All protocols obsessed, By Umar Yakubu

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…serious governance cannot coexist with such superficiality when there are real problems to solve. It is high time we weaned ourselves of useless colonial and bureaucratic practices that add no value to the country. This obsession with title over substance is precisely why our political class is addicted to power and position without delivering tangible results.

Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one. — Marcus Aurelius 

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Over the weekend, I attended my children’s graduation ceremony, where I realised that our national malaise has deeply infected private educational institutions. While time-wasting protocol is common at government functions, I was dismayed to see it thriving in a private school setting.

At a typical three-hour government event, half the time is spent acknowledging dignitaries and exhaustively reeling out their past and present positions. Ironically, speakers rarely bother to state a single line about how these individuals actually impacted education or any other sector during their tenures.

Having been involved in numerous public functions, I usually advise partners against inviting top government officials. My reasons are simple. First, they arrive late. It is not that they are busy with anything meaningful; rather, lateness is their way of projecting importance. Second, they expect to be addressed as if they hold traditional titles from the Khan dynasty. In every citation, you hear only about positions, never about impact. It is always a laundry list of “former-this” and “ex-that” to pad their CVs. Accomplishments? Impact? No one knows. Yet, it is safe to assume that if they were mostly competent, Nigeria would not find itself in its current precarious position. Finally, they invariably leave before the event ends, performing “busyness” as a badge of honour. Busy doing what exactly?

While top politicians and senior public officers may provide the necessary optics, a serious engagement like a school graduation is no place for unserious people. It is a space meant to inspire the next generation — not a stage where figures with active EFCC and ICPC corruption cases preach about honesty and integrity. This hypocrisy only confuses impressionable young minds.

This experience led me to search for the roots of this time-wasting protocol culture, where every subsequent speaker repeats the same exhaustive list of greetings. I have seen officials walk out of events because they felt they were not “properly recognised” or because the order of precedence was breached. I once anchored a United Nations event, during which the lady representing the chairperson of INEC claimed she wasn’t addressed properly. I had to leave the stage during an interlude just to pacify her outside. At that same event, a junior officer from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) walked out because his chairman wasn’t recognised, and a representative from the Office of the Vice President did something similar. With all the pressing crises facing Nigeria, I always wonder how we find so much time to obsess over “following protocol” and ensuring that “all protocols are duly observed.”

Anyway, to the graduating classes of 2026 across Nigeria, which may have witnessed similar displays, please understand this: the current political class should not be treated as models for your future. A society does not decline merely because bad leaders rise, it declines when young minds begin to mistake titles for wisdom, privilege for achievement, and public recognition for public service. If you inherit their values uncritically, you will inherit their failures as well.

A Google search traced the culture of “recognising” public servants and politicians at Nigerian events to a socio-cultural hybrid shaped by four distinct eras:

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1. Pre-colonial Traditions: Hierarchical indigenous societies (emirates, kingdoms, and chiefdoms) historically began public gatherings with structured acknowledgments and praise-singing to validate authority.
2. British Colonial Bureaucracy: The colonial administration introduced a rigid “Order of Precedence.” By merging British administrative protocols with local governance via Indirect Rule, a dual layer of mandatory public status was created.
3. The Military Era: Decades of military dictatorship demanded absolute deference to authority. As VIP guest lists grew unmanageably long, the verbal shorthand “all protocols observed” emerged as a tactic to save time, while avoiding politically dangerous snubs.
4. Modern Political Patronage: In our current democratic era, public recognition and a seat at the “high table” serve as visual proof of a politician’s relevance, power, and community standing.

What began as traditional respect has evolved into a mandatory social ritual used to visually reinforce class distinction and feed the egos of the elite.

It is clear from these four points that serious governance cannot coexist with such superficiality when there are real problems to solve. It is high time we weaned ourselves of useless colonial and bureaucratic practices that add no value to the country. This obsession with title over substance is precisely why our political class is addicted to power and position without delivering tangible results.

Anyway, to the graduating classes of 2026 across Nigeria, which may have witnessed similar displays, please understand this: the current political class should not be treated as models for your future. A society does not decline merely because bad leaders rise, it declines when young minds begin to mistake titles for wisdom, privilege for achievement, and public recognition for public service. If you inherit their values uncritically, you will inherit their failures as well.

Philosophically, a nation-state relies on what the ancients called civic virtue; the idea that public office is a burden of service, not a throne of privilege. When titles are decoupled from accomplishments, and protocol replaces productivity, authority becomes completely hollow.

The future of Nigeria will not be built by those who worship position, but by those who choose substance, character, competence, and service. If you adopt the empty rituals of today’s ruling class, there may be no country of dignity left for you to inherit.

Philosophically, a nation-state relies on what the ancients called civic virtue; the idea that public office is a burden of service, not a throne of privilege. When titles are decoupled from accomplishments, and protocol replaces productivity, authority becomes completely hollow.

It turns into a form of narcissism, in which leaders demand reverence for who they are rather than what they have done. If you adopt these values, if you learn to chase the noise over tangible impact, you will have no country to inherit.

Though I know most of you may want to japa, ensure that your character is your true title, and let your measurable impact on the lives of society be your main protocol. Congratulations.

Umar Yakubu is the executive director of Center for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity.