[/b] This was written by Mr. Adolphus
Nwachukwu. [b]

In the past few weeks the issue that has
wrongly been in the front burner is whether
General M. Buhari is qualified or eligible to
contest the Presidential Election of
14/2/2015 having regard to the provisions of
sections 131 and 318(1)(a)-(d) of the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
In other words, is it a mandatory
constitutional requirement for General Buhari
to produce his school certificate or Its
Equivalent to the Independent National
Electoral Commission (‘INEC’) before he will
be eligible to contest the 14/2/20015
Presidential election? Does the Constitution of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as
amended) (hereafter ‘the 1999 Constitution’)
stipulate that a Presidential candidate or
aspirant like General Buhari must produce
his/her school certificate or its equivalent
before he will be eligible to contest a
Presidential election?
Is “school certificate” the minimum
requirement for a Presidential candidate to
be eligible to contest a Presidential election in
Nigeria? Can INEC allow a Presidential
Candidate to contest a Presidential Election
even though the candidate has a qualification
below “school certificate level”? Does the fact
that General Buhari attended Provincial
Secondary School, Katsina, Katsina State,
enough to make him eligible to contest the
Presidential election of 14/2/2015? Could
General M. Buhari have attended provincial
Secondary School, Katsina, Katsina State,
without attending primary school? These
questions will be resolved in the course of a
critical analysis of the law and the facts
surrounding this certificate saga.

[/b] AVAILABLE FACTS [b][/b]

From the facts available, General Buhari
confirmed that he attended Provincial
Secondary School, Katsina. He also graduated
in 1961 with many prominent Nigerians,
including Late General Shehu Yar’adua,
former Chief of staff at the Supreme
Headquarters, and Justice Umaru Abdullahi, a
former President of the Court of Appeal. He
also confirmed that he sat for the University
of Cambridge/West African School Certificate
in 1961 along with General Shehu Yar’adua,
and Justice Umaru Abdullahi, in 1961, where
his examination number was 8280002, and
passed the examination in the Second
Division. He, however, noted that his result
or certificate is with the Nigerian Army.
On 20/1/2015, the Nigerian Army, through
its Director of Army Public Relations,
Brigadier General Olajide Laleye, issued a
statement in order to clear the air on General
Buhari’s certificate saga. In his press
statement the General said:
“… Let me state clearly that the Nigerian
Army holds the retired senior officer in very
high esteem and respect and would not be a
party to any controversy surrounding his
eligibility for any political office. Suffice to
state that Major General Buhari rose steadily
to the enviable rank of Major General before
becoming the Head of State of our dear
country in December 1983.
The media hype on retired Major General
Muhammadu Buhari’s credentials as well as
the numerous requests made by individuals
and corporate bodies to the Nigerian Army on
this issue have necessitated that we provide
the facts as contained in the retired senior
officer’s service record. Records available
indicate that Major General M Buhari applied
to join the military as a Form Six student of
the Provincial Secondary School, Katsina, on
18 Oct 61.
His application was duly endorsed by the
Principal of the school, who also wrote a
report on him and recommended him to be
suitable for military commission. It is a
practice in the NA that before candidates are
shortlisted for commissioning into the
officers’s cadre of the Service, the Selection
Board verifies the original copies of
credentials that are presented.
However, there is no available record to show
that this process was followed in the 1960s.
Nevertheless, the entry made on the NA Form
199A at the point of documentation after
commission as an officer indicated that the
former Head of State obtained the West
African School Certificate (WASC) in 1961
with credits in relevant subjects: English
Language, Geography, History, Health Science,
Hausa and a pass in English Literature.
Neither the original copy, Certified True Copy
(CTC) nor statement of result of Major General
M Buhari's WASC result is in his personal file.
See, Sahara Reporters January, 20th 2015;
Premium Times, 21st January, 2015 and
Letter from the Nigerian Army, Department of
Military Secretary, Mambilla Barracks,
Asokoro, Abuja with Reference No: AHQ MS/
GI/300/249 signed by Major General I.I.
Abbah for and on behalf of the Chief of Army
Staff and addressed to Office of General
Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, No. 34 Lobito
Crescent, Off Adetokumbo Ademola Crescent,
Wuse II, Abuja.

