The Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN) has cautioned its members against use of “Dr” title in professional setting after the conferment of honorary doctorate degrees.
In a letter signed by Olumide Sofowora, secretary of BOSAN, on Tuesday, the body said it has been inundated with complaints that some Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) are attributing “undeserved titles” to themselves.
Sofowora said some SANs have started prefixing their names with “Doctor” when announcing their appearances in court after receiving honorary doctorate degrees.
He said some SANs have even gone ahead to address themselves as “Professors” with honorary doctorate degrees.
The BOSAN secretary reiterated the recent warning of National Universities Commission (NUC) on the use of honorary doctorate degrees, adding that the recipients cannot use the degrees to practice as a scholar or for administrative purposes.
“Some have been reported to be prefixing ‘Doctor’ to their names when announcing their appearance in Court soon after being conferred with Honorary Doctorate Degrees,” the statement reads.
“Last month, the National Universities Commission issued the Guidelines for the award and use of Honorary Doctorate Degrees in Nigeria and stated clearly therein in item 13 on the ‘Usage’ of the honorary titles thus:
“The recipients are at liberty to use the approved nomenclature or title of the honorary doctorate degree such as Doctor of Law (honoris Causa) or LL.D. (h.c.) or D.Litt (h.c.) after their names. However, they are not permitted to use “Dr.”, which is reserved for holders of earned degrees and medical professionals. Additionally, they are not permitted to use the honorary doctorate degree to practise as scholars or professionals, oversee administrative units, or supervise research work.
“The above clarification by the National Universities Commission cannot be more explicit and it is expected that our members will adhere to it.
“More concerning however is the fact that some members have even gone ahead to be addressing themselves as “Professors” after being conferred with Honorary Doctorate Degrees.
“I am therefore calling on our distinguished members of BOSAN to be mindful of the above admonition so that we do not breach the provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners and subject ourselves to disciplinary measures should any of us be found to be according to himself or herself a title that he or she is not entitled to.
“That would amount to fraudulent misrepresentation and false claims to nobility which is a conduct incompatible with the dignity and honour of the rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.”
