THE EPIDEMICS OF FORGED ACADEMIC CERTIFICATES IN NIGERIA’S POLITICAL SYSTEM, BUREAUCRACY AND THE SOCIETY
by GODSON O. MONEKE
An academic certificate is a documentary evidence of attainment of a given academic status. The process of attaining such height is a different matter as it does not rub it of any legitimacy. The idea that people forged certificates never meant anything to me because I did not believe that somebody would be that daring. I know of the practice that obtains in a place called OLUWOLE in Lagos Island but I always think that those who patronize such outlets believe that the FORGED DOCUMENTS can not be verified and investigated and that they are only useful for a short time. I have come to shockingly realize now that those who use forged documents do so for reasons such as EMPLOYMENTS, APPOINTMENTS , ELECTIONS AND SOCIAL ACCEPTABILITY. This is very absurd. While I do not begrudge those who do so for social acceptability even when I see them as perverts who believe that they must live a lie to be accepted in the society, I deprecate those who do so for employment, appointment and election because they are responsible for the total collapse of our values system in Nigeria. I do not see the justification for a person who has no qualification in a given field to fraudulently displace somebody who is better qualified and begin to lord it over him. We should have a system which punishes such bad and obnoxious behaviors. It is one reason we have failed to grow and develop as a nation because our building blocks are based on falsehood.
We don’t find dishonesty offensive in this clime and wealth is worshipped no matter how acquired. We operate a system where thieves are celebrated while honest people are derided, loathed and looked down upon. Thus the incidents of forged certificates are on the rise because you can use forged documents to achieve any height in Nigeria of today. Such serious vice which is fast developing into an epidemic is not treated with the seriousness it demands. The incidents are so pervasive that I cannot stick out my neck that those who parade fake certificates are not more in number than those with genuine certificates. I say this because most people are not shocked by this possibility but see it as mere misdemeanor. I posit that the growing incidents of fake certificates by those in high places is at the heart of our underdevelopment as a nation. These certificate forgers have become so emboldened that they can gaslight the nation and intimidate anybody who dares to challenge them. Their fellow certificate forgers in the system are ever ready to cover them in the spirit of enlightened self-interest.
If you are keen observer of the ongoing election disputes in the various tribunals all over the country, you would have discovered that a preponderance of cases bother on CERTIFICATE FORGERY. People are no longer ashamed that allegations of certificate forgeries are made against them, rather they do everything within their powers to fight it off . Alhaji Shehu Shagari became the president of Nigeria with Higher Elementary School Certificate, Abubakar Tafawa Belewa, the most well-spoken Prime Minister with impeccable diction had only Cambridge School Certificate as his highest academic qualification. In the 1999 constitution (as amended), the highest academic requirement to contest for the president of Nigeria is probably FIRST SCHOOL LEAVING CERTIFICATE WITH TEN YEARS OF WORKING EXPERIENCE IN A GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHMENT. School Certificate attempted and university degrees are mere icing of the cake. You also do not need NYSC certificate to contest elections in Nigeria because you are not seeking a government appointment. Why then do most politicians who are entangled in certificates forgeries create problems for themselves when most of them could have presented NECO CERTIFICATES ATTEMPTED.
Why the fixation with university degree certificates with the attendant controversies. Most of these culprits are big men with many aides under their employ. What is the purpose of these aides if they cannot think outside the box for their principals? The issue is the certificate presented to INEC. Is it fake? If the university made a mistake, it must correct it or you swear affidavit to correct the mistakes before it is submitted to INEC. Neither the university after the fact explanation or an affidavit presented after the submission of the incorrect certificate to INEC should suffice. Whether you graduated from the university is immaterial. The main issue is the certificate submitted to INEC, the bone of contention is whether the certificate is fake or not. A fake certificate is one which is neither the original nor the certified true copy of the original.
