Since President Muhammadu Buhari submitted the required documents backing his educational claims to the Independent National Electoral Commission as required by the Electoral Act to enable him re-contest for President in the 2019 general elections, the media has been awash with the reports of intrigues, claims and counter-claims by the President, his aides, hangers on and the West African Examination Council National office, Lagos, Nigeria and WAEC Headquarters in Ghana. The President had claimed, just as he did when he contested during the 2015 elections, that his West African School Certificate result was with the Nigerian Military where he had retired as a Major General and Military Head of State on December 31, 1983. The Electoral Act provides that the basic educational qualification for any Nigerian aspiring to be President is secondary education or its equivalent, or ten years of work experience. I believe the provision is intended to accommodate political candidates from the so-called educational disadvantaged states, whatever that means.
President Buhari’s claim that his WASC result was with the Military this time around did not go down well with his countrymen and women who wonder if the Military was on another planet and could not be reached for the retrieval of his WASC result. To calm the raging storm, a correspondent of The Point newspapers had put a call across to the Director of Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Texas Chukwu, who was said to have retorted, ‘’Mr. man, don’t ask me about the President’s credentials. Don’t ask me, please. Don’t ask me about the President’s credentials…,” before cutting off the call at his end.
Nigerians have been treated to a melodrama on whether the leader of the most populous black nation ever attended a secondary school talk less of obtaining a certificate which he claimed was with Nigerian Military. However, a new twist was introduced to the saga when top officials of the Lagos Office of WAEC led by the Registrar were sighted at Aso Rock presenting what they called ‘’attestation certificate’’ to the President. The muddled situation was further compounded by the WAEC headquarters, Accra, Ghana’s assertion that they were not involved in the drama as no record showed that Buhari made any official request for any attestation certificate to the examination body. Shehu Garba, the President’s media aide, corroborated the regional examination council’s headquarters position by saying that his boss did not apply for the document but the whole process was initiated by the Lagos, National office of WAEC ‘’to protect the image of the examination body’’ by issuing the President with the attestation certificate to confirm that he had WAEC results. WAEC, Lagos office explained further that in 2015, the regional examination body introduced the issuance of attestation certificate to former candidates whose results were reported missing with a fee of N20,000. If this applies, who then bears the cost of Buhari’s attestation certificate or is WAEC now a Father Christmas? Or did WAEC Lagos office Registrar or/and his team paid for the certificate to protect the examination body’s image? Wonder they say will never end. Trust me, there is nothing an average Nigerian politician would not do in desperate attempts to cling to office except perhaps turning a man to woman which was even attempted in London by the late self-styled Governor – General of Niger Delta, DSP Alamseigha and his co – traveller, James Ibori.
But then, one wonders why at this stage of Nigeria’s development and jet age, a country as vast as Nigeria with huge turnouts of higher education graduates yearly would be bamboozled by some political hangers on to continue to accept a School Certificate holder as President. The man is old and in their desperate attempt to ensure that he remains relevant, the President’s men are prepared to sacrifice the progress and development of Nigeria on the altar of self aggrandisement . The fact is that Nigeria cannot afford to keep patching things up with an analogue leader in this digital age if we must make any appreciable progress. The Nigerian leader must be in tune with the latest developments in our contemporary world . We deserve a well educated President.
Meanwhile, the President’s men would tell those that care to listen that he is the best thing to have happened to Nigeria in recent times. He has been fighting corruption, creating jobs and above all, he is a man of integrity, but I tell people that the virtue goes beyond abstinence from theft and embezzlement of public funds. Integrity goes hand in hand with equity and ability to accept mistakes without coercion. The boisterous Executive Secretary of National Health Insurance Scheme, Usman Yusuf, has constituted himself as alternate government in Nigeria with the tacit support of the Presidency in a shameless manner never witnessed in the history of the nation. The economy is getting worse by the day as some of our countrymen and women has to resort to suicide as a result of hopelessness brought on the Nigerian people by the obsolete economic policies of the present administration. Jobs are daily being lost and companies shutting down because of the harsh economic climate foisted on Nigeria . Nigerian, be wise!
The prevailing situation in Nigeria requires a proactive economic manager and sagacious political leader who is not driven by lust for power garbed in ‘’integrity’’ and fighting corruption but genuine patriotism to see the country competing favourably with the progressive nations on the world stage. While I fully support the state coming hard on financial and other economic saboteurs, Nigerians are tired of an analogue President in this digital age and the earlier we realised the eternal truth, the better for
us.
Olumide Ojo is a life coach and public affairs analyst . He can be reached via: Olumideojo028@gmail.com
