When the General Muhammadu Buhari’s
(Rtd.) secondary school certificate issue came up, I wrote an earth-shattering
article against the Nigerian military and PDP stating that I suspected a foul
play in the issue. The article was supposed to be published in the Nation and Thisday. But after due consultations with my media colleagues and
two of my friends who are Barristers,
they advised me not to send such an article for publication yet and should wait
to see how the drama between PDP in collaboration with the Nigerian military
against Buhari ends before I can do that. I thought of it and later decided to
take a stand-by-the-side-and- watch approach.
My basic responsibility as a professional
and practicing journalist is to stand for the truth at all times irrespective of
who is involved and to be ready to pay whatever price it takes for justice to
prevail. And by the grace of God I have always lived to that responsibility.
Even as I am an ardent supporter of
Buhari and hold him in very high esteem because of his integrity and zero
tolerance to corruption, I will be among the first to criticise him and his
government if he fails to deliver and will launch vigorous media campaigns for
his removal through the ballot which kicked Jonathan out and brought him in.
The Punch
of January 4, 2015, in one of its headlines titled: “BUHARI’S CERTIFICATES WITH
US, SAYS ARMY”, the Army spokeman, Brig-Gen. Olajide Layeye, in an exclusive
interview with Punch correspondent in
Abuja said that Buhari’s certificate was with the Army.
And to my greatest surprise, another
headline in Thisday surfaced that
made me to pounder on Buhari’s certificate issue for a very long time as had
serious dissatisfaction with the Nigerian Army.
The Nigerian
Army issue in relation to Buhar’s certificate was published in THISDAYLIVE on
21 January, 2015 titled: “ARMY: WE DO NOT HAVE BUHARI’S CERTIFICATE”. Below is
an excerpt of the story:
-----“In
a bid to put to rest the controversy surrounding the credentials of the
presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Major-General
Muhammadu Buhari, the Nigerian Army has stated that it is not in possession of
his West African School Certificate (WASC) with which he enrolled in the
Nigerian Military Training College in 1962.
At a press briefing yesterday in Abuja, the Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Brig-Gen. Olajide Laleye, said the clarification was necessitated after the barrage of requests from individuals and corporate organisations seeking to know the true position of Buhari’s credentials.
But in a swift reaction, the APC warned that those bent on destroying its candidate may end up destroying the country’s military by dragging it into politics.
Providing
further insight, Laleye said: “I don't have that information on whether General
Buhari has applied for his credentials. The reason why we put this press
conference together is because individuals and corporate bodies have written
severally requesting for his credentials.
“We want to make it clear that we
hold Buhari in high esteem having risen through the ranks.“Now the raging controversy concerning this has been what the Nigerian Army presented to you as facts. We have not added anything and we have not subtracted anything.
“In his personal file in the Nigerian Army, we do not have his original copy of his WASC, nor does the Nigerian Army have the certified true copy of his WASC results, neither do we have a photocopy.”
“We don't have any of them but we do have other documents to show how he was recruited into the Nigeria Army as was entered in Form 199A.”
The army spokesman explained that the available records indicated that Buhari applied to join the military as a form six student of the Provincial Secondary School, Katsina, on October 18, 1961.
“He was fully endorsed by the principal of the school, who also wrote a report on him and recommended him to be suitable for military commission.
“It is the practice in the Nigerian Army that before candidates are shortlisted for commissioning into the officers’ cadre of the service, the Selection Board verifies the original copies of credentials presented.”
“However, there is no available record to show that this process was followed in the 1960s,” he said.
Nevertheless, Laleye said the entry made in the Nigerian Army Form 199A at the point of documentation after commission as an officer indicated that the former head of state obtained his secondary school certificate in 1961 with credits in the relevant subjects: English Language, Geography, History, Health Science, Hausa and a pass in English Literature.
“Neither
the original copy, certified true copy nor statement of results of
Major-General M. Buhari's WASC result is in his personal file. I hope this
explanation will put to rest the raging controversy surrounding the secondary
school credentials of Major-General Muhammadu Buhari as it affects the Nigerian
Army,” he said.”--------
To my greatest surprise, two days after
Buhari was declared the winner of the Presidential election by INEC, the Army
magically and mysteriously found Buhari’s certificate, an issue that nearly
prevented Buhari from contesting the Presidential election.
