It would seem that Nigeria is afflicted by paper tiger syndrome in which potential public office holders desire to pack as much punch on their qualifications, without the requisite veracity to those claims.
The last three administrations in the country have been tainted by significant certificate forgery scandals that have caused the removal or resignation of senior public officials in a storm of allegations and counter-allegations.
This week, another Nigerian minister has been outed as a paper tiger, with a CV backed by degrees and certificates that are allegedly falsified, and continuing a tradition that has dogged the Fourth Republic since 1999 but, in reality, goes back to the First Republic.
Since the media broke the news accusing Mr. Geoffrey Uche Nnaji of forging his academic and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificates, a storm of allegations and counter-allegations has followed, darkening the political landscape with a distraction that the country did not need. Lots of finger-pointing and buck-shifting have occurred. In the end, after unwittingly admitting that the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, never issued him a certificate in a court document, Mr. Nnaji chomped on humble pie and resigned.
It was rather disappointing to see that the president, Bola Tinubu, in accepting his resignation, ‘thanked him for his service and wished him well in future endeavours.’
Personal relationships aside, Mr. Nnaji had somehow tainted this administration, which seems to be offering him the sort of soft landing former finance minister Kemi Adeosun got when she was also forced to resign from the previous administration’s cabinet.
Adeosun resigned in 2018 from the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari after a Premium Times investigation revealed that her NYSC exemption certificate that allowed her to be appointed to the office was forged. Perhaps even more disappointing for Adeosun was that the forgery was completely needless, as a Federal
High Court ruled in 2021 that having graduated at age 22 as a British citizen, she was not required to participate in the NYSC, thereby legally clearing her to serve as minister.
Unaware of this at the time, she took a falsified document and occupied public office with the help of that document. These are strikes against both the Tinubu and Buhari administrations.
Many years earlier, there was Ndi Okereke-Onyuike, who was appointed the president of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) until she was ushered out in a cloud of scandals.
Okereke-Onyuike claimed to have obtained a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) as well as a Doctor of Administration in Finance and Securities Market from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. However, there is no university record confirming that she attended the programme or was awarded these degrees. Still, she fashioned herself a ‘professor of Capital Markets’ at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and wormed her way into prominent positions.
A similar thing happened very early on in the Fourth Republic when it was discovered that the very first Speaker of the House of Representatives, Salisu Buhari, had falsified both his age and his qualifications, indicating that he had graduated from the University of Toronto in Canada, on the basis of which he was elected into the National Assembly. He was only a year short of eligibility to run for parliament but slathered on another six. It was a misadventure that ended in disaster, as he was forced to resign and prosecuted for his crimes.
His case set a precedent for public accountability regarding politicians’ credentials in the country. It remains a reference point for subsequent forgery scandals and efforts to enforce verifications. But not in a good way. Buhari was given a slap on the wrist for his crime and a laughable option of a fine, which his supporters laughed off and slapped on the court desks as the verdict was delivered. He was subsequently pardoned by President Obasanjo.
Since then, it seemed like certificate forgery at the highest level has been excused, unleashing these invasive species of paper forgers into public offices. It could cost one a plum position if outed by the pesky media, not the DSS, which somehow keeps dropping the ball on this, but it won’t cost one any significant jail term.
This is the reason why Mr. Nnaji is blaming the incident on ‘political opponents’ who have targeted him for ‘blackmail,’ as contained in the presidency statement, as if making excuses for him.
Of course, it is convenient for the presidency that this problem goes away as quickly as possible. No one really wants it. Certainly not the president, who has been battling allegations of certificate falsifications himself for years. Having a cabinet member who is challenged in this manner will suddenly refocus attention on the president’s case, which his opponents have been harping on for long.
This over-reliance on certificates drives some ambitious people to pursue the papers, falsifying them if needed, without the requisite knowledge, which has cost us a lot. Often, we have found ourselves unhealthily preoccupied with the veracity of the qualifications of public office seekers in the country rather than how they can tackle our country’s challenges. From Buhari to Atiku to Tinubu, and even Jonathan, we have been spending an insane amount of time trying to verify documents and qualifications that shouldn’t take too long to verify.
It has also had other forms of repercussions. So while someone like Salisu Buhari, for instance, was adjudged by his colleagues to have been a promising leader of the House of Representatives in 1999, and Nnaji, who in his capacity as Minister of Science and Innovation is credited with launching the National Cleantech Innovation Entrepreneurship Ecosystem (CIEE), initiating the ‘Tech Advantage Nigeria’ programme to empower Nigerian youth with digital skills, apprenticeship opportunities, and entrepreneurship support across the federation, and facilitating the establishment of a Solar PV Module Assembly Plant in Enugu State to boost local solar energy technology manufacturing, the greatest matter he will be remembered for is his alleged falsification of documents.
Sadly, this tradition has a long history. From way back, Nigerian public officials have been presenting documents and qualifications that have raised suspicions. There have been early indications of some of these scandals that were blatantly ignored, like Nnamdi Azikiwe’s decision to ignore the damning forgery allegations and fraud claims against Nwafor Orizu to give him the political platform that made him the Senate president in the First Republic.
To curb the culture of our invasive species of paper tigers, Nigeria must use Nnaji’s case to set a marker by conducting a thorough investigation to gather evidence proving whether the documents in question were forged and whether there was intent to defraud. If sufficient evidence exists, formal criminal charges should be filed, as forgery is a criminal offence punishable under the law.
Already, Nnaji, like others, has suffered reputational damage. However, that is not enough if convicted. Sanctions stipulated by the laws, including fines and imprisonment, must be brought to bear, as well as further repercussions that might include disqualification from public office, forfeiture of benefits, and potential civil suits if harm was caused.
There is no point in having strict laws against crimes like forgery and document falsification if the law is going to be unequally applied based on one’s proximity to power. The application of this law is meant to deter other certificate forgers waiting to claw their way up the system and encourage honest achievements by future leaders of the country. Now would be a good time to dissuade future paper tigers and forgers from obsessing over this paper tiger syndrome and actually working to obtain the requisite qualifications for real. It would be best for their futures and the future of the country.