Re Buhari: One Nation, Two Moralities

By Prof. Taiwo Osipitan
As the Nation prepares for the February 2015 Election, the educational qualifications of candidates contesting the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has generated endless controversies. Two Schools of thought are locked in the controversy. The dominant School of thought has asserted loudly and clearly, that a person is not eligible to contest election to the office of the President unless he/she produces a Secondary School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent. It has been and it is still being contended that candidates must possess/produce educational qualification of at least Secondary School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent in order to be eligible to contest the on coming elections. Section 131 (d) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) has been cited in support of the contention by proponents of that view to support their position. The said Section provides:

“131. A person shall be qualified for election to the office of President if-
(a)…                             …                                           …
(b)   …                      …                                           …
(c)  …                           …                                       …
(d) he has been educated up to at least school certificate level or its   equivalent.”
Candidates contesting election to other elective positions must also possess a similar qualification. This is in view of the prescription in other provisions of the Constitution that candidates to elective post must have been educated up to at least school certificate level or its equivalent. Section 177 (d) prescribes that candidates contesting election into the office of State Governor must have been educated up to at least School Certificate Level its equivalent. By virtue of Section 142(2) and 187(2) the provisions on educational qualification of President and State Governors apply to Vice President and Deputy Governors respectively. Section 65(2) (a) and 106(c) of the Constitution prescribes that candidates contesting elections as National Assembly and State House of Assembly members respectively must also have been educated to at least School Certificate  Level.
It is against the backdrop of Section 131 (d) of the Constitution that the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), has been and is still being invited, to disqualify General Muhammadu Buhari (APC’s Presidential candidate) from contesting the upcoming Presidential Election. It is likely that more requests will be made to INEC to disqualify other candidates, on the same ground of lack of Educational qualification of “school certificate or its equivalent”.
This article seeks to place adequate information at the disposal of all concerned. The article educates further all concerned on the requirements of educational qualifications of persons contesting election to the office of the President and other elective posts in the coming 2015 Election. This article demonstrates, that under the 1999 Constitution, production of Secondary School Certificate or it’s equivalent is not a mandatory requirement of being eligible to contest election into an elective post.
Undoubtedly, Section 131(d) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) prescribes Secondary School Leaving Certificate as the minimum educational qualification of candidates contesting election to the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It stipulates that candidates must be “educated up to at least School Leaving Certificate Level or its equivalent.”
When the above provision is construed in its ordinary grammatical meaning, persons who do not possess the Secondary School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent are not qualified to contest election to the office of President. In other words, upon a cursory reading of the provision of Section 131(d), it is easy to come off with the impression that unless a person possesses the Secondary School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent (Grade II Teacher’s Certificate, the City and Guilds Certificate), he or she is ordinarily not eligible to contest election to the office of the President of Nigeria. Similar interpretation will be given to other provisions on qualification of candidates in respect of other elective posts/offices.
The above provision must however be read along with Section 318(1) of the said Constitution, which is the interpretation Section. It becomes crystal clear, upon a careful reading of the said Interpretation Section, that even persons whose educational qualifications are below the Secondary School Leaving Certificate/level and its equivalent are still qualified to contest election, if they possess the Primary Six School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent along with the other requirements listed under the said definition Section (Section 318(1)).
For the avoidance of doubt, Section 318(1) provides:

“School Certificate or its equivalent” means –
(a)    a Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent, or Grade II Teacher’s Certificate, the City and Guilds Certificate; or
(b)    education up to Secondary School Certificate level; or
(c)    Primary Six School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent and-
(i)    service in the public or private sector in the Federation in any capacity acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for a minimum of ten years, and
(ii)    attendance at courses and training in such institutions as may be acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for periods totalling up to a minimum of one year, and
(iii)    the ability to read, write, understand and communicate in the English language to the satisfaction of the Independent National Electoral Commission; and
(d)    any other qualification acceptable by the Independent National Electoral Commission;”

