Over the past couple of weeks, the political scene in Nigeria has been rife with one scandal after the other. Despite general elections ending over a year ago, issues concerning the educational qualification of elected officeholders continue to spring up.
The most recent case of note is a decision by the Supreme Court to nullify the election of Bayelsa State Governor-elect, Davis Lyon of the All Progressives Congress (APC) just 24 hours to his inauguration. While his disqualification came as a rude shock to a majority of Nigerians, the five-man panel’s decision was based because Lyon’s deputy, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo presented false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the run-up to the November 16 governorship election in the state.
While Lyon’s case might be new, forgery of certificates by candidates and public office holders is a phenomenon that has plagued the country and its democratic process for a long time now. Dating as far back as 1999 with the death of an infamous military era and the dawn of democracy with the election of President Olusegun Obasanjo, certificate forgery gained notoriety with the case surrounding former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Salisu Buhari. Buhari was accused and convicted for forging his certificate from Toronto University in Canada and his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate.
Since the debacle surrounding Buhari’s, several other notable figures have been accused of forging or embellishing their educational qualifications.
2010 – 2012 saw former Benue State governor, Gabriel Suswam, become a regular fixture in the press based on allegations that he forged the West African Examination Council Exams (WAEC) certificate submitted to elections umpire, INEC. Likewise, 2019 Kwara state governor-elect, Abdulrahman Abdulrazak, was accused of forging his WAEC certificate by the opposition party. His case was however dismissed by the Election Tribunal due to the lack of substantial evidence. Meanwhile, political candidates who never got into office with forgery playing a major role in their narratives include Senator Ademola Adeleke who contested for the governorship seat in Osun state and Kogi state governorship candidate, Musa Wada, who was disqualified based on the forgery of his primary school certificate.
The Presidency hasn’t been spared of the scandal either. The authenticity of President Mohammadu Buhari’s WAEC certificate seems to be a topic that rears its head during every election cycle, and not one but two appointees of the president have been accused of forging certificates. An error, the presidency should have caught during its vetting process.
What does the law say?
Section 131 (d) of the 1999 Constitution provides that; ‘’ A person shall be qualified for election to the office of President if he has been educated up to at least school certificate level or its equivalent. Sections 177 (d); 142(2), 187(2); 65(2) (a) and 106(c) prescribe the same for governors, vice president, deputy-governors, National Assembly and state Assembly members respectively.
Section 2 (1) of the NYSC Act mandates all Nigerians who earn degrees or higher national diplomas from tertiary institutions in Nigerian and abroad (effective 1972/73 session) to participate in the scheme. Those exempted by the law are those who graduated after their 30th birthday, persons with national honours and individuals who serve in the military and intelligence organizations.
The constitution in sections 66 (1) (i), 107 (1) (i), 137 (1) (j), and 182 (1) (j), also disqualify candidates from gaining a public seat under review if “he has presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission”. While conversations have arisen as to which types of certificate fall under the jurisdiction of this law, the Court of Appeal in its ruling in the case between Edo state 2000 National Assembly candidates, Honorable Willie Ogbeide of the Peoples Democratic Party and Arigbe Osula of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, held that Section 66 (1) (i) covered only certificates of educational qualification.
As the major law enforcement agency in Nigeria, it is the duty of the Nigeria Police, as per Section 4 of the Police Act, by virtue of the powers conferred on it, through Section 214(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to arrest or institute any investigation, concerning forgery and stealing.
With Nigerians considered some of the best-educated black persons in the world with one US report indicating that Nigerians are among the most educated immigrants in the United States, vertically and horizontally, it is rather ludicrous that the country’s leadership – who essentially represent the people, is fraught with forgery especially at basic levels like secondary education.
This story is part of our new series on Nigeria where we analyse electoral reform in the country ahead of the next general elections in 2023.
