IPNEWS: Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee has urged Liberians to stop calling lawmakers, ministers, and other public officials “Honorable.”
In a public statement, she emphasized that the title is not a birthright or an automatic privilege that comes with winning an election, but rather a description that must be earned through integrity, humility, and dedicated public service.
She argued that the term “Honorable” implies being worthy of honor. Since the actions, attitudes, and behaviors of many current officials do not reflect honorability, they should not carry the title.
She pointed out that true honor is rooted in service to the people and fixing what is broken, rather than holding a specific seat or position.
Gbowee criticized officials who introduces themselves as “Honorable X or Y,” asking, “Who gave you that name? Who told you that you are honorable?”
She suggested that citizens call public officials by the names given to them by their parents, or strictly use functional titles like “Representative X” or “Senator Y”.
Gbowee’s remarks have ignited a massive national debate in Liberia across social media platforms like Facebook:
Many citizens agree with her stance, citing instances of public corruption, lack of accountability, and legislative misconduct as reasons why lawmakers do not deserve the title. They view dropping the title as a psychological shift toward holding elected leaders accountable as public servants, not lords.
However, Hon. Simeon C.M Freeman For President 2017, and others differed by arguing that the term “honorable” is purely an honorific word/title, meant to convey respect, social status or politeness to members of parliament, government officials or other high-ranking persons in society.
Freeman in writ-out on his social media post argues that the use of the title “Honorable” for lawmakers, arguing that the term is an honorific title and should not be confused with a judgment of a person’s character or performance.
Freeman contended that Nobel Peace Prize laureate Leymah Gbowee is “projecting ignorance” of the meaning and purpose of the word “Honorable.”
According to Freeman, the title is used purely as a mark of respect, social status, and official recognition for members of the Legislature, government officials, and other high-ranking public servants.
He further explained that in diplomacy, presidents and ambassadors are addressed as “Your Excellency,” noting that the title does not necessarily imply that those individuals are personally excellent, but rather serves as a formal expression of respect.
“Whatever our dislikes are for members of the Legislature, it must not lead us to project ignorance of honorific words into the national discourse,” Freeman stated. “We should not encourage our young people to refrain from according public and private members of society with their proper titles.”
While defending the continued use of official honorifics, Freeman emphasized that public officials should still be held accountable for their actions and performance.
“We must stick to the lapses in public performance and demand performance always,” he said.
Addressing young Liberians, Freeman encouraged them to continue using established official titles when addressing public office holders.
“Keep calling public officials ‘Honorable,’ and the President or ambassadors ‘Your Excellency,’ because it conveys respect and recognition,” he concluded.
Freeman’s comments come amid an ongoing public discussion about whether elected officials should continue to be addressed by traditional honorific titles despite widespread criticism of governance and public accountability.