There is the need to acknowledge the trite rule of interpretation of Statutes which is to the effect that a Section of a Statute should not be construed in isolation. All Sections in a Statute must be interpreted conjunctively, especially where the Statute has a definition Section, as it is the case with the 1999 Constitution (as amended). Section 131(d) must therefore be construed in conjunction with Section 318(1) of the Constitution which defines the words “School Certificate or its equivalent.”
It is evident from the above definition Section of the Constitution (Section 318(1)), that the meaning of “School Certificate or its equivalent”, for the purpose of Section 131(d) of the Constitution, is very liberal and accommodating. The provision accommodates persons with the Primary School Leaving Certificate coupled with private or public sector experience and who have attended courses and training for periods totalling up to a minimum of one year. Such primary school Certificate holders must also demonstrate ability to read, write, understand and communicate in the English language to the satisfaction of INEC. The definition of “School Certificate or its equivalent” also includes candidates who are educated up to Secondary School Certificate level. These candidates need not produce Certificates evidencing that they passed Secondary School Examination. What they must produce is evidence of being educated up to Secondary School level. This is unlike the other requirement of Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent or Grade II Teachers Certificate, or City and Guilds Certificate under Paragraphs (a) of the definition. The difference between (a) and (b) above is that under (a), production of a Certificate is mandatory. In (b), what is required is evidence of “education up to Secondary School Certificate level ”. While it may well be that production of a Certificate is evidence which proves (b), it is not the only mode of proving (b). Testimonials, Reference Letters and Affidavits are legitimate vehicles of proof that a candidate has been “educated up to Secondary School Certificate level .“ As a matter of fact, the (d) part of the above definition is much more elastic and accommodating. It recognizes “any other qualification acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission” as a qualification to contest election to the office of President and other elective posts. It suffices to state that a candidate who relies on (c) must also produce his/her primary school leaving certificate
The provision of Section 318(1) was construed by the Court of Appeal in the case of BAYO v. NJIDDA (2004) 8 NWLR (Pt. 876) page 544 at 629H-630D, where Ogbuagu, J.C.A (as he then was) held:
“The above provisions, are conjunctive and they qualify or mean “school certificate or its equivalent.” So, if any one of them is not present/ available, then, the candidate is out. Therefore, even if (i), (ii), (iii) and (d) are acceptable by or satisfactory to INEC and therefore, cannot be questioned in a tribunal as being final, the absence of (c), also disqualifies the candidate.
I wish to point that unlike the provision in (b)-i.e.
“(b) education up to secondary school certificate level,” or, in (c), it must be the obtaining or possession of a primary six school leaving certificate or its equivalent. It could be observed that in (b) there is no “or its equivalent”.
In other words, as regards a secondary school certificate level one does not have to pass the secondary school certificate examination. It is enough, in my view, that one attended a Secondary school and read up to secondary school certificate level i.e. without passing and obtaining the certificate.
But in the case of (c), one must have passed and obtained the primary six school leaving certificate. It could be seen that the draftsman of these provisions, carefully chose the words.”
Nzeako, J.C.A (as she then was) held at page 619 paras. G-H, in the above case, thus:
“In effect a person seeking to become a candidate for an election to the House of Assembly of any state in the Federal Republic of Nigeria must possess at least one of the qualifications set out in (a) or (b) or (c) (supra)
In the case of (c), he must in the first instance possess, primary six school leaving certificate or its equivalent, (in some states there used to be primary 7 as the final class in Primary school), and in addition evidence of (i), (ii) and (iii) above all together.
It follows that a person who is not educated up to school certificate or its equivalent, may still qualify for election to the House of Assembly of a state if he has primary six school leaving certificate plus evidence or fulfilling every one of the conditions in (i), (ii) and (iii). If the person possesses primary six certificate but fails to provide evidence of any of the above (i), (ii) or (iii), he does not qualify.
In CHUKWU v. ICHEONWO (1999) 4 NWLR (Pt.600) page 587 at 596 paras. B-F, the Court of Appeal was faced with the interpretation of provisions of Section 99(1) of the Local Government (Basic Constitutional and Transitional Provisions) Decree No. 36 of 1998 which contained similar definition of school certificate or its equivalent. In answer to the question, whether a candidate must possess/produce school certificate, in order to satisfy requirement of being educated to the minimum level of school certificate or its equivalent, the court held thus:
“it is erroneous to hold as learned counsel has argued that to satisfy the condition of educational qualification, the candidate must possess a Secondary School Certificate. The interpretation given by the tribunal on this issue of educational qualification is unassailable. I agree that since there is evidence that the 2nd Respondent sat for the School Certificate examinations in May/June 1975, this is sufficient to satisfy the requirement of section 10(c) of the Decree. While acquisition of sound education may be desirable to enable one discharge the functions of Chairman of a Local Government Council, it is not absolutely necessary that such person must possess a Certificate to enable him function effectively.”
The definition Section (Section 318(1)) also vests INEC with powers to determine a candidate’s literacy level. Under Paragraph (b), the capacity in which a candidate served in the private or public sector must be acceptable to INEC.  The courses and training attended by a candidate must also be in Institutions acceptable to INEC. Finally, a candidate’s ability to read, write, understand and communicate in the English language must also be to the satisfaction of INEC.
The key words in the definition Section are “acceptable” to and “satisfaction” of INEC. These words are subjective in the sense that where INEC is satisfied with a candidates training and qualifications or where the qualifications of a candidate are acceptable to INEC, it is doubtful if the decision of INEC can be challenged successfully by a candidate’s opponent. The words “to the satisfaction of” and “acceptable to” , in their ordinary grammatical meanings, acknowledge subjectivity on the part of INEC. The word acceptable is synonymous with being in agreement with, approval, not very good but good enough, welcoming, pleasing, satisfactory, adequate or worth accepting. Satisfaction means a state of being satisfied, that which satisfies, content or pleasing.
From the angle of Law of Estoppel, where INEC has previously been satisfied with or accepted a candidate’s educational qualifications in previous Elections, and allows such a candidate to contest election(s) the same INEC would be estopped from disqualifying the same candidate in future Elections on the ground of lack of educational qualification.
Estoppel prevents a person from blowing hot and cold, approbating and reprobating on an issue. Therefore, where a person makes a representation expecting it to be acted upon, and another person acts on that representation, the former is estopped from resiling from his/her representation. The above principles of Law have been judicially endorsed in the following authoritative Legal decisions.
1.    Ude v Nwara  (1993) 2 NWLR (Pt. 278) Pg. 638 at 662,Para.G -Per Nnaemeka-Agu J.S.C:
“By operation of the rule of estoppel a man is not allowed to blow hot and cold, to affirm at one time and deny at the other, or, as it is said, to approbate and reprobate. He cannot be allowed to mislead another person into believing in a state of affairs and then turning round to say to that person’s disadvantage that the state of affairs which he had represented does not exist at all or as represented by him.”
2.    Jadesimi v Okotie-Eboh; In Re Lessey (1989) 4 NWLR Pt 113 Pg 113 at 125, Para. B – Per Akpata J.C.A.:
“A party cannot be heard to approbate or reprobate. He will not be allowed to base his action or defence, whether by pleadings or affidavit evidence, on a set of facts then depart from the set of facts on which issues had been joined to meet the case of the other side.”

