A Presidential Candidate without Certificates and Credentials?
By Ekiyorbomode A. Edotimi
The biggest issue for voters to wrestle with in the 2015 Presidential election, though, is simply not just the consequences of falling Oil Price and the Economy, Boko Haram Terrorism and Security, Corruption and National development or Globalization and I. T. Revolution; but the intellectual capacity of the next President to handle the complex challenges Nigeria faces in the 21st century.
So, education, highest Intelligence, integrity and knowledge – is the quid pro quo for Presidents today and not just in industrialized countries.
Presidents, who not only have the critical thinking skills and educated to do the value-adding calculations and decisions, but also reinvent their job every day to meet the new challenges, are now the cornerstone for rapid developing countries. Modern, progressive and ambitious countries today need Leaders with an entirely new mind-set, skill set, the right temperament and an educated mind to compete globally and captain the National Ship in these times of high waves and stormy issues.
The overwhelming public revulsion greeting the discovery, that the 72 years old APC Presidential candidate, Pa. General Muhammadu Buhari, former Military Head of State, who had assiduously, but unsuccessfully, contested the last three presidential election cannot provide or do not have basic academic education is shocking, disappointing and very embarrassing to his backers, supporters, friends and followers. The disappointment and embarrassment was intensified in an unconvincing muddles of “affidavits” and Press Releases that tries to wish away the trade-off between lies, truth and credibility. In bygone days this might have been greeted with the respectful silence normally granted only to an archbishop; but alas, not in today's Nigeria with an ever, fast growing modernization of mind-set.
The 72 years old APC Presidential candidate, Pa. General Muhammadu Buhari, foermer Military Head of State, in his sworn “affidavits” of 24/11/2014 claims that: “ALL MY ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS DOCUMENTS AS FILLED IN MY PRESIDENTIAL FORM, APC/001/2015 ARE CURRENTLY WITH THE SECRETARY MILITARY BOARD AS AT THE TIME OF THIS AFFIDAVIT”? The above affidavits of the 72 years old APC Presidential candidate, Pa. General Muhammadu Buhari raised questions that, begs for answers: What are the academic qualifications that the former Head of State filled with INEC? Is there a Military Board in the Nigerian Armed Forces? Is it the tradition of the Nigerian Military for retired officers to forfeit their academic qualification to the “Secretary of the Military Board”? We should remind ourselves and note that, according to the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary: “academic is connected with education, especially studying in schools and universities…….2…involving a lot of reading and studying rather than practical or technical skills: academic subjects / qualifications…….” So what are the academic subjects the 72 years old APC Presidential candidates, Pa. General Muhammadu Buhari studied? I sincerely hope that the 72 years old APC Presidential candidate, Pa. General Muhammadu Buhari, former Military Head of State and his handlers are aware of the difference between “academic qualifications” and military career? These are two different cups of tea. Or, is using “academic qualifications” designed to “419” Nigerians? Designed to mislead Nigerians to “wrongly” believe that the 72 years old APC Presidential candidate, Pa. General Muhammadu Buhari, former Military Head of State, possesses an educated mind-set? I do not know about you, but I demand immediate answers and; you should too!
With the unprecedented and unusual step, the Nigerian Army had earlier today released a press statement, that: “the Military only kept photocopies of credentials of officers and soldiers in their personal files that were in the military secretary's office.” That, “The original certificate of any officer or soldier is only needed at the point of entry into the service either as a cadet officer entering the Nigerian Defence Academy, or the recruitment officers when interviewing recruits to be sent to the depot for training. That is so, because they are needed to verify what were in the photocopies supplied by them or from the necessary examining bodies.”
So, is it that, the 72 years old APC Presidential candidate, Pa. General Muhammadu Buhari, former Military Head of State; is a liar? Have the 72 years old APC Presidential candidate, Pa. General Muhammadu Buhari, former Military Head of State committed perjury with his sworn affidavit?
There are battalions of Nigerian Army Officers with excellent academic certificates and are very proud to show it off. Unfortunately, the 72 years APC Presidential candidate, Pa. General Muhammadu Buhari, former Military Head of State is certainly not one of them.
The 72 years old APC Presidential candidate had now gone from “the gutter to the sewer”.
The 72 years old APC Presidential candidate, Pa. General Muhammadu Buhari has “99 problems and, perjury and lack of academic certificates are certainly two of his problems”.
According to one of his friends, supporters, mentor, party-man and leader – Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu -BUHARI IS AN AGENT OF DESTABILIZATION – “Turning to the presidential contest, Tinubu disclosed that he does not like President Obasanjo because he contributed to the end of democracy in Nigeria during his tenure as a military president and is now benefiting from that history. That said, Tinubu admitted that he and his party, the Alliance for Democracy, must support Obasanjo. Southwest Nigeria is Yorubaland and the President is Yoruba. Tinubu”s party had no choice since it has not fielded a presidential candidate. Moreover, Obasanjo is the only candidate who stands a chance of blocking his rival, General Muhammadu Buhari, whose ethnocentrism would jeopardize Nigeria's national unity. Buhari and his ilk are agents of destabilization who would be far worse than Obasanjo. Tinubu and many other governors are therefore implementing a strategy to re-elect Obasanjo, partly in an effort to prevent Sharia from spreading. Tinubu predicted that the President will follow his own course, if re-elected, since he will not need as many friends the second time around.” ~ Former Lagos State Governor Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu (21st February, 2003).
Lest we forget the 72 years old APC President candidate, Pa. General Muhammadu Buhari's desire for Sharia law, hear him “I will continue to show openly and inside me the total commitment to the Sharia movement that is sweeping all over Nigeria,” Buhari said, quoted in press reports. “God willing, we will not stop the agitation for the total implementation of the Sharia in the country,” Buhari said.
We were all reminded of one of the 99 problems of the 72 years old APC Presidential candidate, Pa. General Muhammadu Buhari, former Military Head of State over the holidays by Fasehun, who founded the Oodua People's Congress, OPC, recalled “that when Buhari lost the 2011 presidential poll, he took up arms against democracy by fuelling insurgency and terrorism. According to him, Buhari and his supporters then sworn to make Nigeria ungovernable should President Goodluck Jonathan win the election, stressing that, “as the immediate fallout of this threat, National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members who officiated in the polls became the target of attacks, with many of these innocent young Nigerians slain in cold blood by Buhari's supporters. Not done, he took insurgency to a new height, blindly driving Nigeria into the deadly attack of the terrorist group, Boko Haram”.
Another one of the 99 problems of the 72 years old APC Presidential candidate, Pa. General Muhammadu Buhari, former Military Head of State is that; he has never accepted defeat in all of the last three presidential elections he had lost. Only the Supreme Court of Nigeria decisions that settles election results for him. All judgments and decisions had all gone against him.
The 72 years old APC Presidential candidate, Pa. General Muhammadu Buhari, former Military Head of State, radical xenophobes had encouraged separateness between Northern Nigeria that is mainly Muslim and Southern Nigeria that is mainly Christian. The APC Presidential candidate holds petty unpleasant and sulphurous views that are capable of breaking up Nigeria.
A vote for the 72 years old APC Presidential candidate, Pa. General Muhammadu Buhari, former Military Head of State would not be a step forward for Nigeria but a spite-filled step back.
Ekiyorbomode A. Edotimi
[email protected]
Ijaw Institute of Strategic Studies
www.Ijawiss.com
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