A certificate “expo” for the APC

Where is General Muhammadu Buhari’s school leaving certificates?

Vanguard led the search
on Friday 2 January 2014 with the claim by the Army that the military
is not with Buhari’s original certificates, contrary to what he may have
alleged in an affidavit submitted to the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC). Two days later, The Punch attempted to repair the damage
with its own report that said that indeed, the certificates are with
the army. So which of the newspapers is right? Are the certificates with
or not with the Army?

The story is that Gen. Buhari presented an affidavit to INEC wherein
he submitted that his “academic qualifications, documents as filled in
my presidential form, President APC/001/2015, are currently with the
Secretary, Military Board…”

The Punch, in the finest tradition of journalism, quoted a source
(Brig. Gen. Olajide Laleye, the army spokesman) that appears to have
thrown a lifeline to Buhari. What Laleye said can be summarized in two
statements: (a) the army does not deny officers access to their
certificates – if they follow due procedure to ask for them; and the
procedure to follow is well known to officers, serving or retired; (b)
“every serving and retired Army officer has at least a copy
of his (or her) certificates and credentials kept in the Nigerian army
while the officer has copies of those same certificates and
credentials.” Vanguard, quoting an unnamed military source, said that
(c) the Army does not keep original copies of officers’ certificates
(because it is the personal property of the owners) but keeps
photocopies of credentials submitted by recruits in their personal file;
(d) original certificates are requested for and sighted only at the
point of entry into the service, to verify the claims contained in the
copies that the candidates had hitherto submitted.

The following facts and deductions can be made from the submissions so far:

• General Buhari has not presented academic documents to INEC –
  original or copy – but swears that he has the requisite qualifications
  to run for President.
• Since Buhari joined the army from the officer rank, it is correct to
  assume that he has certificates which are (or should be) on file with
  the Army.
• Buhari does not claim in his affidavit that what the Army has are either original or copies of his credentials.
• The Army has not disclosed whether it has or does not have Buhari’s certificates – original or copy.
  What the army says is that the office of the Military Secretary keeps
  copies of officers’ certificates and that officers – serving or retired –
  know how to get them. The import of what the Army says is that Gen.
  Buhari has not, now or in the past, come forward to ask for copies of
  his certificates. Again, Buhari’s personal file contains copies, not
  original certificates.

It can be argued that General Buhari does not possess a secondary
school certificate, or that he has lost his certificates, or he does not
want the certificate to be exposed to the general public. The late explanation by Lai Mohammed
lends credence to the second option; it is also the first time that a
credible explanation is being offered, long after the certificate
commotion started.

VERDICT: A STORM IN A TEACUP

It is a puzzle that for 12 years, General Buhari has never attempted
to access copies of these documents from the Army if he knew for a fact
that they exist in military files. Before now, APC has regrettably stuck
to logic and technicalities to explain away this baffling disposition.

The logic was that if Buhari contested Presidential Elections thrice,
there was no way he would not have presented certificates if the
presentation of a certificate to INEC is required to qualify for
candidacy.

One technical explanation offered was that since the
Constitution stipulates education “up to school certificate level” and
it is a fact that Buhari went to school, he is qualified to run whether
he presents a school examination certificate or not.

APC is so focused on attack that it has left its rear flanks wide
open, and is suffering a media backlash as a consequence. This is why,
despite the massive media arsenal at its disposal, it is being worsted
in the press by the PDP. The party also does not appear to have
strategic communications persons working full time – those who would
think critically after meeting with unplanned situations. For instance,
rather than engage in legality and sophistry, let me offer a certificate
“expo” for the APC on what the party could have said to the press
instead:

“We see the current controversy generated by our opponents on the
affidavit submitted by our candidate to the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) as a mere storm in a teacup and a strategy
to divert attention from the failings of the President.”

“For the avoidance of doubt, the 1999 Constitution
stipulates that anyone who wants to contest the office of the President
must be ‘educated up to school certificate level.’ The Constitution does
not stipulate whether this school certificate is at the primary,
secondary, or indeed the tertiary level.

“The general impression is that this provision applies to any of
two secondary school certificates – the West African School Certificate
(WASC) or the General Certificate of Education (GCE). Our legal experts
are however of the view that the evidence required is not WASC or GCE
but a School Testimonial that clearly shows that a
candidate began and finished secondary school education and also wrote
an external examination. Our candidate has indeed presented this
evidence.

“Both the West Africa School Certificate Examinations (WASCE) and
the General Certificate of Education Examination (GCE) frequently
feature students who are self-taught. If “education” is understood as
the process of imparting and acquiring knowledge through a school or
similar institution, then self-taught candidates who frequently write
these examinations may not qualify to contest, going by the provisions
of our Constitution.

“Our party will work assiduously to get this section of the
constitution straightened out as soon as we are voted into office in
February 2015.”

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