CONCLUSION
It is evident from Section 131(d), read along with Section 318(1) of the Constitution, that a candidate need not produce a Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent Certificate in order to be qualified to contest election into the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or any other elective post. Candidates who are educated up to Secondary School Certificate level are qualified to contest Elections under the 1999 Constitution. Persons with Primary Six School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent, provided they satisfy the other requirements listed under Paragraph (c) (i), (ii), and (iii) of the definition of “School Certificate or its equivalent ” in Section 318(1) ,are also qualified to contest election into elective offices, including that of the President. Finally, persons with “any other qualification acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission” are also qualified to contest election under Paragraph (d) of the definition Section set out above.
The elasticity of the definition of “School Certificate or its equivalent” in Section 318(1) of the Constitution may be questioned against the backdrop of providing a Platform for candidates who lack sound educational background to aspire to elective offices, in a Nation which prides itself with aspirants with sound educational qualifications. The said provision can also be questioned on the ground of the enormous power vested in INEC with regard to being satisfied with a candidate’s educational qualification or the educational institutions/qualifications being acceptable to INEC.
Such query, in my view, can only highlight the need for Law Reform. The query merely raises issues of the Law as it ought to be. However, from the view point of the Law as it is, A candidate whose educational qualifications/institutions attended are acceptable to INEC and who is educated to a level which is satisfactory to INEC, is eligible to contest Election to elective offices/posts in Nigeria is the upcoming February 2015 Election.
–– Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, SAN. Faculty of Law University of Lagos

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The Opinions in this article are the Author’s and do not reflect Sayelba Times’ Editorial Policy

Feb polls: Buhari is on rescue mission —Tinubu

As the February 14th Presidential election draws near, National leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, yesterday, said the party leadership begged the Presidential Candidate of the party, General Muhammadu Buhari to contest the 2015 election inoder to rescue the country from the present challenges.

According to Tinubu while addressing the mammoth party supporters at the Mega presidential rally held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Tinubu, “the choice was meant to rescue the country from the crisis that has bedevilled its development.” He noted that the prayer of everyone before was that the country will get better and “We will not need a man like him to rule the nation. But today, we are in a great crisis. We are facing a lot of challenges.”

Tinubu, explaining the strategies adopted by those great nations in the past, said “When South Africa was facing a serious challenge, they called on late Nelson Mandella, and he was 74 years old then. And he used his wisdom to save that country.

“When America was in economic depression, they called on 73-year-old Ronald Reegan, to save their economy because he was prudent.

“Also, when Britain had problem, they called on 73-years-old Winston Churchill to rescue them and he did.

“We are calling on Buhari at this moment to rescue the nation from the crisis that has bedeviled its development.” Speaking on the merger of the three political parties that formed APC, the APC National leader stated that when “We started about three years ago, they taught that the merger of ACN, CPC and ANPP is impossible. I told them that there is a positive storm coming to change the nation.”

– See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/01/feb-polls-buhari-rescue-mission-tinubu/#sthash.gL9KILjv.dpuf

Debate: APC Shielding Buhari’s Intellectual Laziness, – Fani-Kayode

Chief Femi Fani-Kayode

•    UPP: Boycott, a great disappointment

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Presidential Campaign Organisation said on Friday that the decision by the APC not to participate in the presidential debate being organised by the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) was simply to shield from Nigerians and the international audience its candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari’s “intellectual laziness and inability to constructively engage contemporary national issues in a live television and radio debate.”

The presidential candidate of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Chief Dr. Chekwas Okorie also described the decision of the former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) not to participate in the presidential debate as a great disappointment.

Director of Media and Publicity of the Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode stated that the APC knew that General Buhari “will flunk it if he is subjected to the rigours of debate on issues of national governance and development.”

Fani-Kayode said he was aware that the APC had already expressed its concerns, when approached by an international news channel for a debate, about the intellectual acumen of General Buhari and had assured the news channel that it was only comfortable with its vice presidential candidate, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, who has capacity to feature brilliantly on the programme.

Fani-Kayode said: “We have just read a report in the media credited to the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation that the party would not allow its candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, to participate in the radio and television presidential debate organised by the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON).

“The APC accused the organisers of the debate of unhidden bias and campaign of calumny by some key organisers of the programme against the corporate political interest of the party and its candidates.

