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Tag: atiku

  • Atiku’s baffling press conference

    Atiku’s baffling press conference

    • Ademola ‘Bablow’ Babalola

    Sir: Few days after the result of the 2023 presidential election was announced and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was declared the winner, Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the PDP, who came second in the election, took to the streets to show his grievance over the outcome of the election. 

    Many Nigerians were surprised and anxious to know what exactly could have prompted a presidential candidate, Atiku, to take to street protest instead of challenging the outcome of the election in the court. Of course the constitution allows the results of elections to be challenged in court for this is the only acceptable and recognized step to take to show one’s dissatisfaction with the results. People wondered why a presidential candidate would suddenly turn to a protester. 

    Perhaps Atiku thought that through the protest, he could gain public sympathy and earn an underserved victory. But when this became futile, he headed to court to challenge the results. During the proceedings, all manner of abuses were thrown at the justices handling the election petitions. In the end, the tribunal delivered the judgement based on the evidences before it. It affirmed the victory of President Bola Tinubu.

    Thereafter, Atiku signalled that he would go to the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, while Nigerians were waiting for the apex court to review the judgement and give their final verdict, another drama from Atiku’s camp would ensue. In a move borne out of desperation, the PDP presidential candidate applied to file fresh evidence at the Supreme Court! That was after the drama at the Chicago State University that revealed nothing new that Nigerians had already known!

    Read Also: BREAKING: Claim of discrepancies in my credentials fabricated by Atiku, says Tinubu

    I perceive frustration and desperation in all that Atiku is engaged in at the moment. After the Chicago State University had come out publicly to confirm that Asiwaju Tinubu attended and graduated with honour from the university, Atiku isn’t even ready to believe the school. To him, the authentication of Tinubu’s status as a graduate of CSU isn’t enough to settle the matter. Ironically, while Nigerians expected Atiku would at least wait for the decision of the apex court, he still went ahead to call a world press conference. To achieve what?

    And to imagine that his lawyers also have been running helter-skelter, going from one national television station to another, blackmailing the personality of the president and the presidency in the absence of the evidence that they desperately sought but could not find?

    I can perceive the reason Atiku resorts to this blackmail instead of waiting for the Supreme Court’s final verdict on the case. He knows that time is running out on his presidential dream. Of course this cannot be a glad tiding to someone who has for five times contested to be the president of Nigeria and lost.

    If not to engage in a needless negative exposure of Nigeria to the world, what exactly is the correlation between the case in the court and his so-called world press conference? And where lies the wisdom in calling and begging other presidential candidates who also lost out in the case to team up with him to join the fight?

    Who is Atiku really fighting? President Tinubu or the electorate that voted for him? Is he fighting the INEC or the judiciary that were instituted to serve as umpires? 

    • Ademola ‘Bablow’ Babalola, babalolaademola39@gmail.com
  • BREAKING: Claim of discrepancies in my credentials fabricated by Atiku, says Tinubu

    BREAKING: Claim of discrepancies in my credentials fabricated by Atiku, says Tinubu

    President Bola Tinubu has said the claim that his credentials contained discrepancies was merely cooked up by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar.

    Tinubu said Atiku resorted to cooking up allegations against him when he and the PDP failed to secure evidence to support their claim that he (Tinubu) was not qualified to have contested that last presidential election.

    In his respondent’s brief in the appeal by Atiku and the PDP before the Supreme Court, Tinubu urged the court to dismiss the appeal and affirm the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PDP) which upheld his election.

    Tinubu said he was validly elected having polled the highest number of votes.

    Stating that he was validly returned as the winner of the presidential poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Tinubu added that by statistics, he garnered one-quarter/25 percent of the total votes in 29 states of the federation.

    He said Atiku and the PDP only managed to secure 25 percent of the total votes in 21 states of the federation, “as against the constitutional requirement of 24.7 states, which is the mathematical results of two-thirds of the 36 states of the federation and the FCT (making 37).”

