CSU certificate: Obi backs Atiku, asks Tinubu to disclose real identity 

• Tinubu does not have identity problem, APC replies Obi
• No evidence Tinubu forged Chicago certificate – BBC report
• Ndigbo groups back Tinubu, urge Atiku, Obi to await Supreme Court verdict
• BBC report jaundiced, Atiku’s aide lampoons Tinubu over failure to hold FEC meetings

After months of dispute between the President’s lawyers and legal agents of Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), that culminated in the deposition of President Bola Tinubu’s credentials by Chicago State University (CSU) in a U.S. court last week, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, yesterday, called on the President to save Nigeria and himself from what he described as “protracted embarrassment and undue anxiety” over the controversy surrounding his certificate.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja, Obi asked President Tinubu to tell Nigerians the schools he attended and if he participated in the one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.

He also asked him to clarify if he indeed changed his name at any time and save the country from what he called an international embarrassment of identity crisis.

“In my opinion, Chief Bola Tinubu should have saved the nation and himself from this protracted embarrassment and undue anxiety. He still owes the nation and the world an obligation only he can discharge.

“I therefore respectfully and humbly call on him to immediately perform a simple task once and for all. He should introduce himself to the nation he governs and to the world for the avoidance of further doubt.

“He should let the world know his name, nationality, place of birth, parentage, primary and secondary schools attended with dates, as well as the actual universities attended and certificates obtained. He should indicate clearly where and when he did his NYSC. In addition, if at any time, he had a change of name, he should state so clearly.”

According to Obi, the entire CSU matter, as well as “Tinubu’s many other lingering identity question marks have further worsened Nigeria’s less-than-glorious image internationally.”

He said that uninformed outsiders now see every Nigerian as a fraudster, certificate forger, or identity thief, adding that the controversy is unnecessary, just as the implicit global embarrassment could have been avoided.

The former Anambra State governor maintained that having occupied the highest political office in the country, President Tinubu no longer has a right to any privacy regarding his identity.

“The most respected American President Abraham Lincoln did have education but he was highly respected. In the UK, Winston Churchill was not a good student in school. In this country, people questioned President Jonathan’s PhD, saying his PhD in zoology is not for presidency, where are the people now? We want them to come out. I am pleading that this issue be attended to.”

When asked about his own identity, he said: “I submitted my degree certificate and I attached the other ones. Quite frankly the only thing that is required is primary and secondary school certificates, but I attached my university certificate.

“I went to the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN). If you go there today, the Present Vice Chancellor and the two Deputy Vice Chancellors are all my mates. We gained entry together and left together and I can tell you many of my mates with whom we came together and left together.”

Atiku had requested the release of Tinubu’s certificate from CSU over suspicion that the certificate the former Lagos State governor submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may not be authentic.

During a press conference last week after the President’s academic records were released to him, the former Vice President who is challenging Tinubu’s election, called on Obi, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and other Nigerians to join his quest for “justice” over the matter.

Atiku also vowed not to stop on the issue as he said he would continue to seek justice over the matter.
BUT in a swift reaction, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) said President Tinubu does not have any identity problem.

In a statement by the party’s national publicity secretary, Felix Morka, said: “Obi must know that President Tinubu does not need a re-introduction. He does not have any identity problem, except the one contrived by the Atikus and Peters of our political firmament.

“The 8.9 million Nigerians who voted him into office were, and remain, aware of his outstanding record and accomplishments as a defender of democracy, freedom, social and economic justice for over three decades.

“Nigerians know President Tinubu as a thoroughbred professional and former auditor and treasurer of Mobil Nigeria, now ExxonMobil. Nigerians know the President as a former Senator where he served as Chairman of the influential Finance and Appropriations Committee.

“They know him as a former governor of Lagos, who designed and paved the pathway to the growth and prosperity of present-day Lagos, the fifth largest economy in Africa.

“In marked contrast, Nigerians have flatly and serially rejected Atiku and denied Obi’s presidential bid in the last election.

“Beyond regaling Nigerians with false and embarrassing statistics for which he has gained notoriety, Obi cannot be said to be known for any outstanding performance as governor of Anambra for eight years with no worthy legacy standing to his name.

“As for President Tinubu’s academic record, the facts are clear and settled except for those jaundiced by the trauma of electoral defeat. CSU has unequivocally stated over and over again, and in a deposition, under oath, by the Registrar, Caleb Westberg, that President Tinubu attended the school and graduated with honours.

“We condemn the sordid and disgraceful attempt by Obi, Atiku and their cheerleaders to use the mainstream and social media to intimidate the judiciary, incite the public to violence, disparage Justices of the Appeal and Supreme Court, and we urge all Nigerians to condemn this anti-democratic and irresponsible conduct of both political naggers.”