“Whilst we will not bother ourselves with the many reasons adduced by the APC, we wish to state that we see the APC decision as an attempt to shield its presidential candidate from displaying his intellectual laziness and inability to constructively engage contemporary national issues in a live television and radio debate.

“We had envisaged that the APC would be reluctant to expose General Buhari to the rigours of a live television debate because the opposition party knows that its candidate will flunk it. If the APC truly believes that it is a party of progressive intellectuals as it claims it should allow General Buhari to prove that at the debate.

“Should the APC fail to participate in the debate, it would also show the disdain both the party and its candidate have for the Nigerian people, denying them the opportunity to make informed choices on the basis of what each candidate will articulate as propositions on issues that will be raised.

“We are convinced that General Buhari does not have what it takes to sustain a coherent argument on germane issues of governance and development.

“We challenge General Buhari to a debate on any national and international medium of mass communication and our candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan will be ready to participate.

“On the other hand, President Jonathan’s running mate, Vice President Namadi Sambo is also ready to participate in the debate and any other debate. Our presidential candidate and his running mate will not raise flimsy and escapist excuses such as “unhidden bias” and the like, since we believe that they are well-rounded intellectuals who have been prepared by their experience in office to answer any question under the sun on the governance of our nation.”

UPP chides Buhari over boycott of presidential debate…

The presidential candidate of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Chief Dr. Chekwas Okorie yesterday described the decision Buhari not to participate in the presidential debate as a great disappointment.

Okorie in a statement said the presidential debate was a unique event in the current development of democracy in Nigeria that should be encouraged and not boycotted.

“The news that the APC presidential candidate, General Buhari, will not participate in the scheduled debates is a great disappointment,” Okorie said.
In the statement signed by the Director-General of his campaign organisation, Dr. Ugorji Okechukwu Ugorji, the UPP flag-bearer urged Buhari, “to reject his advisors’ voices and show up for the debate”.

Among the reasons given by the APC for boycotting the presidential debate organised by Nigeria Election a Debate Group (NEDG) debates scheduled for February 8, 2015 was the composition of its board.

However, Okorie said he did not find the rationale given by the APC for withdrawing from the debates convincing.

The UPP Presidential candidate said: “It is an encounter that the UPP candidate had looked forward to because the match-up was consistent with independent polling around the country that identified President Jonathan’s PDP, General Buhari’s APC, and Chief Okorie’s UPP as the three most serious contenders in the highly anticipated general elections to choose Nigeria’s next president for a four-year term.

“The Chekwas Okorie Presidential Campaign Organization (COPCO) believes the leadership of the most significant and largest democracy on the African continent should not be acquired by avoiding what may be difficult questions. My Vice Presidential candidate, Barrister Bello Umar (SAN) and I are ready for the debates

“I urge my compatriot, General Buhari, to reject his advisors’ voices and show up for the debates.  That is what the nation and the international community expect of him.”

THISDAY

Northern activists want Buhari tried over 2011 post-election violence

By Clifford Ndujihe

ABUJA—A GROUP of Northern Pro-democracy activists, the Northern Coalition for Democracy and Justice, NCDJ, has called on government of the United States of America to facilitate the trial of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Candidate, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) for his role in the post-election violence of 2011.

In a letter to United States Secretary of State, Senator John Kerry, which was copied to the US Ambassador to Nigeria, the activists said US assistance is necessary to help Nigeria ensure violence-free elections next month.

Signed by Dr. Ibrahim Baba (Secretary Research and Documentation), Mr. Yunana Shubkau (Publicity Secretary) and Umar Farouk (Secretary General) and dated January 25, the activists said they had dragged Buhari to the International Criminal Court (ICC) but needed U.S support to get Buhari appear before the court.

Entitled: “The role of General Muhammadu Buhari in the 2011 post election violence in Nigeria,” the letter read in part: “Conducts of political actors particularly statements credited to General Buhari and others in the year 2012, 2013 and 2014 during the build up to the 2015 elections is in the context of politically motivated sectarian violence. And a threat to the conduct of peaceful, free, fair and transparent elections in Nigeria.”

VANGUARD

UNDERSTANDING THE GRIEVANCE OF THE PEOPLE AGAINST GENERAL BUHARI AND HIS PARTY

By Emeka Ugwuonye

It might have taken me quite a while to put these thoughts and argument together. But it is important to understand why people felt so strongly against Buhari and why I encountered the greatest resistance ever each time I took a position favourable to Buhari.

Whenever I see a trend that is persistent and seems to go against simple logic, I don’t just dismiss it or ignore it. Instead, I pull back and reexamine my position and that of my opponent to try to discover new elements or merit that I might have ignored. So, I have been asking myself: why is it that many people I really consider wise and intelligent have been quite defiant and adamant in their opposition to any attempt to accept Buhari? Why are they so adamant in their rejection of Buhari and why do they attack me with so much ferocity each time I criticise President Jonathan?

By series of coincidences, these questions were fully and finally addressed this evening at a private dinner with a very close and dear friend. She is a member of DPA. She is a quiet person. She is so well educated that she has been the editor of a major magazine in Nigeria. She used to follow my writings on DPA and Facebook generally and once in a while, she would oblige a comment, usually supportive and complementary. I would say that this friend has a lot of respect for me and for my viewpoints. She also tends to know how passionate and relentless I could be when I take a position.

