepers of knowledge. It means our society is failing to distinguish between merit and masquerade. And it means we are building a future where credentials are louder than competence.
It is high time Nigerian universities cleaned houses. Regulatory agencies like the National Universities Commis- sion (NUC) must move beyond rheto- ric and begin to audit, sanction, and, where necessary, blacklist institutions that abuse the process of conferring honorar y or academic degrees. There should also be a national database of earned academic degrees accessible to the public to help curb imperson- ation and fraud.
Equally important is public reorien- tation. Society must stop celebrating vanity titles and begin to value real achievement. Universities, profes- sional bodies, and the media must work together to restore the honour of academic distinction and call out abuse where it occurs.
In sum, the current inflation of aca- demic titles in Nigeria is not a harm- less indulgence, it is an assault on intellectual integrity. If we do not act swiftly and firmly, we risk a future where knowledge is cheapened and the true scholars are drowned out by charlatans in borrowed robes.
Let Nigeria reclaim the dignity of her degrees, earned, not bought