    Tinubu stated that having secured the highest number of valid votes cast and having fulfilled all constitutional requirements in that regard, INEC, had no option but to declare him as the winner of the presidential contest.

    He added that Atiku and the PDP, being dissatisfied with the outcome of the election, on March 21, approached the PEPC “on trumped up allegations of non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022, corrupt practices, non-scoring of the majority of lawful votes cast at the election and non-qualification of the respondent.

     “The hyperbolic character of the forgoing allegations was exposed by the petition itself, which had no facts in support thereof.

    “Starting from the allegation of non-qualification of the Respondent, all that the Appellants submitted to the lower court through their petition was that the 2nd Respondent (Tinubu) was at the time of the election, not qualified to contest the election not having the constitutional threshold.”

    Tinubu noted that Atiku and the PDP failed to explain what they meant by “constitutional threshold” not until all the respondents in the case concluded filing their replies to the petition.

    He added: “It was at this point that they rolled out their drums of cooked-up allegations of discrepancies in the 2nd respondent’s (Tinubu’s) academic qualifications, dual nationality and sundry bemusing allegations from the backdoor.

    “While they also claimed to have won the highest number of votes cast at the election, as against INEC’s declaration, throughout their petition, they did not suggest an alternative score which they considered correct, whether for themselves or the Respondent.

    “Though they had alleged that the election was riddled with non-compliance and corrupt practices, the paragraphs of their petition putting up these allegations were nothing short of vague, imprecise, generic and nebulous.

    “For these allegations which ought to have been specifically demonstrated through facts and figures like polling units and numbers, the Appellants, through their petition, chose to regale the lower court and the Respondents with breathtaking suspense, by stating that the said facts will be disclosed in their Statistician’s report which was not part of the petition filed.

    “It is only commonsensical that the Respondents will only be able to respond to the facts in the petition and not on the crucial, albeit anticipated Statistician’s report, since even the devil himself knows not the heart of man.”

    Tinubu noted that out of 27 witnesses called by Atiku and the PDP during proceedings at the PEPC, 13 did not have their witness statements front-loaded with the petition.

    He noted: “With these, it was obvious that the Appellants did not intend to prosecute a petition, but rather, to venture into some form of blockbuster, laced with thrilling suspense, stunning surprises and ecstatic hide and seek recreational activities; and these necessitated series of objections from the respondents, challenging the competence of the petition, as well as the itemised nebulous paragraphs of same, the statement on oath of these subpoenaed witnesses, which were not front-loaded with the petition and tons of documents sought to be tendered, which were either irrelevant or unconforming to the mandatory rules of admissibility.”

    He argued that Atiku and the PDP did not demonstrate any reason why the apex should disturb any of the findings of the lower court, “which with all modesty, are rooted in law and perfect demonstration of scholarship.”

    Tinubu added that even though Atiku challenged his qualifications, however, in his alternative prayer in court, he requested to have a run-off election with him.

    He added: “The logical conclusion from this approbative and reprobative posture of the Appellants is that deep down in their hearts, they are convinced that the 2nd  Respondent won the election, but have decided to embark on this voyage of abuse of court process.”

    Tinubu noted that whereas Atiku and the PDP raised the issue of non-transmission of results, all their witnesses at the PEPC, “agreed that the election went very smoothly, where INEC complied with all the prescribed procedures.”

    Read Also: BREAKING: Tinubu appoints Olukoyede as EFCC Chairman

    He argued that the tribunal was correct in arriving at its verdict and affirming his election.

    Tinubu added that the Atiku and the PDP did not demonstrate any reason why the Supreme Court should disturb any of the findings of the PEPC “which with all modesty, are rooted in law and perfect demonstration of scholarship.

    He said: “None of the appellants have demonstrated any reason why this honourable court should disturb any of the findings of the lower court, which, with all modesty are rooted in law and a perfect demonstration of scholarship.