Over the time since I began to comment on Jonathan toward the elections, I noticed that my friend stopped commenting on my posts. She never said a word. At some point, I wondered if she was still on DPA. Yes, she is on DPA. I wondered if she was too busy to follow my posts and comments. After church today, I called her and asked why she has been so silent on my posts lately. She told me that she disagreed with me totally on my positions either critical of Jonathan or supportive of Buhari. She sounded unusually serious and pointed in her remarks. And she managed to let me know she really had more to say on the matter. I immediately fixed a dinner and invited her. I chose a place where we could have a private corner to discuss at length.

Dinner was smooth and we talked about her work and my work and our travels and other things. After dinner, I settled for Martini while she asked for Cognac, old school style. I put it to her: “What is wrong? Why do you think I have been wrong in my views on Nigerian politics?”

She lifted her glass, but didn’t quite get it to her lips, and she started: “Emeka, I am actually shocked that you don’t seem to understand Nigeria and its history well. Was it because you spent so many years in America?”
She then took a sip, very slowly. She continued: “Emeka, have you heard about the quoter system in this country? Do you know that kids from certain states would get admitted into the Unity schools with 10 points, while your child from your state will not get admitted to the same school even with 100 points?”

She continued, “Do you know that things were so bad that, you would not be able to get a contract from Government of Nigeria if you did not speak Hausa. If you liked, you could have all the education in this world, but unless you could speak Hausa and you were Hausa, you would not get anything, however good your proposal may be?”
I didn’t interrupt her.
“Emeka, do you know that you would write a great proposal for contract and come into the ministry, but because you are not Hausan, you would never get a contact. Instead, they would cross out your name on your proposal and use it to award a contract to an Hausan man, who would turn around and sell it to you?”
Not done, she went on: “So, when I read you encouraging that Buhari should be President or lampooning Jonathan, I wonder what is wrong with you”. To drive her point home, she went on to say: “Emeka, do you know that if you were from the North and you went to Harvard, you would not need to work half as hard as you work and you would be awash with cash just because you are Hausan? Look at what is going in in the Customs, NNPC, Police, Armed Forces. Look at how they stuffed those places with people who are not as educated or even as competent or hardworking as people from the South. And Igbos and other minorities are unemployed”

I came in this point: “How does Jonathan remaining the President change all that?”
She cut in: “It will not happen overnight, but it is happening. Yes, Jonathan has made blunders. But having a Southerner as a President would prevent the Northerners from continuing to marginalise the Southerners at the same rate. And by the way”, she was leaning forward with all the emphasis, “the years that Obasanjo and Jonathan have been in office have begun to roll back that system of injustice. Now, the Northerners are learning that they have to work hard too. They are learning they have work like others. For the first time, free money is no longer flowing as it used to and they are getting restless. All this Boko Haram is happening because they are no longer having it easy with free money at the expense of others”. She stopped.

Then she continued: “Emeka, as long as a Southerner is President, the North will continue to sabotage him because they are not having it easy anymore. They must render the country ungovernable”.
I came in again at this point: “But you can’t really keep the North away from power indefinitely. There is no mechanism for that. Besides, that shouldn’t to be desirable. You can’t active that militarily and you cannot achieve that through the democratic process, given the official demographics”.

“I know that”, she cut in. “I know that, but the goal is to suspend that evil practice for as long as possible so that they would not be able to reconstitute it by the time power returns to them”

Then I asked her: “Why do so many people insist that Buhari did not have a high school certificate?”.
“Because they know that if you are from the North, all corners would be cut for you. If Buhari was an Igbo or Yoruba or of any of the minority tribes, he would never have been a General or a former Head of State. Indeed, you see Directors in Government parastatals from the North who do not know how to write their names or speak English. Yet they are Directors, while Southerners are unemployed. So, it is perfectly possible that Buhari did not have school certificate. They didn’t need that to get to any position they desired. And that is what having a Southern President is changing”

Then I asked her: “What has Jonathan done to change the situation?”. She replied: “It is going to be a slow process. But Jonathan is doing something. Can you see how the pension scandal is coming to light because a Southern President is busting that system. Also, the fertiliser scam, the ghost workers scam. All that are reducing now that you have a Southern President. It is too soon to return power to them. Buhari will immediately return to their old ways if he becomes President”.

Our conversation continued deep into the night, until about 40 minutes ago when I began to write this piece.
Basically, I found her observations to be real. It is a concern deep enough in the minds of many, and it is sufficient to justify the way they feel about this election and the deep fears they have about power returning to a Northerner so soon. Indeed, this conversation was deep. I could relate it to so many other observations and bits of information out there in general. Honestly, if you share these observations or hold them to be true, it is difficult not to support Jonathan if you are a Southerner. It explains many things. It explains the attitude of Southern people toward Boko Haram. It explains how the people understood the phrase “making the country ungovernable”. Indeed, it explains the anger and bitterness on the part of people who believe that they have been victims of an unjust system.