ANALYSIS OF AVAILABLE FACTS

From the information made available by the
Nigerian Army from its record, General
Buhari was a former student of Provincial
Secondary School, Katsina and had a Principal
who wrote a report on him and recommended
him to be suitable for military commission. It
is arguable that General Buhari could not
have attended Provincial Secondary School,
Katsina without first finishing his Primary
School education and obtaining the relevant
Primary School Leaving Certificate. It is also
plausible that General Buhari’s Principal in
Provincial Secondary School, Katsina, could
not have recommended him to the Nigerian
Army if he did not attend Provincial
Secondary School, Katsina.
Again the Nigerian Army has a practice of its
Selection Board verifying the original copies
of the officers’ cadre certificate but there was
available record to show that this process was
followed in the 1960s. If I understand
Brigadier General Olajide Laleye clearly, what
he was conveying is that there is no record
with the Nigerian Army to show whether
General Buhari’s credentials were verified or
not verified by the Selection Board because
there was available record to show that this
process was followed in the 1960s but the
Nigerian Military has the practice of verifying
Offers’ cadre’s credentials. On this note it is
also arguable that General Buhari could not
have joined the Nigerian Army without the
Selection Board verifying the original copies
of his credentials if the process was followed
in the 1960s.
The only predicament of the Nigerian Army is
that there is no available or accessible record
to confirm or deny that this process was
carried out in the 1960s. However, the entry
made on the Nigerian Army Form 199A at the
point of documentation after commissioning
General Buhari as an officer indicated that
General Buhari obtained the West African
School Certificate (WASC) in 1961 with credits
in relevant subjects: English Language,
Geography, History, Health Science, Hausa
and a pass in English Literature. It is
submitted that the above information
confirmed that although there is no available
record to show that this process was followed
in the 1960s, Form 199A of the Nigerian
Army lays credence that General Buhari
obtained the West African School Certificate
(WASC) in 1961 with credits in English
Language, Geography, History, Health Science,
Hausa and a pass in English Literature.
This is because if these credentials were not
available to be verified by the Nigerian Army’s
Selection Board in the 1960s or through
other means that may be obtainable at that
time it could not have been available in
Nigerian Army Form 199A at the point of
documentation after commissioning of
General Buhari. Again, Form 199A of the
Nigerian Army could not have been filled with
General Buhari’s Statement of West African
School Certificate (WASC) Result without the
Nigerian Army’s Selection Board or any other
department seeing and verifying same.
Besides, Form 199A of the Nigerian Army
could only have been filled after General
Buhari or his Provincial Secondary School,
Katsina, supplied his statement of result to
the Nigerian Army. From another angle Form
199A could not have been filled without
seeing General Buhari’s Statement of Result.
The only constraint of the Nigerian Army
which is understandable is that there is no
available record to show that this process was
followed in the 1960s in respect of General
Buhari’s West African School Certificate
(WASC) Result and that there is no evidence
that its Selection Board verified same.
However, the Nigerian Army which is a
strong, viable, responsible and responsive
‘pride’ of the Nigerian State has confirmed
that its Form 199A shows that General Buhari
has West African School Certificate (WASC)
Result evidencing the subjects he passed.
In sum, the fact that General Buhari attended
Secondary School is not in doubt but what
cannot be confirmed is his original, certified
true copy or statement of result of the said
West African School Certificate (WASC).
However, the front page of Punch
Newspapers of 22/1/2015 has confirmed
through a Statement of Result that General
Buhari attended Provincial Secondary School,
Katsina. However, whether a Statement of
Result can be a substitute for a lost
certificate will also be discussed. In essence
both General Buhari, the Nigerian Army and
Provincial Secondary School, Katsina are
saying the same thing to the effect that
General Buhari is a graduate of Provincial
Secondary School, Katsina.

Conclusion

From the above analysis, based on the facts
and the law, it is submitted that it is not a
mandatory constitutional requirement for
General Buhari or any other Presidential
candidate to produce his secondary or
primary school certificate or its equivalent to
the INEC before he will be eligible to contest
the 14/2/2015 Presidential election. Second,
the Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) did not stipulate
that a Presidential candidate or aspirant, such
as General Buhari, must produce his
secondary or primary school certificate or its
equivalent before he will be eligible to contest
a Presidential election. Third, “school
certificate” is not the minimum requirement
for a Presidential candidate to be eligible to
contest a Presidential election in Nigeria
having regard to the provision of section
318(1)(d) that allows INEC to accept any
other qualification from the Presidential
candidate or aspirant. Fourth, INEC can allow
a Presidential candidate to contest a
Presidential election even though the
candidate has a qualification below “school
certificate level.” Fifth, the fact that General
Buhari attended Provincial Secondary School,
Katsina, Katsina State (now Government
College, Katsina) is enough to make him
eligible to contest the Presidential election of
14/2/2015. Sixth General Buhari could not
have attended Provincial Secondary School,
Katsina, Katsina State, without attending
primary school and obtaining Primary School
Leaving Certificate. Seventh, having obtained
a Primary Six School Leaving Certificate, INEC
was right in registering General Buhari as the
Presidential aspirant or candidate of the All
Progressive Part (‘APC’) because his Secondary
School Certificate is no longer necessary.
Eight there are facts that General Buhari is a
retired from the Nigerian Army which is part
of the Civil Service of the Federation and
served more than ten years in the Nigerian
Army? Nine as a retired Military Officer
General Buhari should by virtue of the law be
entitled to monthly pension? Ten there is
evidence that General Buhari attended
courses and training while in Military Service?
Eleven, the fact that General Buhari made
credit in English Language is a presumption
that he has the ability to read, write,
understand and communicate in the English
language? Twelve, the fact that the Nigerian
Army confirmed that Form 199A in their
record shows that General Buhari passed the
West African School Certification examination
is enough evidence that General Buhari went
to secondary school. Thirteen, the publication
of General Buhari’s Statement of result in
Punch Newspapers of 22/1/2015, a public
document demonstrates that he is educated
up to at least School Certificate level.
Fourteen, General Buhari’s Statement of
Result is evidence that he obtained the West
African School Certificate from Provincial
Secondary School, Katsina, Katsina State.
This is my opinion.
Mr. Adolphus Nwachukwu.
Mike Igbokwe SAN & Co.
Ikoyi, Lagos
adolphusnwachukwu@gmail.com
facebook: www.facebook.com/
nwachukwuadolphus
Source: www.ladunliadinews.com/2015/01/general-mbuharis-school-certificate-to.html?m=1

If buhari brings handkerchief as his certificate I will still vote 4 him cos I want change and nt his certificate