It is understandable there has been so much brouhaha over whether Bola Ahmed Tinubu attended Chicago State University or not. And if he did, did he finish and did he pass? A great many had doubts following sustained impassioned debates on the subject. Even when he claimed that not only did he attend the university but he came out in flying colours. Not many were impressed. He said publicly that he made First Class. The issue did not go away even after his two-term governorship of Lagos State, albeit raised in hushed tones: Have you heard? So often went the discussions in whispers. The issue was revived, after 23 years, given fresh oxygen and posted to the front burner after he indicated interest in the Presidency. Matters were not helped by uninspiring messages during the campaign trails. His handlers, too, added to the waves of doubts, when ill-advised, they shielded him from accustomed public debate and scrutiny that go with such an enterprise. What is taken for granted! What stepping forward to lead the nation entailed and which gladiators ordinarily long for as veritable platforms to reach all and sundry seated in front of their television in their homes or offices. What political agora can fetch you millions who would otherwise gladly elect to sit in front of their idiot box to watch and listen? Doubts were made to assail even those who may have visited him in his office as governor and had seen the picture of him among his classmates at CSU in bushy haircut and the boy-in-town shirt. Bola Tinubu is excellent with figures: Add this, subtract that, add again and multiply—in the batting of an eyelid, he has given you the answer off head. Memories of the encounters were made to fade!
The first hurdle, therefore, was to verify Tinubu’s claims. The courageous step was taken by no less a figure than Waziri Atiku Abubakar. So thick was the suspicion that confirmation by the school authorities that Tinubu was a bona fide student of Chicago State University did not seem enough, there was insistence on academic records particularly after objections by Tinubu’s lawyers to making the records public. Rino Omokri shouted himself hoarse that Tinubu truly attended the Chicago State University, not many people seemed interested; we were not persuaded. The records have now been released. Even if there may still be some unanswered questions, the testimony of the university registrar, Caleb Westberg in court cannot but be disarming to a great many, to the discerning and the fair-minded.
The concerns on the verity of the educational claims by Tinubu and the attendant struggle can be seen being voiced by three major groups. For one group, it is borne out of the recognition of the loftiness that is the emblem of the highest political office in the land and the excellence and credibility it radiates. There are political opposition who long to see a new order in the public affairs and who are insisting we must begin to set a new tone; there are a good number who are non-partisan but are driven by nobility of spirit and have decided not to sit on the fence nevertheless. Public office is for public good. In credibility lies moral authority over the citizenry.
There are also many whose objectives are low; they want to heckle and mock. It cannot be surprising given public interest in the matter that the university was bombarded with enquiries over Tinubu. Mr. Wesberg in his oral deposition ordered by the higher court, Judge Maldonado, said the university received many enquiries between five and 30 everyday about Tinubu. The deposition was part of what former Vice President, Waziri Atiku pressed for because of the implications for any juristic person—an individual or an institution—found not speaking the truth under oath.
Mr. Westberg said Tinubu attended Chicago State University and that the person who is President of Nigeria at the moment matched the student records in the file. He went on to say that contrary to widely circulated story the person to whom the university gave admission ab initio was a male and the admission letter was issued to a male, not to a female. Asked whether the student the university admitted in 1977 from Southwest College was a man or woman, Mr. Westberg said Tinubu applied to the university as a male and a letter of admission was issued to him. Answering a question on certificates tendered among documents turned over to Atiku, Mr. Westberg said that the university only keeps Diplomas that students did not pick up in his custody. His deposition went as follows:
“The university does not typically keep Diplomas. I have the Diploma that was made available to Mr. Enahoro-Eboh in our possession because Mr. Tinubu did not pick it up. I do not have the Diploma that was submitted to INEC in our possession because he had picked it up.”
When asked by one of the lawyers: “Why would Mr. Tinubu request for a Diploma and not pick it up or ask that it be sent to him?” Mr. Westberg said in response: “You would have to ask him”, that is Bola Tinubu. Speaking on other points in the deposition, he said as follows:
“I am not aware of any instance where CSU had been requested to certify a document Mr. Wole Afolabi who was acting for president insisted must be certified. Mr. Wole Afolabi is President Tinubu’s lawyer. He and Mr. Orr communicated by email.
“I don’t recall seeing the emails. I don’t know if Jason Carter approved of the certification. Apart from Jason Carter I do not know anyone else who was involved in the process. I went into Mr. Tinubu’s student’s file and produced the documents to Mr. Orr. I didn’t know that the documents would be certified; I don’t get involved in legal matters.
“Mr. Tinubu requested that the documents be released to Afolabi for ‘legal proceedings. The signature on the consent form is similar to the signature we have on record for Mr. Tinubu.
“All of the certified documents came from CSU’s files. Nothing was handed over to us by Mr. Afolabi except for the FERPA form. CSU had never certified documents for anyone before. It must have been made because there was more of Nigerian thing. The documents were released in pursuance of a FERPA request. I believe Mr. Afolabi requested that the documents be certified. I’m not aware if the stamp affixed by Mr. Orr to the documents was an official document. It is not part of CSU practice.
“Mr. Orr later departed from CSU after these documents were certified. I don’t know if his departure was connected to the certification of the documents, but I don’t think it was. Mr. Tinubu’s counsel did not prepare any document for me. My statement that Mr. Bola Tinubu graduated from CSU was based on the transcripts in our possession. I have never met Bola Tinubu. I have never seen him. He did not visit our campus. He does not donate money to the school.
“In the U.S., Diplomas are considered merely ceremonial documents. In some other countries, it may be considered more. In the U.S., more reliance is placed on transcripts and not on Diplomas.
