This is certainly not the best of time for Nigerians especially for some of us in Diaspora. Nigerians are now seen as criminals, forgers and identity thieves what with the revelation by the Chicago State University (CSU) that the certificate purportedly issued by it which Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented to the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) as a prequalification for the February 25th Presidential election was not issued by the school. This revelation was made possible following the suit instituted by His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, the former vice-president of the country and the presidential flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February general elections who is challenging the purported electoral victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate in an election the observers said was fraught with irregularities.

It is a historical fact that right from the time Bola Tinubu emerged the governor of Lagos State in 1999, there have been intense controversies about his background and identity. It is on record that the late legal luminary Chief Gani Fawehinmi and Festus Keyamo who is now Tinubu’s chief praise singer and others have in the past instituted law suits to unravel the shadowy background of Tinubu. It is alleged that Mr. Tinubu lied about his actual age, schools attended, his parentage and certificates obtained. And it is worrisome that all these were done under oath, which is perjury.
Indeed, available record indicates that Mr. Tinubu has been cagey about his past giving rise to different insinuations about him. Some said that he was convicted for drug peddling and credit card fraud in the US in the 70s and as a result he had to change his identity in an attempt to obliterate his past. The questions agitating many concerned minds are: What exactly is Tinubu hiding from Nigeria? Why did he protest about Atiku seeking to know his academic record? If he actually graduated from the CSU should he not be proud to flaunt his academic records?

Honesty, transparency and accountability are prime requirements for those seeking to occupy public offices. One who goes to equity, they say, must come with clean hands. Anyone who is not ready to fully disclose his identity should not come near public office. Those with ignoble records are not for public service. The citizens want to know the identity and background of those whom they should entrust their affairs into their hands. Nobody will trust those with a criminal background or one who is not proud of his background. A man who is not proud of his identity should not come near public office.

Tinubu has brought shame to Nigeria and now we are being treated with ignominy. The implication of accommodating a person like Tinubu as the president of the country is dire. Right now the Tinubu Chicago-gate scandal is the subject of mockery in the international press. Nigerian citizens abroad will be treated with scorn. No foreign investor would want to invest in a country perceived as a rogue country.

This matter is serious and should be treated as such. It is beyond Atiku, PDP or APC; it is about the survival of democracy and our integrity as a nation. And now that the true position is revealed concerning Tinubu’s certificate, Nigerians expects him to come clean and apologize to the nation and resign to save the nation from further embarrassments. A false precedence will be set if Nigerians should allow this grave national embarrassment to be trivialized. All hands should be on deck to ensure that the right thing is done. Nigerians should sustain the call for Tinubu’s resignation or impeachement.

Clearly, Tinubu’s Chicago-gate scandal is a very serious case that Nigerians should not allow to be swept under the carpet. Characteristically, people like Tinubu with false sense of entitlement will never resign except he is forced to. And Nigerians do not have confidence in the judiciary any more giving its strings of ridiculous and obvious compromised judgments.

As it is now the Tinubu camp is agitated as expected. They are deploying many tactics to intimidate and browbeat Nigerians into submission. But, we should not be distracted by the antics of Tinubu’s stooges who are trying to deceive us all with the risible argument that there is enough evidence to show that Mr. Tinubu attended the CSU. The issue is not about attendance of the school but about certificate forgery.

Attending a school and obtaining a certificate from the school are two different things. Attending a school did not permit anyone to forge or replace his lost certificate without recourse to the institution. Moreover, there are many glaring discrepancies in the certificate tendered by Tinubu to INEC and the one issued by the CSU.

I will urge Nigerian irrespective of tribe, religion or political affiliation to join hands with Atiku Abubakar and other patriotic Nigerians and all lovers of democracy to work to ensure that the right thing is done to save our democracy and national image. Tinubu does not have what it takes to lead Nigeria. Nobody gives what he has not. The result of his over-140 days in office as the president has shown that Tinubu has nothing other than hardship, misery and national embarrassment to offer the nation. Nigerians you have the opportunity to correct the INEC’s fraud and the judicial error committed by the PEPT. The time to act is now!

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed
[email protected]
An actress, social activist, politician London, UK

The post Tinubu And The Chicago-gate Scandal -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed first appeared on Opinion Nigeria.