Perhaps no story emanating from the 2023 electoral cycle in Nigeria demonstrates the divisions in our society and in the media than the fishing expedition in American courts over President Tinubu’s qualifications to contest Nigeria’s presidential election. The expedition was spearheaded and sponsored “at great cost” by one of his political opponents, Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party.
On the one hand, there are those who see a half full, if not full, glass in Atiku’s fishing expedition into Tinubu’s qualifications for President, especially his claim that he graduated from Chicago State University. They claim that they found many things incriminating by focusing on ancillary matters. These are Tinubu’s opponents in politics and the media, who ignored the evidence and proceeded to claim that Tinubu forged CSU certificate. Specifically, they claim that the person, who graduated from CSU, may not have been Tinubu at all, because (a) the transcript from the College from which he transferred to CSU indicated female gender; (b) there are contradictory entries of year of birth in the candidate’s records, although day and month or birth were the same; and (c) Black-American was checked out as the applicant’s ethnicity.
Yet, the CSU Registrar dismissed (a) and (b) above as possible clerical errors, which he had seen occur several times as Registrar. More importantly, he insisted with evidence that Tinubu’s letter of admission was addressed to a male, as “Dear Mr. Tinubu”. Besides, he confirmed that the same Social Security Number on the transfer College is the same as the one on Tinubu’s CSU records. The opponent’s reference to (c) above demonstrates sheer ignorance of the American social system. Even until now, Black- or African-American is the category of choice for “a person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa”, according to the US Census Bureau.
For Tinubu’s supporters in politics and the media, Tinubu has no case to answer, meaning that Atiku returned from Chicago with an empty glass. After all, the Registrar testified (1) that Bola Ahmed Tinubu attended CSU and graduated in 1979 with Honours in Business Administration, majoring in Accounting; (2) that the Tinubu, who graduated from CSU, is the same Tinubu, who is the current President of Nigeria; (3) that there was no copy of Tinubu’s certificate on file, meaning that he picked it up on graduation; (4) that the university does not print certificates but only outsources the printing to outside vendors, meaning that only the vendor, which issued the certificate, can authenticate it; and (5) that certificates carry no weight whatsoever in the American system, because, like academic gowns, they are only ceremonial papers—that’s why, according to the Registrar, many students don’t bother to pick them up after graduation.
Read Also: Why my SSCE certificate bears Sadiq Abubakar – Atiku
I can attest to some of these claims as a student and professor in the American educational system, having received doctorate training and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, and having taught in three American university systems for nearly 30 years. In particular, it remains true till today that outside vendors print certificates and make academic gowns. Any student can order replacements or replicas from the vendors, once they are satisfied that you graduated from the university involved. The size and format of the certificates are generally the same, typically 8.5×11 inches, across disciplines and across universities.
Atiku’s claim of forgery requires close examination. He and his lawyers seem to have moved beyond contesting Tinubu’s attendance at CSU or his graduation from the university. They are silent on the confirmation that he graduated with Honours, meaning with distinction, with a high GPA. They ignored the corroborative evidence by a classmate of Tinubu’s who swore on oath that they even contested the same position for student leadership and graduated in the same year. Rather, they are focusing on his replacement certificate as a forgery, only because the CSU Registrar says he cannot attest its authenticity since it was not a document in the student’s file. Why would he when the certificate was printed by an outside vendor? The Registrar rightly testified only to the records on the student’s file.
But Atiku and his lawyers found a glass full of forgery and proceeded with their newfound evidence to the Supreme Court, claiming that it “was not in existence or available at the time of filing the petition or the hearing of the petition”. It is better at this point to leave the matter to the Supreme Court.
It is pertinent, however, to reflect upon Atiku’s mission and whether or not he is truly interested in the truth. Why the recent overzealous pursuit of this matter, when Atiku had over a year to do so? It is the same answer that was given to his baseless petition in the first place. The goal was not necessarily to win but to throw dirt on the winner, delegitimise the election, and distract his attention from governance. Atiku gave a hint of his animosity against Tinubu in his so-called world press conference, when he claimed that Tinubu was responsible for his own loss in the election, by abetting the balkanization of his (Atiku’s) political party. Who knows whether his marabout has advised him to avenge the loss any way he can?
But, come to think of it, Atiku has every reason to be upset. This is his sixth unsuccessful run for President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria—in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023. He is the only Nigerian with that record. He is also the only one who has run for President under four different political parties. How could he be floored by someone, who ran only once and won, despite all the obstacles on his way? Besides, Atiku must have figured out that he may not be able to run again in 2027, when he will be 81 years old. So, if he cannot get it this time around, he must damage the person, who won and delegitimise the election.
It is for the above reasons that Atiku should not be blamed for internationalising the fight with his adversary, by going all the way to the United States for evidence. After all, didn’t Peter Obi’s supporters carry their protest over his loss to the White House? However, questions remain for Atiku as to why he ignored the evidence that Tinubu attended CSU and graduated in flying colours. Can someone forge the certificate of a degree he actually earned? Why focus on a paper that is considered worthless in the country of issue to the point that its printing is outsourced?
While Atiku’s statesmanship has been called into question by these developments, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has remained focused on governance. The American comparison is also striking here: President Joe Biden has focused on governance, by neglecting former President Donald Trump’s shenanigans. That is what statesmen do.