Also, yesterday, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), in a report by BBC’s Global Disinformation Team, said there was no proof yet that President Tinubu forged his academic record at CSU. Recounting the development that led to the certificate saga, BBC said there are three versions of the CSU certificates for Tinubu.

“The CSU released several diplomas issued between 1979 and 2003. We analysed all of them. There are three different diplomas for Tinubu that we refer to throughout our analysis: The original one, from 1979, which he has said in the past was lost when he went into exile in the 1990s.

“The second one that he submitted to INEC – supposedly a replacement diploma from CSU (it is similar to diplomas issued by CSU in the 1990s). Additionally, CSU holds another replacement diploma for Tinubu that they say is probably from the early 2000s that he never collected.

“The allegations on social media are based on a comparison between the document Tinubu submitted to INEC and the 1979 diplomas released by CSU.”

According to the British media organisation, the deposition by CSU’s registrar also attested to it that Nigeria’s leader did not forge his diploma.

“Westberg said the template of CSU’s diploma has changed several times over the years. He said any request for a new diploma would resemble the current template at that time, no matter when the student graduated,” BBC said.

MEANWHILE, an Igbo socio-political group, the Omaluegwuoku Progressive Initiative (OPI) has thrown its weight behind President Tinubu. The group frowned at the alleged campaign of calumny being waged by Atiku and Obi.

The group drawn from across the country urged the duo to wait for the outcome of their appeal filed against Tinubu at the Supreme Court instead of going out of their ways to distract the Tinubu-led administration.

Global President of the group and a commissioner with the Federal Character Commission, Ambassador Ginika F. Tor, said what the president owes Nigerians is to take them to their destinations.

Similarly, Ohanaeze Ndigbo yesterday called for calm and patience amid Tinubu’s certificate saga.

In a statement by Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, Secretary General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, he said: “In the wake of recent allegations concerning the academic credentials of our esteemed President, we, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, urge all Nigerians to exercise restraint and patience as we await the outcome of the Supreme Court’s investigation.

“We understand the concerns and questions raised by many Nigerians, especially in light of past incidents involving public office holders. We acknowledge the curiosity about potential beneficiaries of this situation, should it result in any significant political shift. However, we must remember that speculation and conjecture do not serve the interests of justice or our nation.

“We urge all Nigerians to refrain from actions that could heighten tensions or overheat the polity. The Supreme Court is the highest judicial body in our land, and we must trust in its ability to deliver a fair and just verdict. We must not allow this issue to distract us from the pressing matters that our nation faces.

“We, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, are not taking sides in this matter. Our primary concern is for the stability and unity of our nation. We believe in the rule of law and the due process of justice. We call on all Nigerians to do the same.

“We urge all parties involved, including those who may be operating behind the scenes, to respect the ongoing legal process. Let us allow the Supreme Court to do its job without interference or undue pressure.”

Meanwhile, Atiku’s Special Assistant on Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu, has lambasted the BBC over its fact-check report wherein it stated that there was no evidence to show that President Tinubu’s certificate was forged.

In a statement, Shaibu described the resort as a hatchet job, adding that the outrage it had solicited from the generality of Nigerians was enough evidence to show that the BBC goofed.

Atiku’s aide said the BBC’s move was not surprising as it was in line with a previous statement he had issued wherein he had revealed that the Tinubu administration was set to unleash its full propaganda programme.

“We are not ignorant of the machinations of the BBC and its bias towards the current government. It is unfortunate that the BBC is not upholding the same standards as they would uphold in the UK where a Prime Minister was forced out of office for hosting a party during COVID-19. In 2009, columnist Mehdi Hasan wrote in the New Statesman that the BBC was biased ‘towards power and privilege, tradition and orthodoxy.’

“It is no wonder that in the last one year, the only news medium that was given exclusive access to interview Tinubu was the BBC. It is sickening that the BBC has decided to surrender its platform to a man who was accused of illegal drug trafficking in the United States.

“In the so-called fact-check report, the BBC decided to bury in the last paragraphs the fact that Tinubu claimed to have attended Government College, Lagos in 1970 when the school was established in 1974. Why didn’t these so-called fact-checkers reflect it on their headline?

“What is the essence of the report when it failed to uncover the most critical questions? If this report was aimed at fact-checking, it should have mentioned the year the certificate was obtained by Tinubu from the CSU and if the one he submitted to INEC is the same one he received from CSU.

“Tinubu said at Chatham House that he had received a replacement from CSU when the school said in unambiguous terms that he had not done so. What was the date he applied for his INEC replacement certificate from CSU, and when was it issued to him?

“The investigation was clearly carried out with a predetermined goal, which was to clear Tinubu. But let us ask the BBC if they would employ anyone who has had a case of drug trafficking in the US before and if he had three dates of birth in his official records as well as two different genders as well as attending a secondary school before it was established.”