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For some years running, the politics of certificate falsification among Nigeria public offers have been in the media. Our country has made itself a laughing stock before the rest of the world in the ongoing charade. Shockingly, the accusations have mostly hovered around serving governors, senators and lawmakers. The irony of the whole drama is that these principal officers have at one time or the other been certified fit either by INEC or any other screening body, and would later be confirmed fake by the court. However anyone interprets it, and far away from politics, Nigerians anywhere in the world are seen as people who parade fake documents, ranging from school testimonials to any other travelling document. If this situation does not worry any person, it worries Dan Ugwu.
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IN EDO, Godwin Obaseki is the current governor who has done 4 years under APC platform. At the wake of his guber campaign, Obaseki was projected by his party as a learned fellow and subsequently cleared of his credentials. He has currently lost favour with Adams Oshiomhole the APC leviathan, as a result, his credentials have been confirmed defective and he is now unfit to rule under APC. The embattled Obaseki has quickly moved to PDP where he will be admitted to contest with those certificates that are now in the media.
OVER TO KOGI. Musa Wada the PDP governorship candidate was accused of doctoring his First School Leaving Certificate. Later on, the SPD candidate, Barr. Natasha Hadiza Akpoti accused the deputy governor Edward Onoja of age falsification. Both documents are available in the media for the whole world to see.
WE ARE IN BAYELSA. The Supreme Court stopped David Lyon of the APC from being inaugurated as Bayelsa State governor, along with his deputy Degi-Eremienyo on the eve of their inauguration on th grounds that Degi submitted forged certificates to INEC. Degi who has been a Senator before his disqualification was to take back his seat at the National Assembly despite the certificate forgery which denied him a chance to become Bayelsa State deputy governor. Degi's sack subsequently gave way for Duoye Diri and his deputy Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo. Few months into their rule, Ewhrudjakpo was accused of forging his NYSC exemption certificate. Both cases and documents are in the media for the whole world to see.
WELCOME TO IMO. During the reign of Senator Rochas Okorocha as governor. He was accused of parading fake certificate from University of Jos. That accusation was later to be cleared after which his media aide Sam Onwuemodo disclaimed the allegation. In January 2020, Jackson Ude, the Nigerian-American Journalist accused Senator Hope Uzodimma of forging a university certificate, alleging that the university in question has disclaimed the award of such certificate. The reality of that accusation is still in the spirit world. Currently, the Speaker of the Imo House of Assembly Hon. Chiji Collins is also accused of faking his NYSC discharge certificate and his PHD certificate. The accused and accusers have since been trading words in the media for the whole world to see.
As it is in these states, so it is in Adeleke's Osun and Adamawa's Jibrilla Bindow. What of
Kemi Adeosun who was accused of dodging the compulsory one-year national service for higher institution graduates. She was pushed to resign her exalted office as Minister of Finance. What about the case of Okoi Obono-Obla, the President’s Special Adviser on Corruption who was accused by a Committee of the House of Representatives of parading a doctored school certificate result which belong to his dead cousin? Obla is allegedly a graduate of Law from the University of Jos. The list is inexhaustible, but the focus sometime ago on President Buhari's educational qualification, and the opaqueness that grew around the matter seem to have motivated nosey-parkers to begin to look for certificates in the corridors of power, including certificates of participation in the National Youth Service Corps.
LET ME NAIL IT. It is now shameful that Nigerians today are also ironically poster-characters for fake certificates, 419 qualifications, and dubious academic affiliations. These stories, either from the APC or PDP or any other side, whether true or false do not help Nigeria’s image. Whoever introduced certificate forgery case as a method of victimization and political desperation is doing Nigeria much harm. I imagine that if any Nigerian were to go anywhere in the world today, and present the best, most impressive credentials, the relevant authorities would still go behind to double-check. Many of our students today who go abroad for additional educational opportunities are routinely asked to take extra tests that candidates from other countries are not required to take. This is the reason Nigerians are compelled to write English language examinations like IELTS, TOEFIL etc even when our primary language of instruction and education is english, and this does not give a thought to our leaders. When the rest of the world hears that Nigerian political leaders, the same persons who are supposed to take serious decisions about national, bilateral and multilateral relations are a bunch of semi-illiterates, draft dodgers, and peddlers of fake certificate, they are bound to look at the rest of us as imbeciles. Apart from these, the situation is also exposing incredibility of INEC and our judicial system.
A country where a hundred and thousand graduates are roaming the Nigerian streets in search of skilled and unskilled jobs, persons whose educations are under question are the ones making administrative decisions. We applaud this present government in its fight against corruption, but I believe that certificate scandal is the worst form of corruption which we must fight to a standstill. In the same vein, it is a very costly joke and mechanism to introduce issues of certificate in the Nigerian brand of vindictive and victimizing politics. In this vein, when such accusations are not real, the accusers ought to be prosecuted for defamation.
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