    “We accordingly urge this honourable court to affirm the decision of the lower court, while dismissing this appeal in its entirety, as same is lacking in merit and bona fide.

    “Everything put together or summarized, this appeal is a further demonstration of the abusive nature to which the appellants have subjected court processes. The Supreme Court is urged to dismiss it.”

  • Tinubu: ‘Atiku will always fail’

    Tinubu: ‘Atiku will always fail’

    Founder of One Love Family, Satguru Maharaj Ji, has said there is no need for Nigerians to lose sleep over the Illinois court’s decision regarding President Bola Tinubu‘s university records.

    Maharaj Ji said ‘’I have noticed unwarranted anxiety over implication of the Illinois court’s decision regarding President Bola Tinubu’s university records but the truth is there is nothing for anyone to be bothered about’’.

    Read Also: NIS to acquire aircraft, drones for border surveillance

    He spoke through his Information aide, Ojo Mogbadewa, in Ibadan, Oyo State.

     “What is germane to this matter is whether or not President Tinubu graduated from Chicago State University and that university, itself, has affirmed that,’’ he said.

  • Obi and Atiku as true sons of their fathers

    Obi and Atiku as true sons of their fathers

    The battle for the soul of Nigeria, a beautiful country of wonderful people by self-serving leaders masquerading as messiahs has always been very fierce. This is why, for those who understand the nature of our crisis of nation-building, it should not come as a surprise that six months after an election won “round and square’ by President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, a victory upheld through a unanimous pronouncement of a five-man judicial panel, Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, his defeated opponents have not only continued to heat up the polity, they appear prepared to pull the roof down over their heads. And this they are doing through propaganda, misinformation, outright lies, and de-legitimization of his government and demonization of his person with the active connivance of a section of the media managed by politicians in journalists’ borrowed robes.

    A journey through memory will show that our nation has for long been haunted by our leaders’ ideology of ‘if I cannot have it, no one else must have it’. Following the rivalry between Nnamdi Azikiwe and Tafawa Balewa over who loved Nigeria most during the constitutional crisis that followed the 1964 disputed election, both lured the military into politics in 1966. Thus, two old men who hated each other ignited the fire that was to throw our beautiful country into a 30 months civil war in which over three million Nigerian youths who had nothing against each other killed themselves.

    It was the rivalry between Emeka Ojukwu and Yakubu Gowon over who was best suited to be Head of State that sparked off the war that finally truncated our political socialisation process; just as it was the rivalry between Ibrahim Babangida who claimed there was no alternative to the Structural Adjustment Programme and Muhammadu Buhari who believed such a policy was anti-Nigeria that eventually destroyed the foundation of our economic development.

    I am sure many Nigerians still remember that it was Babangida, the evil genius and Abacha who fraudulently claimed “for our future they sacrificed their present” that annulled the most credible election in our nation’s history, institutionalized an interim contraption and incarcerated MKO Abiola, the winner of the election who later died in captivity because according to Obasanjo, their accomplice, he “was not the messiah Nigerians were waiting for”!

    Desperate Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar are therefore tarred with the same brush as Azikiwe and Balewa and other aforementioned self-proclaiming messiahs. The facts stare us all in the face.

    Read Also: Nigeria, others ask IMF, World Bank for debt relief

    Obi desperate to rule Nigeria after his two terms as governor of Anambra State on the platform APGA, jumped boat and became Atiku Abubakar’s PDP VP candidate in 2019. Sensing that the PDP rotation policy that favoured the emergence of an Igbo as PDP presidential candidate was going to be breached by Atiku, he jumped boat again, this time to the Labour Party.

    And the strategy of his witch doctors and godfathers including Pat Utomi, Charles Oputa, Akin Osuntokun, Dele Farotimi and his sponsors, Pa Edwin Clark, Ayo Adebanjo and Olusegun Obasanjo was to exploit the sentiments of his aggrieved Igbo ethnic group at home and abroad. He was also to play the religion card as he hopped from one big Pentecostal church to the other while Catholic priests in his native Anambra took it upon themselves to mobilise their congregations across town and villages.

