Titles

Mike Marta

In Nigeria Titles are a very prestigious honor. If you are a Mr., Mrs., Ms., etc you might as well be a nobody. In Nigeria if you are a "Chief" you are a very important person in society. In the past the title of Chief and other titles were earned through intelect or controbutions to your tribe, however you can now buy yourself a title. "You don't operate as an ordinary man anymore. As a matter of fact you are supposed to be in the upper bracket of society and that lifts you from the commoner,"([]) This quote demonstrates why so many Nigerian people find the title of Chief so prestigious. However almost anyone with money can become a Chief, at the cost of 200,000$ one can by themselvs the title of Chief. "People even add things like Mr Engineer to their name, it's a kind of pomposity"([]). People in Nigeria want to badly to distingwish themselvs from others, so they will add almost any thing to their name to show their importance.


 * The title of Chief can be bought at a minimum of 200,00$
 * Titles are important in Nigeria because it shows your importance
 * To be a traditional Chief is like being a god
 * The more signifagant the title the more respect gained
 * Titles like Chief are similar to titles like Dr. or other military titles like General

Traditional Nigerian Chief. http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/AL020414.html&usg=__BaaGpYrLMaZ_T5C_cnLznLDsHzU=&h=480&w=472&sz=91&hl=en&start=15&zoom=0& Military Chief. Some people obtain the rank of Chief through the military http://www.thenigerianvoice.com/nvnews/11755/1/nigerian-chief-of-army-staff-denies-statement-on-l.html Chief of Oyo State. Some People earn their title through political advancment http://www.nigerianbestforum.com/index.php?topic=6587.0