Nigeria: Buhari's certificate trouble and lies on oath
3 January 2015 By Abi Giwa
Muhammed Buhari (Courtesy: cdn.information.org)
General Muhammed Buhari, All People's Congress, APC, presidential candidate cannot produce original of any of his school certificates.
Reports said that he had sworn in an affidavit which he submitted to the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, and said that his certificates were with the military authorities.
But a source in the military hinted on Friday that the military does not keep originals of soldiers' certificates, and that any soldier who says his certificates are with the military authorities must be joking.
This is more than a joke as the man being touted by the opposition and others, who are saying President Goodluck Jonathan does not care about fighting corruption may either have lied in his affidavit or playing a game no one can fathom. And the question people are asking is that If Buhari's certificates are not with the military, why has he sworn the affidavit that the certificates are with the military? They ask whether Buhari and his apologists are not aware of the implication of lying on oath.
Gbenga Dairo, a Nigerian American in the United States said he believes Buhari and the APC don't want to submit Buhari's original certificates for reasons that the certificate may be Standard Six or School Certificate in Arabic, and that submitting such a certificate would be denigrating to a party that has picked a university professor as a running mate. On the issue of lying and not lying on oath, Dairo said the boys in APC, especially the groups that have pushed Buhari's election don't have regard for the law, and they may not have thought about the repercussion of their act.
Ebenezer Olasunkanmi, in an interview with the Global Pentorch, said Buhari may likely have joined the Army without any certificate, using what they call 'leg' factor in Nigeria. He said the matter is still unclear, and that the outbursts of Lai Muhammed, APC's secretary describing the impression that Buhari does not have a certificate as an assault on the military is worsening the situation for the party. He said further that Buhari's case may lead to the exposure of so many others like him who have ruled Nigeria in the past as lacking the school certification. "Unlike the Army of today where school certification is important for enrollment in the force, Buhari may have joined the Army on quota like others from the North who were drafted into the Army from the North as a way to ensure the North has the control of the Army and leadership of the country."
Olasunkanmi believes that the APC has elected a wrong person as its presidential candidate, and that the issue of the certificate and lying on oath are enough that he has lost out in the election if he fails to tender originals of his certificates.
Emmanuel Isesele, a Nigerian psychologist in New York said what Buhari did by swearing an oath that his certificates were with the military secretary, and he could ask for them, to end the trouble he has put himself and his party amounts to lying on oath, and that he should be tried and sent to jail to teach others a lesson.
Isesele is worried that a man who has been telling Nigerians that he is an angel and he is coming to fight corruption has been found to be corrupt. He said that further that he is sure Buhari does not have a tenable school certificate, and that if he has one he would submitted it to the INEC, instead of saying on oath that it is with the military secretary.
"Goodluck Jonathan may not have met Nigerians' expectations, he is far better than Buhari," Isesele said. What worries Isesele and others is that the Buhari's certificate trouble has opened discussion among curious Nigerians on other leaders of APC like Bola Tinubu and their known and hidden wealth.
Reports said that he had sworn in an affidavit which he submitted to the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, and said that his certificates were with the military authorities.
But a source in the military hinted on Friday that the military does not keep originals of soldiers' certificates, and that any soldier who says his certificates are with the military authorities must be joking.
This is more than a joke as the man being touted by the opposition and others, who are saying President Goodluck Jonathan does not care about fighting corruption may either have lied in his affidavit or playing a game no one can fathom. And the question people are asking is that If Buhari's certificates are not with the military, why has he sworn the affidavit that the certificates are with the military? They ask whether Buhari and his apologists are not aware of the implication of lying on oath.
Gbenga Dairo, a Nigerian American in the United States said he believes Buhari and the APC don't want to submit Buhari's original certificates for reasons that the certificate may be Standard Six or School Certificate in Arabic, and that submitting such a certificate would be denigrating to a party that has picked a university professor as a running mate. On the issue of lying and not lying on oath, Dairo said the boys in APC, especially the groups that have pushed Buhari's election don't have regard for the law, and they may not have thought about the repercussion of their act.
Ebenezer Olasunkanmi, in an interview with the Global Pentorch, said Buhari may likely have joined the Army without any certificate, using what they call 'leg' factor in Nigeria. He said the matter is still unclear, and that the outbursts of Lai Muhammed, APC's secretary describing the impression that Buhari does not have a certificate as an assault on the military is worsening the situation for the party. He said further that Buhari's case may lead to the exposure of so many others like him who have ruled Nigeria in the past as lacking the school certification. "Unlike the Army of today where school certification is important for enrollment in the force, Buhari may have joined the Army on quota like others from the North who were drafted into the Army from the North as a way to ensure the North has the control of the Army and leadership of the country."
Olasunkanmi believes that the APC has elected a wrong person as its presidential candidate, and that the issue of the certificate and lying on oath are enough that he has lost out in the election if he fails to tender originals of his certificates.
Emmanuel Isesele, a Nigerian psychologist in New York said what Buhari did by swearing an oath that his certificates were with the military secretary, and he could ask for them, to end the trouble he has put himself and his party amounts to lying on oath, and that he should be tried and sent to jail to teach others a lesson.
Isesele is worried that a man who has been telling Nigerians that he is an angel and he is coming to fight corruption has been found to be corrupt. He said that further that he is sure Buhari does not have a tenable school certificate, and that if he has one he would submitted it to the INEC, instead of saying on oath that it is with the military secretary.
"Goodluck Jonathan may not have met Nigerians' expectations, he is far better than Buhari," Isesele said. What worries Isesele and others is that the Buhari's certificate trouble has opened discussion among curious Nigerians on other leaders of APC like Bola Tinubu and their known and hidden wealth.
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