By Tony Okafor
Nigeria’s political class continues to drown in a needless and shameful obsession with forging academic certificates.
From inflated degrees to phantom doctorates, too many politicians seem to believe that leadership legitimacy must come wrapped in a university gown.
It is a national embarrassment that, more than two decades into democracy, our public offices are still stained by scandals of fake credentials.
Yet the truth is clearly written in our grundnorm — the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Section 318(1) of the 1999 Constitution states that a “School Certificate or its equivalent” is sufficient qualification for elective or appointive office. In fact, the Constitution recognizes even a Primary Six Certificate, provided the individual can read, write, communicate effectively in English, and has relevant experience.
Our founding fathers understood something today’s politicians seem to have forgotten: that leadership is not a test of academic height but of character, competence, and conscience.
Degrees do not confer or guarantee integrity. What Nigeria needs are honest leaders — not scholars in deceit.
The obsession with higher certificates has bred dishonesty, turned education into a political prop, and corrupted the moral fabric of our nation.
When those seeking power resort to forgery and falsehood, they teach younger Nigerians that fraud is a ladder to success.
Educational institutions, too, must rise to the moment. Higher Institutions and examination bodies must boldly disown any forged certificate and collaborate with authorities to expose impostors.
Protecting the integrity of Nigeria’s education system is as vital as protecting its democracy.
The law does not demand that a politician be a scholar — it demands sincerity. Primary Six and honesty are better than PhD and fraud.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should also include this issue in its enlightenment campaigns.
Furthermore, the law should empower INEC to disqualify such candidates upon petition and credible evidence, eliminating the rigour of challenging such perfidy in court.
Nigeria does not lack leaders because it lacks graduates; it lacks progress because of corruption.
The time to end this certificate madness is now.
