Beneath the Surface By Dakuku Peterside
There was a time when the title “Doctor” carried quiet authority. It did not need a loud introduction or ceremonial exaggeration. It signified years of intellectual discipline: research, argument, failure, revision, peer scrutiny and, finally, an original contribution to knowledge. To earn it was not merely to acquire a prefix; it was to pass through a demanding formation of the mind. That is why the growing abuse of honorary doctorates is not a harmless social fashion. It is a symptom of a wider values crisis—one in which appearance increasingly displaces achievement, patronage imitates merit, and ceremony is mistaken for substance.
Properly understood, the honorary doctorate is not a form of academic achievement, but rather a symbolic recognition. It differs from an earned doctorate in that it is awarded to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to society, regardless of their academic background. For example, a statesman who defended human freedom, an inventor who transformed daily life, an artist who expanded cultural imagination, a reformer who changed institutions, or a philanthropist whose work altered human possibilities may deserve such recognition. In these rare cases, the university is not claiming that the recipient completed doctoral coursework or defended a thesis. Rather, it acknowledges that a life of exceptional public impact constitutes a distinct form of knowledge.
