Akiri: The Buhari certificate debate

THE furore provoked by Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s qualification for the imminent presidential election has assumed national and international dimension by reason of the fact, first, that the office of president is the highest in the land; secondly, that qualifications for election as President are prescribed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the fons et origo of the Nigerian legal system; thirdly, that the political and moral pedigrees of the contestants for the exalted office should not only be above board, but must be seen to be above board, and, finally, that he who goes to equity must go with clean hands. I am going to deal with the last two factors in extenso in the course of this article because bad leadership has been identified as the bane of the socio-economic development in the Nigerian nation-space. 

   But let’s open the chapter on the educational qualifications for election as President of Nigeria: An unduly indulgent Section 131 (d) of the military Decree No. 24 (aka the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999) requires that, to be qualified for election to the office of President, a person must have “been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.”  It is interesting that this nondescript qualification for election as President is in a country that abounds in men/women with massive intellectual acquirements and professional attainments.      

  Ludicrously, Section 318 in Part IV of the 1999 Constitution (even as amended) on the interpretation of the groups of words used in it, defines  “School Certificate or its equivalent”  as…

(a) A Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent or Grade Two Teachers Certificate, the City and Guilds Certificate;

(b) Education up to Secondary School Certificate level; or

(c)  Primary Six Leaving Certificate or its equivalent and

(i)  service in the public or private sector in the Federation in any capacity acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for a minimum of 10 years, and (ii)  attendance at courses and training in such institutions as may be acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for periods totalling up to a minimum of one year, and (iii)  the ability to read, write, understand and communicate in the English language to the satisfaction of the Independent National Electoral Commission; and  (d)  Any other qualification acceptable by (sic) the Independent National Electoral Commission.”

    The foregoing funny interpretation of the words “School Certificate or its equivalent” did not strike the draftsmen of the 1999 Constitution as being ridiculously contradictory to the provisions of Section 131(d) of the same Constitution, which provides that any person aspiring to the position of president (not of a club but of the greatest country in Africa) must have “been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.”  Section 123 of the 1979 Constitution on the same subject did not have any provision on the educational qualification of a presidential candidate.    The inclusion of that provision in the 1999 Constitution, therefore, was designed to cure a mischief – the incalculable harm a roaring illiterate President could inflict on the citizens. Unfortunately, the distinguished framers of the 1999 Constitution contracted collective amnesia with regard to the mischief that Section 131 (d) of the 1999 Constitution was designed to cure at the point (in section 318 thereof) when they almost defined “School Certificate or its equivalent”  to include a NEPA Bill! I am persuaded that the provisions of Section 131 (d) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the definition of the words “School Certificate or its equivalent” in Section 318 thereof should be subjected to the Golden Rule, a canon of statutory/constitutional construction invoked when there is internal disharmony in a statute which, if interpreted literally,  might lead to absurdity or “evince internal contradiction”, such as when the words, “at least School Certificate or its equivalent” are interpreted as “…Primary School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent”, among other funny meanings, including being able to read and write!

    In Awolowo vs. Shagari (1979) 6-9 SC 73 @105, the Supreme Court, per Andrews Otutu Obaseki (JSC, as he then was), forcefully asseverated, inter alia, as follows:

“Where there are two possible meanings conveyed by words of a statute, it is the most reasonable one that should be adopted. Where the other meaning leads to absurdity or evinces internal contradiction, that meaning should be dropped for the first as the legislature never intends to be absurd or contradictory.”

     Now, let’s open the chapter on Gen. Buhari’s qualification for the exalted post of President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria. If Buhari had attended one hundred military courses, which, in the aggregate, could rank more than a Master’s Degree, how did he get there? The hackneyed Latin maxim, “ex nihilo nihil fit” (something cannot be built on nothing) remains valid. Buhari became a General, a military governor, a minister and Nigeria’s Head of State. How did he get commissioned into the Nigerian Army, in 1961, to start with? When a Ph.D-job seeker attends an interview (in Nigeria, at least),  he is required to show evidence of his having traversed the valley of the West African School Certificate (WASC) or of the General Certificate of Education (GCE) or of his Master’s Degree, before gaining height to the Golgotha of the Ph.D. Not a few Nigerians are asking the question as to how Buhari got commissioned into the Nigerian Army in 1961.  

