Chidoka laments Tinubu disgracing Nigeria by hiding his background
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
A United States court having to order Chicago State University (CSU) to release the academic records of Bola Tinubu against his objection is a disgrace to both the President and entire Nigerians, former Aviation Minister Osita Chidoka has lamented.
If Tinubu does not have something to hide why would he not release his own documents and also ask a court to block their release, wondered Chidoka, who was once Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Corps Mashal and is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He said it is of concern that agencies such as the Department of State Services (DSS), National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the Nigerian Embassy in Washington could not unravel the secrecy of Tinubu’s academic history and leaving the task to Atiku Abubakar.
“That all the aforementioned institutions allowed a man to be sworn in without definitive statements about his qualifications is a national tragedy,” Chidoka said in a statement.
“For 23 years, the issue of President Tinubu has been a recurring decimal in our national equation. Under his reign, a current youth corps member is serving as minister, and people under investigation by the EFCC and made public are sitting in the Federal Executive Council. And they all passed through security screening.”
A US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Saturday ordered CSU to release Tinubu’s academic record to Atiku by October 3.
Chidoka said Nigeria’s leadership and institutions should bow their heads in shame, if it is eventually discovered the occupier of the country’s number one office forged his certificate, which is an national and international embarrassment.
“I speak as a Nigerian. That it took the courageous activism of … Abubakar Atiku to force the discovery of information concerning the President of Nigeria is a disgrace to our national institutions.
“As a nation, we have a full retinue of staff at the Department of the State Services, the National Intelligence Agency, the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Embassy of Nigeria with the full complement of staff in Washington DC and the Nigerian judiciary that have variously ruled on matters concerning President Tinubu’s academic qualifications. Yet, we cannot have a definitive conclusion about whether he has the academic qualifications he claimed he had or not. Disgraceful.
“The office of the President of Nigeria is so important both in its moral authority and its strategic importance to our national security and safety that nobody who has possible blind spots that can make him or her a potential asset for foreign intelligence or governments should be allowed a mile near that office.
“This should be a primary burden on all our national institutions. Legal technicalities and silence by state institutions should be deemed high treason.
“It highlights my previous statement that a Constitution amendment to finish all electoral cases before the assumption of office is now a matter of urgent national priority.”
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Win or lose, Tinubu’s certificate saga has further soiled Nigeria’s image
“The current disgraceful proceedings against a Nigerian President in a foreign court under election petition matters are damaging to our collective moral and legal standing as a people,” Chidoka said, per reporting by The PUNCH.
“If it turns out tomorrow that our President presented a forged certificate to INEC, Nigerians will bow down their heads globally in shame.
“On the other hand, if it turns out that his certificate is genuine, again our reputation as a people is still in tatters because of the failure of national institutions to perform due diligence no matter who is involved.
“On both counts, it reinforces global perceptions and prejudice against Nigerians. We all bear the burden.
“A forged certificate finding leaves President Tinubu in a vulnerable position morally and legally.
“As he did not present primary and secondary certificates to INEC, a forged CSU certificate makes him unqualified to stand for the office of President as he does not possess the minimum qualification S.131(D) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
“Of course, the next issue is the case of perjury, the presentation of false documents under oath.
“How INEC accepted a university degree without the qualifying certificates would continue to be a national mystery. A language in our electoral legislation to forestall such obvious infractions is required.
“The decision of the District Court and the whole proceedings is not a moment of triumphalism but a sober moment of introspection. It is a moment when as a nation we ask ourselves.
“What are our national values? Who or which institution should have ordered the full investigation of the questionable certificate?
“Considering that he did not present a primary or secondary certificate, should our courts be concerned with the technicality of the tendering process of the CSU certificate or the disgrace and global moral damage a forged certificate would have wrought on Nigeria?
Needless embarrassment and reputational damage
“A few years ago, the DSS, in an act of institutional independence and courage, wrote to the Senate to reject Police Commissioner Ibrahim Magu as the EFCC chairman not minding his nomination by a sitting President.
“This was based on their intelligence report of his nefarious conduct that pales into insignificance against a possible forgery case by a President. Why the silence now?
“For me, the issue is beyond legalism. If and that is a big if, the certificate is forged, President Tinubu should resign immediately. It is not a legal matter but a national honour and moral issue.
“If he does not, the National Assembly should do the needful to restore our dignity as a people. I also expect the Supreme Court to rise to the occasion and restore order to our electoral process.
“If the certificate is not forged, the President should conduct a wide-ranging reorganisation of our national security system for failure to save the country from this needless embarrassment and reputational damage.”