    Their other strategies involved the use of the social media and demonisaton of the ruling APC over its choice of Muslim-Muslim ticket by Obimedia who regularly invited into their studios, Christian pastors without the spirit of Christ who were allowed to make incendiary statements.

    ‘Obimedia’ painted a picture of an invincible Obi. But while Obi won 95% of Igbo votes and about 50% of Christian votes especially in the middle belt region, he lost Muslim votes in nearly all the northern states. While of the three leading parties, Obi came a distant third, he insisted his mandate was stolen. As it was in 1964 and 1993, his unquestioning Obidients called on the military to take over while Obasanjo appealed to Buhari to stop counting of votes and institutionalise an Interim Government as he and Babangida did in 1993. When all failed, he decided to go to court to retrieve ‘his stolen mandate’.

    Meanwhile, the president-elect became target of campaign of calumny in the hands of ‘Obidients’ mob and ‘Obimedia’. From faraway USA where he was giving a lecture, Farotimi said to his audience “an indicted drug pushers was about to become president of Nigeria”. Back home on ARISE TV where he is always a toast, he, without restraint called the president names. Others that do not share Farotimi’s views did not escape his caustic tongue. “We Nigerians are shameless”, “the judiciary has ceased to be a court of law”; he has “zero trust in the capacity of the current Chief Justice of Nigeria to deliver justice’, all in the service of his Peter Obi, his messiah.

    It is not difficult to understand Atiku Abubakar’s desperation. He has come to be regarded a serial loser by Nigerians having contested for the presidency in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019. For the 2023 election, he was so desperate that he was prepared to break all rules including his party constitution which splintered PDP into ANPP, Labour Party and G-5 governors, with the first three garnering about 14m votes to the victorious APC’s  8,794,726.

    Ex-vice president Atiku Abubakar rejected former President Goodluck Jonathan’s admonition that “you, go home and rest or find something else to do, if the people you wanted to serve rejected you”. He similarly rejected the advice of Bola Tinubu, his estranged friend that he should return to Dubai from where he periodically came for election for a well-deserved rest after many heroic electoral defeats. He headed for the court where he lost.

      He decided to take his case to the Supreme Court. As part of preparation for this, he headed to Chicago University in faraway America to secure President Tinubu’s transcript and diploma. Atiku, desperate to hold onto any straw returned to Nigeria and held a press conference where he claimed Tinubu forged his diploma certificate. A section of the media without asking why a man whose transcript showed he was a first class product would forge a certificate, has continued to assault our sensibilities with Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) quoted by an online newspaper last Monday as saying “I am ashamed to see lawyers on television arguing one way or the other on the merits and demerits of the CSU matter,” while “calling out all media that tolerate the nonsense of adjudicating on TV and newspapers”.

    Obi who as importer of labour of other nations contributed to the collapse of our budding industries, the reason we have an exodus of our youths to other nations in search of greener pastures is not is tarred with the same brush as Atiku Abubakar who under Obasanjo presided over the sale of Nigeria’s total investment of $100b to PDP stalwarts for a paltry $1.5b.

    Obi and Atiku are in all respect true sons of their fathers. And as the Yoruba will say “you don’t begrudge a son for resembling his father”.  The tragedy of our country however is a section of the media that often try to mislead the public by calling a dog a monkey.

  • Atiku has forged Cameroonian certificate, Onoh alleges

    Atiku has forged Cameroonian certificate, Onoh alleges

    President Bola Tinubu’s former spokesman in the southeast, Dr Josef Onoh has accused the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar of being a Cameroonian citizen with ‘Siddiq’ as his first name.

    Onoh’s allegation followed a recent disclosure of the discrepancy in Abubakar’s West Africa School Certificate which bears Siddiq as his first name instead of Atiku that he is generally known as.