    All political parties were required under Section 31 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) to submit to INEC, not later than 60 days before the date appointed for  a general election, a duly completed FORM CF 001 (in the case of all presidential aspirants). Part C of the Form requires all presidential candidates to attach their educational credentials to the Form, whilst Section 31 (2) of the Act requires every presidential candidate to accompany “the list or information submitted by each candidate by an Affidavit sworn to by the candidate at the High Court of a State, indicating that he has fulfilled all the constitutional requirements for election into that office.” Every other presidential candidate but Buhari did. Instead of attaching his educational credentials, he enclosed a sworn affidavit stating, on oath, among other things, that his WASC and other credentials had been with the Military Board since 1961, and that he got commissioned into the officer cadre of the Nigerian Army on the strength of his WASC. Jolted into confession by their leader’s incredible deposition in a sworn affidavit, the Army came on air to give the lie to Gen. Buhari’s statements. According to senior personnel officers of the Army, Buhari got enlisted into the Nigerian Army in 1961 on the basis only of “a recommendation from the principal of his college, the Katsina Provincial College.”  Neither Buhari’s original WASC nor even a certified true copy thereof had ever been in his file, the officers stressed. 

   Ipso facto, Buhari had perjured, and perjury is a criminal offence severely punishable under our Laws. But then the Army officers went on to state, for good measure, that even though Buhari did not tender any certificate aside from his principal’s recommendation, he had filled in his Employment Form then that he had a WASC with credits in five subjects! A few days ago, Nigerians were told that it was indeed a Cambridge School Certificate and not WASC that was with the Military Board! The thrust of this article is that all the foregoing allegations must be thoroughly looked into judicially before the presidential election.

   To be duly qualified for election as President of Nigeria, a candidate must have submitted to INEC a duly-filled Form CF 001 “accompanied by an Affidavit sworn to by the candidate at the High Court of a State, indicating that he has fulfilled all the constitutional requirements for election into that office.” This must have been done on or before December 16, 2014, or not later than 60 days before the date appointed for the election (Section 31 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2010). 

About a week ago, the Principal of Buhari’s Alma Mater, advertised “a Cambridge Certificate” (not attached to the Form CF 001 as required by Section 31 (2) of the Electoral Act, 2010). An agitated afterthought, the advertisement of the “Cambridge Certificate” came after the military Board debunked Buhari’s statement that his WASC was with them. In the circumstance, Buhari cannot be deemed to have been duly registered for the February 14, 2015 presidential election. The fact that he had scaled through all electoral hurdles (without showing his qualifications) in 2003, 2007 and 2011 can neither be used as an offence nor as a defence.

    Subsection (3) of Section 31 of the Electoral Act, 2010, provides that “The Commission (INEC) shall, within 7 days of the receipt of the personal particulars of the candidate, publish same in the constituency where the candidate intends to contest the election” (in this case, published in the entire country). What does INEC publish where a candidate neglects, omits or refuses to submit his educational credentials? 

    According to subsection (4) of the same section, “Any person may apply to the Commission for a copy of nomination form, affidavit and any other document submitted by a candidate at an election and the Commission shall, upon payment of a prescribed fee, issue such person with a certified copy of document within 14 days.” Subsection (5) permits “Any person who has reasonable grounds to believe that any information given by a candidate in the affidavit or any document submitted by that candidate (such as the sworn Affidavit accompanying Buhari’s Form CF 001 to INEC) is false, may file a suit at the High Court of a State or Federal High Court against such person seeking a declaration that the information contained in the affidavit is false.” 

   In view of the provisions of subsection (6) of Section 31 of the Electoral Act, 2010, that if the Court determines that any of the information contained in the affidavit or any document submitted by that candidate is false, the Court shall issue an order disqualifying the candidate from contesting the election, it is imperative either that the Court(s) give accelerated hearing to all cases emanating from the provisions of subsection (5) of Section 31 of the Electoral Act, 2010, or that the presidential election is postponed for some weeks (see section 26 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2010), to afford the courts enough time to adjudicate on such cases that may arise. 

• Akiri is an attorney-at-law based in Lagos.