Hello, My Name is Doctor, Chief, Evangelist, Prince, Prophet John Doe

I got a WhatsApp message today......and it was not the usual. The recipient who was somewhat a client thought it was appropriate that everyone in the group chat knew he was not ordinary and so he made sure it sank in! “My name Doctor, Umezulora 1, Evangelist, Apostle......”
This was how he would end every message.

It may look like a joke to some of you but unfortunately it was something we all had to put up with. I had met this client a few days back and he seemed like an intelligent/warm individual but, what I could not understand was why he had to introduce himself using all his titles.

It was funny at first, but I became worried afterwards. I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or pull my hair out in frustration. I looked around the room to see if anyone rolled their eyes every time he did that but it seemed the rest of the team were fine with it......so I thought. The meeting ended in high notes, I gave a quick excuse as to why I had to leave early so I didn’t have to hear him brag again and talk about his glory days. I got to my office a little relieved but the discussions that ensued afterwards was even more interesting.

My colleagues walked in talking about how the project was going to be very successful but each time the client’s name was mentioned everyone grew uncomfortably silent, it was as if no one really wanted to voice their opinion. I mustered a
little courage and asked if they hadn’t found it quite odd that he had used his titles all the time he spoke or raised a point during the meeting, and they said they felt it was strange too but they were going to ignore it, it was an “African thing” after all.

Is it?