By Ladesope Ladelokun
SIR: History is replete with men who are architects of their own fall from their exalted positions. In Nigeria, for example, certificate scandals have swept a number of public office holders away from their coveted offices, shattering what is left of their reputation after getting them tarred with the brush of infamy.
Remember Salisu Buhari – Nigeria’s former Speaker of the House of Representatives who claimed he graduated from the University of Toronto in Canada? He later confessed that he forged his credentials.
He was disgracefully impeached. What about Christian Abah, another member of the House of Representatives who got dismissed from office for submitting a forged certificate of academic qualification to INEC.
If there is anything that has brought gargantuan damage to the image of the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi since its creation in 1956, it is the current travails of its acting Director-General, Chima Igwe.
At issue is an alleged failure to produce his certificate which he claimed to have obtained from Universite D’Abomey Calavi, Republic of Benin when the governing board of the institute demanded it even after several ultimatums.
Truth be told, the Igwe certificate scandal tells a sordid tale about the decay that permeates our institutions. It remains a riddle, for example, how, without the requisite PhD certificate, Igwe scaled through certificate evaluations by the institute and got promoted three times based on an attestation letter of registration for doctoral studies without an eyebrow raised.
A PhD certificate is required to get promoted to the offices of Chief Research Officer, Assistant Director and Director respectively. It beggars belief that the acting Director-General could be promoted three times without a certificate.
Read Also: Alleged N2.5b fraud: Firm protests ICPC’s attempt to arrest chairman
Curiously, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) gave Igwe a clean bill of health after its long-awaited report that lasted for almost six months, stating that he has a PhD certificate only to backtrack after it was assailed with a barrage of complaints.
Not many have recovered from the shock triggered by the reason advanced by the commission in defence of its shoddy investigation: that it relied on information from sister agencies to clear Igwe.
More worrying is that the spokesperson of the Commission, Rasheedat Okoduwa Okoduwa had in a televised interview after its initial botched investigation stated there was no timeline as per when the second round of its investigation would end.
It is gratifying that the FIIRO governing board and the ICPC have opened and reopened investigation into the matter respectively. It is hoped that investigations into the matter will be expeditiously concluded.
Like FIIRO, the ICPC has another chance to save itself from sinking into the abyss of ignominy by conducting a thorough investigation that is devoid of sentiments.
Let Igwe have his peace if he is innocent. Should he be found culpable, he must be made to feel the full weight of the law alongside his accomplices.
A reputable research institute should not be home to intellectual misfits.
- Ladesope Ladelokun, ladesopeladelokun@gmail.com
Leave a Reply