I am glad I had this conversation. While it did not address all the issues and nuances to this sort of complex social and political system, it raised enough substantive consideration to justify my slowing down my criticisms of Jonathan. I ought to be more sensitive to the feelings of the people of the South. My main regret now is that the people of the South are not speaking up openly and directly about these injustices. They tend to address them by proxy and by body language. I believe that these issues deserve an open treatment. Nigerian people who have been marginalised should have recourse and ability to resists such injustices. We need to have a solution that will stand regardless of who is President.

In any event, I promised my friend, and rightly so, that I would relent on my attacks on Jonathan. I will basically watch the situation as it unfolds. I wish I knew this earlier. I might have been able to help in a more effective way. I hope Nigerians will find lasting justice.

 

Emeka Ugwuonye, Esquire, is an Attorney at Law and the Founder and Principal Administrator Due Process Advocacy Group

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The thoughts contained in this article are the Author’s and do not reflect Sayelba Times’ Editorial Policy

 

Buhari’s Certificate: Lawyer in Court, Seeks Disqualification

Major-General Muhammadu Buhari

•  Opposition party: We anticipated suit to stop our candidate

Davidson Iriekpen in Lagos, Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Tobi Soniyi in Abuja
With the suspension of the three-week-old industrial action embarked upon by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) and reopening of federal courts across the country, an Abuja-based lawyer, Chukwunweike Okafor, on Monday asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to disqualify the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 14 presidential election, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, over the controversy surrounding his secondary school credentials.

Okafor claimed that Buhari had failed to prove that he has the minimum educational qualification to run for the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

In an originating summons filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja, the plaintiff asked the court to disqualify Buhari from contesting the presidential election because he gave false information in his INEC Form CF 001 and attached an affidavit dated November 24, 2014, where he stated that his educational qualification was the West African School Certificate (WASC) and that it was in the custody of the Secretary, Military Board, which was denied by the Nigerian Army.

According to the suit numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/01/2015, the plaintiff listed Buhari, APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the three respondents respectively.

He contended that the statement of result issued by Government Secondary School, Katsina, belonging to one Mohamed Buhari was not the same as Major-General Muhammadu Buhari.

The plaintiff also averred that the time prescribed in the Electoral Act for the submission of personal particulars of candidates and their documents or their substitution closed on December 30, 2014, long before the APC candidate produced his purported certificate.

He stated that the qualification to contest the presidential election in Nigeria is a threshold issue and the legal framework for that is contained in the Section 131 of the 1999 Constitution, and Section 31 of the Electoral Act (as amended).

Specifically, the plaintiff listed four stages including submission, publication, verification and validation that a candidate vying for the Office of the President must go through sequel to Section 31(1), (2), (3), (5) and (6), adding that this was not the case for the APC presidential candidate.

In the past few weeks, the dust has refused to settle over Buhari’s certificate, even after his school released his statement of result and the Cambridge University/WASC printout last week.

Dismissing the documents, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) called them forgeries.

The suit is principally hinged on Section 131 of the Constitution which prescribes a minimum qualification for nomination to participate in presidential election and Section 31 of the Electoral Act which mandates all presidential candidates to depose an affidavit in proof of compliance with the constitutional requirement to be President of Nigeria.

The plaintiff is contending that Buhari failed to prove that he has the minimum educational qualification to run for president, and that the APC candidate’s WASC result was false, as not only did he not attach it to his nomination form as required, but his claim that the certificates were in the custody of the military had been denied by the Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier-General Olajide Laleye.

The plaintiff formulated a number of questions for the court’s determination, one of which was: “Whether the information given by Buhari in the prescribed forms and submitted to INEC for the 2015 presidential election does not contain falsehood?”
If yes, Okafor equally asked whether Buhari should not therefore be disqualified from the said election.

In his prayers before the court, the plaintiff said should the answer to the question be in the affirmative, the plaintiff urged the court to declare that the information contained in Buhari’s Form CF 001 stating that his educational qualification was the WASC statement of result was false, and therefore disqualify Buhari from contesting the presidential election.

The plaintiff, in the second prayer, is asking the court to declare that the information contained in Buhari’s affidavit dated November 24, 2014, stating that the Secretary of Military Board was in custody of his WASCE certificate was false and therefore disqualify Buhari from contesting the election.

In prayer three, the plaintiff is seeking an order disqualifying Buhari by reason of giving false information on oath in his Form CF 001 and the affidavit dated November 24, 2014.

Finally, the plaintiff asked the court to compel INEC to remove Buhari’s name and that of his party (APC) in the list of persons and political parties eligible to contest the February presidential election.

Reacting to the lawsuit instituted against its candidate, APC said it anticipated the suit in a bid to stop its presidential candidate from contesting the February 14 election.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the move was part of President Goodluck Jonathan’s plot to scuttle the elections.

Mohammed, who spoke on the phone with THISDAY on Monday night, said: “We anticipated it. It is only Act One, Scene One of Jonathan’s plot to scuttle this general election.

“He is simply terrified as he knows he will lose the election. More desperate acts will emerge in the coming days.”

THISDAY

PDP wants justice ministry to sue Buhari for perjury

The Peoples Democratic Party has said it is not satisfied with the credentials of the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, and has threatened to contest the authenticity of his academic results.

A top party official, who spoke with Saturday PUNCH on Thursday, said the ruling party would investigate Buhari’s statement of results issued on Wednesday by the Katsina State Ministry of Education.