    President Tinubu’s media aide, Tunde Rahman had questioned Atiku’s certificate discrepancy after Atiku dragged his principal to the Chicago State University for authentication of the President’s credential, but Atiku in his reply defended that he swore to an affidavit that Siddiq Abubakar is the same person as Atiku Abubakar.

    Onoh however in joining the altercation said that the real Siddiq Abubakar that Atiku claimed he changed his name is a Cameroonian and not Nigerian adding that Atiku had to use the alleged forged certificate and deposed to an alleged affidavit in other to gain admission in Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, as a Nigerian.

    Onoh further alleged that Atiku used same to climb in the Nigerian civil service and became the Vice President of Nigeria because as at the period in question, digital technology wasn’t available and Atiku was able to continue benefiting from the alleged forgery.

    “Even the purported copy of the alleged affidavit he claimed he deposed to in respect to his change of name in 1973 bears no official stamp or seal. Most documents executed during in the 70’s  mostly had a postal stamp on them. So only Siddiq alias Atiku can explain where he obtained the affidavit he’s parading.

    “Saddiq Abubakar and Atiku Abubakar are not same person. Atiku needs to realise that Nigeria isn’t a play station mortal combat computer game where he, Atiku, thinks he’s the character ‘Shang Tsung that can transform into you, or one of the two partners’

    “I’ve always told Nigerians that Atiku’s attacks on President Tinubu were and still are always ad hominem. When he says something about Tinubu, he’s actually revealing something about himself and it isn’t pretty. Today it’s clear he has revealed more information surrounding his mysterious personality.

    “During the campaign I made it clear that Atiku was a Cameroonian and not a Nigerian and he has never come out to refute it till date. I’m shocked at the desperation a Cameroonian flesh and blood is fighting a Nigerian to become our president through a back door when we Nigerians already voted him out in the polls.”

    According to Onoh, Chapter VI, Part I, Section 131 of the constitution states that a person may be qualified for election of the office of the president if: They are a citizen of Nigeria by birth; They have attained the age of 35 years (40 before 2018);

    “It’s important to note that they laid emphasis on being Nigeria by birth. Atiku’s Father, Grandfather are not Nigerians but Cameroonians. Ganye, which incorporates Atiku’s birthplace of Jada was the headquarters of British Cameroons, but following the plebiscite, joined Nigeria.

    “I stand to be corrected about the historical origin of Atiku’s Jada, it is, however, instructive to note that when Mr Abubakar was on November 25, 1946 born to a Fulani trader and farmer Garba Abubakar, Jada village and other parts of Chamba land in the then Northern Cameroon were still known as British Cameroon. So Atiku isn’t Nigerian by birth because he was already born in 1946 before the plebiscite was conducted in 1961 to balkernize Nigeria and Cameroon where Jada which was part of northern Cameroon.”

    Onoh said the French system of assimilation had compelled people of Jada, including Abubakar’s father and grandfather to be full Cameroonians in flesh and blood.

    “So Saddiq Abubakar is a Cameroonian who his alleged forged WAEC certificate was used by Atiku to gain admission in Nigeria and also profit and plunder our common wealth. He’s explanation for changing his name doesn’t make sense.

    “The Same Atiku claimed that at the age of eight, he was enrolled in the Jada Primary School Adamawa, but as who, Siddiq or Atiku? After completing his primary school education in 1960, he was admitted into Adamawa Provincial Secondary School in the same year, alongside 59 other students, it will help Nigerians if one person alive out of the claimed 59 student can come out and affirm he or she were classmates with Siddiq alias Atiku.

    “He graduated from secondary school in 1965 after he made grade three in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, and I ask if it was Siddiq the Cameroonian or an imposter that now goes by another name?

    “He claimed that after secondary school, Siddiq alias Atiku studied a short while at the Nigeria Police College in Kaduna, so since he didn’t change his name by then, it’s important to go through police admission records and verify if it was Siddiq or Atiku that enrolled for the short course, let’s unravel the mystery.”