In a press release by APC United Kingdom
through Sunday Akoji on April 2, 2015 titled: “MATTERS ARISING”, on its twitter
says that: “Back in January, there was a clamour over the inability of Buhari
to be produce his Secondary School leaving Certificate. The certificate issue
became a saga after the Nigerian army which claimed it had the certificate
later retracted its statement saying the certificate was not in its
possession.”
“Someone working for the PDP obviously removed the
certificate from his file at the Defence Headquarters.”
“This is part of the strategies the PDP deployed in
their campaign of calumny.”
Akoji said that it was even most disgraceful that the Director General
of the PDP Presidential Campaign organisation was a Retired Colonel, in the
person of Ahmadu Ali. He should have cautioned them about bringing the Military
to disrepute. He did not.“This singular act as far as I am concerned did more damage than good to the PDP”.
“Beyond bringing out Buhari’s certificate, there is an urgent need to restore pride and sanity to the military. As it stands now, the Nigerian Army, is an Army of anything goes! There have to be a clean sweep and overhaul of the military from top to bottom! The entire top echelon at the Defence Headquarters should turn in their resignation and leave with President Goodluck Jonathan on the 29th of May, so that the process of rebuilding and restoration shall begin in earnest,”he said.
With the Army suddenly releasing
Buhari’s certificate after it became obvious that they would face the music
made me to ask some basic questions:
1. Why
did the Nigerian Army publish in THISDAYLIVE on 21 Jan. 2015 that they do not
have Buhari’s certificate?
2. How
come the Nigerian Army later released Buhari’s certificate?
3. Where
did they find it? Or has the certificate become a magical and mysterious paper
that can appear, disappear and reappear when it pleases it?
4. Why
did the Nigerian Army later claim that they have Buhari’s certificate but he
did not follow due process to apply for it?
5. Why
has the Nigeria Military been inconsistent in its statements regarding Buhari’s
certificate?
6. If
Buhari was not elected as Nigeria’s president, would his certificate ever be
found by the army?
7. When
Buhari was sued by Sen. Alphonsus Igbeke; A legal practitioner, Mr.
Chukwunweike Okafor, and their “subterranean group” of PDP members for beaching
relevant provisions of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and
the Electoral Act 2010, why did the Nigerian army refuse to come to his rescue
by presenting his certificate to the court to vindicate him?
There are so many questions that space
could not permit me to ask the Nigerian military with regard to Buhari’s
certificate issue.
It is very unfortunate that the Nigerian
army could allow itself to be politicised by the corrupt Jonathan and his
government which made Nigeria army to lose its integrity and dignity locally
and internationally.
The Nigerian military officers who
allowed Jonathan and his extremely corrupt party, PDP to use them to frustrate
Buhari’s Presidency pursuit through the ballot are already fighting a lost
battle because there is nothing under the heavens that they will do or say that
will save them since Buhari will definitely play Azonto music for them while he
sits and watches with delight how they will dance to the music.
NTA and AIT among other media were busy
promoting anti-Buhari campaigns and making it emphatic that Buhari has no
secondary school certificate because of their selfish interests. NTA and AIT
among other media that contributed in painting Buhari black have made a mockery
of the journalism profession locally and internationally which I am a strong
member. I am absolutely convinced that
NTA and AIT among other journalists who played damaging parts in Buhari
certificate issue understand that this is the kind of situation where
investigative journalism takes the central stage. But they ignored it.
These media practitioners ignored the
tenets of journalism which include principles of accuracy, objectivity,
fairness and balance in reporting and promoting damaging TV documentaries on
Buhari. I just pray that Buhari should find a place in his heart to forgive
them.
ACT
ONE SCENE ONE: BUHARI’S CERTIFICATE WITH US,
SAYS ARMY
ACT
ONE SCENE TWO: ARMY: WE DON’T HAVE BUHARI’S
CERTIFICATE.
ACT
ONE SCENE THREE: WE HAVE FOUND BUHARI’S
CERTIFICATE.
Nigerians are just waiting to see what ACT ONE SCENE FOUR will be like when
Buhari is sworn in on May 29, 2015.