The statement of result and the confidential result sheet by the University of Cambridge were both dated January 21, stamped and signed by the Principal and Examination Officer, Government College, Katsina (formerly Provincial Secondary School).

In the result sheet, Buhari’s name was the second among the 17 candidates that sat for the Cambridge/ West African School Certificate Examination in 1961.

But the party source who does not want to be named, said, “The plan of the PDP is to contest Buhari’s academic qualification on two fronts.

“We will first contest the APC presidential candidate’s credentials by writing to all the institutions he attended for the verification of his certificates. We already have individuals in our party that are doing that.

“On the other hand, the ruling party will prevail on the Ministry of Justice to sue the former head of state for perjury.”

The party official said Buhari had, in the affidavit submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, claimed that his certificates were with the military, but the Nigerian Army denied that it had the ex-head of state’s certificates in its custody.

“This means he (Buhari) lied on oath when he said his credentials were with the army. We are not going to take this from him at all. It is the job of the Ministry of Justice to look into this case of perjury and we are going to remind them.”

Buhari had defened the affidavit he submitted by saying, “I had assumed all along that all my records were in the custody of the Secretary of the Nigerian Army. Much to my surprise, we are now told that although a record of the result is available, there are no copies of the certificates in my personal file.”

He said that was why he requested his old school to release his result.

The Director of Media and Publicity, PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, also said a perjury case should be launched against the APC candidate.

Fani-Kayode urged Buhari to submit himself to the police to answer charges of perjury.

He said, “If they fail to come forward voluntarily, we hereby call on the police and other security agencies to seek them out, find them, arrest them, interrogate them and prosecute them in accordance with the laws of the land.”

Repeated calls to the mobile telephone number of the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Olisa Metuh, indicated that it was switched off.

A text message sent to him had yet to be responded to as of the time of filing this report at 6:03pm on Friday.

Attempts by our correspondent to also reach the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, for his comment on Thursday, was unsuccessful as his phone was switched off.

The minister had also not responded to a text message inquiry on the issue.

The police however told one of our correspondents they would investigate the allegation of perjury against Buhari if there is a complaint to the force against him.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu, said, “There is no complaint before the police on the perjury allegation but if there is, we will investigate it.”.

In his reaction, the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Mr. Lai Mohammed, said the party was not surprised that the PDP wants to contest Buhari’s school records because it is afraid that President Jonathan might lose the election.

He said, “Let them go to court. The truth is that they are not ready for the election. They are making all these excuses because they are terrified they would lose the election.”

PUNCH

…Babangida defends Buhari

Former military President General Ibrahim Babangida yesterday  rose in defence of the APC presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, on the genuineness  of his secondary school  certificate.

Gen. Babangida warned that  any attempt to politicise the military would not be in  the nation’s interest.

“It is a very dangerous thing to do,” he told The Nation in an interview in Minna.

He  said there was no way Buhari would have risen to the rank of a general in the army without possessing the basic  educational qualification.

Babangida, who was reacting  to the controversy sparked by the  certificate in an exclusive interview, said the army, as an institution, subjects all its intakes to proper scrutiny, training and re-training.

He was shocked at the heat generated by the issue and advised those who feel aggrieved to go to court.

He warned that the military should not be ridiculed as it remains,in his opinion, the only institution of national unity  and  that it is passionate  about acquisition of knowledge  by its officers.

His words:”The military is one institution that believes in constant learning and training. You receive the initial training from the Staff College. After one year, you go for another round  of intensive training that is all encompassing.

“It is one  institution that  is concerned  about knowledge, even in warfare. The military requires   you to keep abreast  of development in warfare,  weaponry and education.

“Perhaps, military is the best institution that is concerned about training and knowledge and about discipline because no officer is considered for promotion without having the prerequisite qualification and must pass the required examinations”.

He  cautioned the political class  to desist from  politicising the military, pointing out that any such attempt  will be dangerous for the institution and the nation.

“The military remains the institution of unity. I will not support the idea of politicising the military,” he said.

The former military leader was, however, full of confidence that the military will strive to keep above the scheming of the politicians “as it is capable and will resist any undue attempt to influence it.

“This is nothing but politics. I think those aggrieved should know what to do. Anybody who feels aggrieved should go to court and let the court make a pronouncement that will settle everything”.

NATION

EXPLOSIVE: WHY BUHARI HAS NO CERTIFICATE: – Col. Ben Gbulie (rtd)

More light have been thrown on the controversy surrounding the APC presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari and his release of a Toronto certificate to online media instead of INEC by Col. Ben Gbulie (rtd)’s scholastic narrative.

 

The situation in Nigeria pre and post Independent where unqualified people are favoured against the qualified, made it impossible for due process to be followed by Northerners who wanted to join the army or high institutions.

 

Buhari joined the army in 1962 and less than 2 months to this date, he has a letter claiming to be a student. He was six months in Military training school and went to UK and stayed six months for 3 years course, there was no time in record that Buhari went back to college to complete his secondary school.

