BY ABUBAKAR MU'AZU, OCTOBER 09, 2025 | 01:13 PM
Another round of public outrage is playing out because of an alleged certificate falsification (or is it forgery?). It seems to me that all the requirements that are designed to ensure healthy politics and responsible governance do not really matter. At least that is part of the narrative since the return to civilian rule in 1999. The exit of the military, actively supported by Western countries, was regarded and valorised under the imagination that Nigeria stands to develop. Civil society organisations became the arrowheads of the struggle for the restoration of democracy, constitutionalism, rule of law and human rights. That imaginary had great seductive appeal.
One of the first scandals that emerged was the Salisu Buhari certificate scandal. With no certificate from the University of Toronto, Buhari was able to earn a party ticket for contesting an elective office. He was cleared by the electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Nigerians were made to believe, at that time, that each party candidate, without exception, was screened by the various relevant and responsible agencies. That screening, it seemed, covered the personal claims of the candidates: their official names, date and place of birth, schools attended, certificates obtained and national youth service, where applicable. The politics parties vetted the candidates' claims and endorsed the submission of same to INEC.
Then various appointees were made to go a screening process too. They had their CVs checked, verified and cleared by the responsible agencies of government. After the clearance, some of the appointed persons that were to be screened by the National or State Assembly had their details sent, cleared by the Office of the President or Governor, as the case may be. The legislature screened and cleared all candidates presented to them. There was one interesting exception. That was the case of the former Minister of the FCT and former two-time Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufa'i.
After passing through all the party and relevant government agencies clearance processes, it is shocking that some individuals, as party candidates and appointees, could not be stopped. They successfully contested and won elections or were "screened" and appointed. This is the process endorsed in the Constitution and other relevant legal and administrative instruments. There is something that is peculiar about passing through the eye of the needle called the screening process. Why should such a problem arise with all the resources, instruments and agencies available to the government?
It seems that to serve in any government, it is not the papers presented as qualifications that matter. It seems what matters is the political value that an individual will add to the party that matters: party and community followership, having a ready war chest, loyalty to the party, closeness to the party apparatchik and acceptability in a constituency. These are the variables that politicians prioritise. These are very important factors in Nigerian politics. No politician will joke with this. These are what matter most; not paper qualification for blowing grammar. "We no go chop grammar!
"Wetin be certificate sef". This is the reason that no one was prosecuted, or where there was prosecution, there was also State pardon. Since your political value - followership, war chest, connection, popularity, etc can win votes, governance can go on without valid paper qualification. Exposure is good in showing Nigerians the compromises in the system. But it is no guarantee that anything, logically and reasonably necessary, will happen. We are going through the motions of governance. That is what matters. The other issues can be treated through sophistry and claims as suits the power wielders'. So why govern with a certificate?
What do you think?
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