    “He stated in his records that he left the College when he was unable to present an O-Level Mathematics result, and worked briefly as a Tax Officer in the Regional Ministry of Finance, from where he gained admission to the School of Hygiene in Kano in 1966.

    “One vital question unanswered is this: Atiku claimed that in the year 1965, he changed his name from Siddiq Abubakar;   Mr Abubakar declared at the Chief Magistrate’s Court Registry in Lagos on August 18, 1973.

    “So as a staff of the then Regional ministry of finance Atiku would have been required by law to have notified the ministry of such change as he was receiving salary as Siddiq Abubakar and not Atiku Abubakar. So what official identity was he parading from 1965?

    “He claimed he changed his name and what official document does he have for such change in 1965  that he had to wait till 8years later in 1973 to comply with the legal requirements for such change. He graduated with a Diploma in 1967, having served as Interim Student Union President at the school. In 1967 when he enrolled for a Law Diploma at the Ahmadu Bello University Institute of Administration, on a scholarship from the regional government. After graduation in 1969, during the Nigerian Civil War, he was employed by the Nigeria Customs Service and every Nigerian know his sad anticident and record of service in the customs.

    Read Also: Atiku’s desperation and the future of Nigeria

    “Only someone who’s attempting to hide a criminal past or an impostor will go to such length to change his name when he had already started life and a successful career with such a name. I ask.. “what is Atiku hiding? 

    “It’s safe to conclude that Former president Obasanjo knows a lot about Siddiq alias Atiku Abubakar that Nigerians might never know.

    In 2021, Abubakar claimed he completed and passed his Master’s degree in International Relations at Anglia Ruskin University I will soon request for his transcript to ascertain the true identity of who actually enrolled in the university and a copy of the alleged certificate from Anglia Ruskin university England. I hope he won’t attempt to block the release of his academic records.

    “Atiku’s only contribution to our current democracy is to promote false information and propaganda against our president. To create public sympathy amongst the gullible ahead of his planned 2027 presidential campaign which he will fail again. He’s free to contest in Cameroon,” Onoh said.

  • Reveal owner of SSCE result you submitted to INEC, group challenges Atiku

    Reveal owner of SSCE result you submitted to INEC, group challenges Atiku

    The Disciples of Jagaban (DOJ), a prominent support group for President Bola Tinubu, has called on Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to reveal the true owner of the secondary school certificate he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    In response to recent revelations that the certificate bears the name Sadiq Abubakar, the DOJ, through its national coordinator, Abdulhakeem Alawuje, issued this challenge.

    Alawuje also noted that Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo, Atiku’s former spokesman who wrote a book about him, never mentioned that the former Vice President was known as Sadiq Abubakar at any point in his life.”

    The DOJ leader pointed out that if Adinoyi-Ojo, in his book titled ‘The Atiku: The Story of Atiku Abubakar,’ could trace Atiku’s name back to primary school and reveal it as ‘Atiku Kojoli,’ why didn’t he mention that Atiku’s name was Sadiq Abubakar during his secondary school years?”

    Read Also:CSU certificate saga and Atiku’s voyage of vanity

    According to Alawuje, “Atiku Abubakar was never identified as Sidiq Abubakar, at least up till when he entered secondary school. This very much was corroborated by his then spokesperson, late Onukaba

    According to him, Atiku identified as Atiku Kojoli during his primary education at Jada Primary School and only substituted Kojoli with Abubakar to read ATIKU ABUBAKAR after gaining admission at Adamawa Provincial Secondary School in Yola.

    He said: “At what point did the new name “Atiku Abubakar” change to “Sidiq Abubakar” which is the name written on the WAEC certificate presented to INEC and when did “Sidiq Abubakar” change back to Atiku Abubakar, which is now his current and official name?