“I did not rely on information from public records to come to the conclusion that President Bola Tinubu is the person who attended CSU. I am not aware that the FBI contacted CSU on whether Bola Tinubu attended CSU. Between 1979 and when I assumed duties, CSU must have had at least six Registrars. I never spoke to Ms. Davies. Some policies have changed over the years. When there is a replacement Diploma, it is done by outside vendors. I don’t know who created Exhibit 6. The institution decided that my name should not be typed on the ‘To whom it may concern’ letter because of the sheer volume of requests I was getting.
“Before CSU, I was at UC, Berkeley and UC, Irving. I‘m sure people make mistakes in data entry from time to time. Before this lawsuit I did not know anyone called Bola. It was possible that someone assumes Bola to be a female and therefore marked the South West transcript as such. I am familiar with the affidavit filed by OLAJIDE Adeniji. I don’t recall his gender. I don’t know if Atiku Abubakar is male or female, but I heard is a male. I can’t tell by his name. I checked the record and confirmed that OLAJIDE Adeniji and Bola Tinubu were at CSU at the same time. The person said he ran in a closely contested race against Bola Tinubu for leadership of the Accounting Student Union. I see that he said the same person he ran against is now the President of Nigeria. The Bola Tinubu who attended Southwest College took Accounting courses. The Bola Tinubu who attended CSU also took Accounting courses. I see the address indicated for Bola Tinubu. It’s not far from CSU. I looked at the whole record in making the determination that the Bola Tinubu who is the President of Nigeria today is the same person who attended CSU.
“The entries ‘1952’ and ‘1954’ could have been made in error. The person who attended South West College is the person who attended CSU. The courses taken by Bola Tinubu at Southwest College and CSU are consistent. Right after the entry ‘F’, the SSN entered indicated in the Southwest transcript is the same as the one that was indicated in CSU records. That is one of the indications that we use to identify students. A Social Security is a unique identifier.
“I recognise Southwest College as a feeder school for CSU. Bola Tinubu graduated with Honours. It’s a GPA distinction. It is awarded to high performing students. Accounting is a rigorous Major. He graduated with Honours. Yes, certain students are more motivated than others. The students who are more motivated go on to accomplish greater things in life. I’ve seen that. As far as I know, he’s the President of Nigeria. There were materials in Mr. Tinubu’s records that show that he was male. I see the application to CSU. Mr. Tinubu identified himself as a male. His letter of admission identified him as a male. It says: ‘dear Mr. Tinubu.’
“We know Mr. Tinubu’s social Security number. It’s contained in the records. I see the entry on APC’s website wherein President Bola Tinubu was said to have been born in Lagos on March 29, 1952. I don’t have a copy of the Diploma that was submitted to INEC so I can’t comment on it. I am not aware of the fact that in the form that he submitted to INEC he claimed a different nationality or date of birth. Yes, our records show that he was born on March 29th. One has ‘1954’ while the other shows ‘1952.’ From time to time, people do make mistakes when making such entries.”
I have deliberately refrained from interpreting the foregoing deposition by the Registrar. I allow the disposition to speak by itself. The registrar, Westberg, has confirmed without equivocation that President Bola Tinubu attended and graduated from Chicago State University with Honours. It was Tinubu who applied for admission and it was to him that admission letter was issued, not to a female. Although he has never seen nor met Tinubu, he said the records are there and they speak for him. He identified him as the current President of Nigeria. He connected Tinubu of Southwest College with Tinubu of Chicago State University and they are one and the same person. On the ages, the registrar said if there are such differences they are no more than human errors which do occur “when making such entries.”
On the vexed issue of certificate which is called diploma in the United State and which is believed to have been forged, although Mr. Westberg did not speak on any forgery, from his deposition on Diploma Replacement it is easy to see from where what may look as forged certificate is coming. The registrar said the university does not get involved in Certificate Replacement. It is outsourced to vendors. In the U.S., certificates “are considered merely ceremonial documents… more reliance is placed on transcripts and not on diplomas.” If such a document is given out to vendors the possibility of errors is high if the necessary proofreading is deficient or non-existent.
What I am getting at is that it is President Bola Tinubu who has brought the whole hullabaloos upon himself. He has such a glittering testimonial for which he should proudly beat his chest but has engaged himself in hide and seek with his fellow countrymen. Why has it been so difficult for him to explain through a well-crafted press statement on the issues as has now been most convincingly done by the university’s registrar? What was worse, he fought valiantly to block the release of his academic records. It is natural to insinuate that there must be more to it than meets the eye; there must be something to hide, thus unwittingly preparing the ground for media campaign and human rights activists clamour that he must go! What was the tardiness about with attendant anxiety and specter of national conflagration? It is embarrassing. We have the CSU registrar, Mr. Westberg to thank for his forthrightness and Waziri Atiku Abubakar’s doggedness to hail; the epic fight to clear the air of unwholesomeness swirling around our President’s neck in the absence of beyond candle-lit information. What a blessing in disguise!! He has advanced the nation’s search for standards and honour in public behaviour of leaders, for exemplary conduct!!
Jakande LKJ was wont to say: “In the contest between truth and falsehood, who has heard of truth being worsted?” The reason is not farfetched. It is because Truth is Life and is eternal. It is absolute, and all activities are measured against it to know whether they are right or wrong. It is within reach of all, the lowly or the high, educated or not educated. Such is its majesty that it is unaffected by upheavals, revolutions, grudge or plot. Tinubu could not have forged what belongs to him, a certificate which is a product of his rigour and hard work adjudged to have satisfied the university Senate in learning and character. You forge only what you ardently long for but do not have. What a triumph of struggle by an underprivileged young man that fought in inclement weather for daily bread. If there are other reputational issues, they should be tackled. The major hurdle has been cleared. We must bow before the majesty of truth!.
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