 

According to Col. Ben Gbulie (rtd) writing, “By 1960, shortly after Nigeria’s independence, the Prime Minister, Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, had directed the Principal of King’s College, Lagos, Mr. P.H. Davies, to provide places, annually, for at least 15 boys from the North, whether or not they passed the requisite regular entrance examination.” – Col. Ben Gbulie (rtd) in “Nigeria’s Five Majors” p. 36, published first in 1981.

 

“In an attempt to catch up militarily with the South, the Northern politicians had thrown out all discretion. They had lowered standards of admission drastically, settling for the minimum. For as I recalled, all the Northerners in my intake had been trained at the Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot. And they had become officers after barely six months of military training, whereas those of us who had been sent to Sandhurst had had to do two long years to earn the Queen’s Commission. The implications were quite clear – and most disturbing. Not only had these Northerners become commissioned officers before we were half-way through our first year at Sandhurst, they had all risen to the enviable rank of Captain before we could even appear at the sovereign’s parade which served essentially as a prerequisite for our passing out as Second Lieutenants.” — Col. Ben Gbulie (rtd) in “Nigeria’s Five Majors, pages 12 – 13, Published 1981.

 

“By 1964 a group of young Nigerian officer-cadets, mostly Northerners, had been declared academically unfit and hence repatriated by the Canadian military authorities. These cadets were however pronounced commissioned by the Nigerian Federal Government no sooner than they

had arrived at the Ikeja Airport. Consequently they had had to be absorbed into the Nigerian Army as commissioned officers, even though they had received no requisite military training.” – Col Ben Gbulie (rtd) in “Nigeria’s Five Majors” page 13, published 1981.

 

“Zak (Maimalari) had held the rank of Captain in 1960. But before my return from the United Kingdom in 1963, he had soared to the top rank of Brigadier. In other words, he had risen from Captain to Temporary/Major, to Substantive/Major, to Temporary/Lieutenant-Colonel, to Substantive/Colonel and then to Brigadier, all within that short span of time. It was just scandalous”.

 

It is a shame that Buhari entered the Army with a false document and not meeting the prerequisite and insisting on contesting for the 2015 presidential election, knowing fully well that he has no secondary school certificate.

 

If Buhari is man enough, let him submit the doctored ‘school certificate’ to INEC or any government department and he will earn himself a ticket to prison.

 

Nigeria Must not be drawn back to another mediocre, his joke is getting out of hand.

 

POSTSCRIPT:  HAROLD SMITH – BRITISH COLONIALIST’S CONFESSION

 

”The north was seriously encouraged to go into the military. According to him, they believe that the south may attend western education, but future leaders will always come from military background. Their traditional rulers were to be made influential and super human. The northerners were given accelerated promotions both in the military and civil service to justify their superiority over the south. Everything was to work against the south. We truncated their good plan for their future. “I was very sorry for the A.G; it was a great party too much for African standard. We planned to destroy Awolowo and Azikwe well, the west and the east and sowed a seed of discord among them”. We tricked Azikwe into accepting to be president having known that Balewa will be the main man with power. Awolowo has to go to jail to cripple his genius plans for a greater Nigeria.”Looking at the northern leaders now , If they have any agenda in Nigeria at all, sadly it is only for the north, and nothing for Nigeria….”

 

http://haroldsmithmemorial.wordpress.com/tv-interview/     “Study the

past if you would define the future.” – Confucius;  “Those who cannot

remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” -George Santayana

---

 

The opinions expressed in this article are the Author’s and do not reflect the Editorial Policy of Sayelba Times.

Ex-militants back Buhari, flay Jonathan

Some South-South ex-militant generals and commanders in Edo State on Wednesday announced their support for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the February 14 presidential poll, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari ( retd.).

 

They also commended the leadership of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta for endorsing Buhari, insisting that the group’s (MEND’s) action should be treated with seriousness.

 

The ex-militants told journalists in Benin, the Edo State capital, that their position was in line with the expectations and hope of Nigerians for positive change and development, particularly, the development of the Niger Delta region.

 

The spokesperson for the group, Mr. Godwin Ogidigba, explained that the ex-agitators had implicit confidence in the ability of Buhari, whom he said, was capable of addressing the major challenges affecting various communities in the region, which were yet to be addressed by the present administration.

 

He said, “In recent publications in the dailies, you see MEND endorsing Buhari. People thought it was a joke. It is not. The fact remains that we need somebody that can address the salient issues that affect the Niger Delta region.

 

“Our brother has failed in those issues; our brother has failed to take us away from poverty, our brother has failed to bring development to the Niger Delta region.

 

“Just take a look at most of the Niger Delta communities. They still remain where they are, in spite of the fact that we have one of our own at the top, at the helm of affairs, nothing positive has changed in the region.”

 

Ogidigba argued that their choice of Buhari had nothing to do with religion or ethnicity but centred on their desire for unity in the country.

He noted that although the amnesty programme had brought some relief to youths in the region, some of the terms of the agreement had yet to be implemented.

 

Ogidigba said, “Somebody who can stand and develop our region, that should be our interest and that is our interest. It is true that President Goodluck Jonathan is from the South-South region; he is our brother. But the problem is this: he came to meet the amnesty programme and since then he has not been able to improve on it, which means that the amnesty programme stopped when the late (President) Musa Yar’Adua died.”

 

PUNCH