    “The honest question here is; who is the Sidiq Abubakar that owns the WAEC certificate presented to INEC? Is it the same Atiku Kojoli/Atiku Abubakar or someone else? 

    “I have read arguments that anybody who identifies as Abubakar can also identify as Sidiq. This can be very true, but if it’s not your official name, it is not your official name. 

    “Besides, I didn’t see anywhere Adinoyi Onukaba Ojo referred to Atiku as Sidiq in his book. He referred to him as either Atiku Kojoli or Atiku Abubakar. If you have read the book and you saw where he was referred to as Sidiq, please tell me the page.”

  • Atiku: How much is in the glass of discoveries?

    Atiku: How much is in the glass of discoveries?

    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.

  • Atiku’s desperation and the future of Nigeria

    Atiku’s desperation and the future of Nigeria

    Sir: The presidential election is since over; despite the campaign of calumny, and desperation of the desperados, the winner has been duly declared and inaugurated as the 16th President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has inherited a nation in the throes of chaos; a country grappling with daunting challenges and he is confronting those problems headlong. From the first seconds, after he took the oath of office, the president has hit the ground running: from unfurling his tough and bold economic agenda to decoupling the instruments of corruption that have held the nation down. He is assiduously pursuing the achievement of his campaign promises by taking some tough, but necessary, measures.

    Unfortunately, Nigeria’s problems have always been that of leadership, mismanagement of resources, and mind-sets. These are deep-rooted malaise in the society and their agents and beneficiaries are quite grounded. All over the world, to effect a positive change from the old order is always a herculean task, and people’s resistance because of expected shocks to be experienced in the system along the way, which is exactly the Nigerian situation today.

    Tinubu’s audacious moves to take Nigeria to the next level of progress and development are being unnecessarily distracted by the antics of those who have lost out, not just in the politics of Nigeria, but in the endemic corruption that has brought the nation to its knees.

    Sadly, even though the defeated politicians have gone to court, they have refused to allow the judicial process to go on without distractions. They have thrown caution to the wind, lost all forms of decorum and decency, and handed over modesty to the dogs in their bitter fight to destabilize the country. They are highlighting and weaponizing the nation’s diversity, whipping up regional, ethnic, and tribal sentiments, and needlessly heating the polity.

    Read Also: Dis-Atiku-lated bomb

    The issue of the 2023 election has become a sort of ‘war’ and degenerated into the kind of ‘do-or-die affair’ in a manner of politics played when Atiku Abubakar was Vice President of Nigeria. And as it is in war, the truth has become a casualty in Nigeria. Atiku and his PDP lost the election before the first ballot was cast by brazenly breaching the party’s power rotation agreement, thereby turning Peter Obi, a former ally, into an adversary. He also offended the likes of former Kano State governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso and irked Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, the former Rivers State governor, and major financier of the PDP in its troubled time.

    Rather than traveling from Abuja to Dubai, Dubai to Chicago State University to stop a ship that has already sailed, the Waziri Adamawa should be retrospective and try to save whatever is left of his image that has been badly battered by a series of damning verdicts on him by his former boss, serial defeats in his quest to superintend over Nigeria in 30 years and make peace with Nigeria and Nigerians. It is particularly sad and unbecoming that the former vice president took to social media and ‘world press conference’ to blackmail and intimidate the judiciary.

    Atiku missed a golden opportunity by not taking a cue from President Goodluck Jonathan, swallowing his pride, accepting his 30-year-old and eternal rejection by Nigerians, and congratulating his colleague and former ally, who has proven that it is not how far, but how well.

    Nigerians must wise up to the shenanigans of the likes of Atiku, Peter Obi, and other politicians who aim to use them as cannon folders in their desperation to seize the rein of power, including disparaging the president, spreading negativism about the nation and pushing the nation over the cliff.

    As we await the verdict of the Supreme Court, Nigerians must remain calm and resist the push by selfish politicians to use them to throw the nation into chaos.

