Before the first title was ever bestowed, character had already been tested. In Yoruba tradition, chieftaincy is not an ornament for vanity but a sacred trust for service. A title does not create integrity; integrity is what makes a person worthy of a title.
Many desire positions and honors without the discipline, maturity, knowledge, and responsibility that such offices demand. They pursue prestige while neglecting the virtues that sustain it. Yet no title, however exalted, can conceal a lack of character forever.
When individuals force themselves into chieftaincy without proper grounding, qualification, or respect for tradition, they often mistake privilege for power. Rather than preserving the dignity of the institution, they reduce it to personal display and misconduct. Such actions diminish not only themselves but also the sacred heritage they claim to represent.
The elders understood this long ago: a title is conferred to recognise merit, not to manufacture it. Chieftaincy is a covenant with the people, the ancestors, and generations yet unborn. It demands wisdom before authority, humility before honour, and service before status.
As the Yoruba say, “Ìwà l’ẹwà”—character is true beauty. Where character is absent, every title becomes an empty shell. Where integrity abides, even without a title, the people will still recognise true nobility.
A kingdom endures not because titles are plentiful, but because those who bear them are worthy of the sacred responsibilities entrusted to them.
-Chief Abiodun Lasile DL MnbR
Orunto Baalufe Owu Kingdom Abeokuta