    • Lanre Atere, United Kingdom.
  • Desperation and unscrupulous paths to power

    Desperation and unscrupulous paths to power

    Sir: The sort of desperation being displayed lately by former vice president, Atiku Abubakar who contested the last general election on the platform of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) is a reflection of how the country has fared in 24 years of unbroken civilian rule.

    In the cutthroat world of politics, the pursuit of power can sometimes lead individuals down dark and morally questionable paths. A handful of desperate politicians, consumed by an insatiable hunger for the highest office, are willing to employ tactics that defy ethical standards, including resorting to blackmail and other nefarious means.

    Blackmail, a tactic as old as politics itself, has found its place in the arsenals of those who believe the ends justify the means. These politicians, often driven by a relentless ambition to occupy the presidential seat, are willing to exploit personal vulnerabilities, secrets, and scandals to coerce their rivals into submission. In doing so, they compromise the very principles that underpin democratic processes and sow seeds of mistrust among the electorate.

    The use of information as a weapon is not limited to opponents’ personal lives; it extends to exploiting systemic weaknesses. Some desperate politicians might resort to manipulating electoral processes, undermining the integrity of campaigns, and even engaging in voter suppression to tilt the odds in their favour. Such actions not only erode the foundations of democracy but also foster an environment of cynicism and disillusionment among citizens.

    Read Also: Why my SSCE certificate bears Sadiq Abubakar – Atiku

    The desperation for power can lead politicians to form unholy alliances and make Faustian bargains. Aligning themselves with powerful interest groups, they may trade favours for support, compromising the interests of the general populace in the process. This brazen disregard for the greater good exposes the lengths to which some politicians are willing to go to secure their coveted position at the nation’s helm.

    As these unscrupulous strategies become more sophisticated, they pose a severe threat to the democratic fabric of nations. The erosion of trust in political institutions, fuelled by revelations of underhanded tactics, undermines the very essence of representative governance.

    It is imperative for societies to remain vigilant against such practices and to demand transparency and accountability from those vying for public office. Only through an informed and engaged electorate can the insidious influence of desperate politicians seeking power through blackmail and other unethical means be effectively countered. After all, a true democracy thrives not on the desperation of a few but on the collective wisdom and integrity of its citizens.

    • John Amabolou Elekun, Iju-Ajuwon, Lagos.
  • Why my SSCE certificate bears Sadiq Abubakar – Atiku

    Why my SSCE certificate bears Sadiq Abubakar – Atiku

    Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday explained the discrepancies in his Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) certificate.

    Atiku made the clarification through Dele Momodu, in a post on his X handle.

    The Nation reported that a group had given Atiku and Peter  Obi bi a seven-day ultimatum to release their academic records or face legal action to compel the disclosure.

    According to Momodu, the clarification became necessary following allegations of forgery against his principal by members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). 

    Momodu alleged that some members of the APC had questioned the name ”Sadiq Abubakar” in Atiku’s WAEC certificate as against his other credentials.

    However, Momodu said he forwarded the accusations to the Atiku, who also provided an answer for the discrepancy.

    Read Also: Atiku’s frantic hunt for ‘after-discovered evidence’

    Momodu wrote, ”The APC busybodies have been bombarding me with allegations of forgery against my Principal, ALHAJI ATIKU ABUBAKAR (GCON), which I immediately forwarded to him and here is his copious response: ‘Yes I used Sadiq Abubakar to sit for my WAEC and after passing my exams I went to swear an affidavit to say I am the same person as ATIKU Abubakar.

    “I went to ABU as Atiku Abuakar and passed my Exams as Atiku Abubakar. Interviewed as Atiku Abubakar by the Federal Civil Service Commission and hired into the Customs Service as Atiku Abubakar. So where is forgery there?’ – ATIKU ABUBAKAR.

    ”CAN THE APC social media bullies forward the deluge of questions in circulation to their boss and get instant and direct response…

    “I SALUTE ALHAJI ATIKU ABUBAKAR…”