₦airaland Forum

It is obvious that the writer of this post is one of those dishonest people who delight in deceiving themselves. Self-deceit is the same thing affecting Buhari and no wonder they are birds of a feather. I will humor you by replying with three posts I wrote on this issue elsewhere on the blog; I hope it will help you appreciate the issues:

Dear Nigerians, whether we are supporters of APC or PDP, we should recognize the clear & present danger facing all of us and address it instead of talking inanities & cursing each other on this forum. With all that has transpired, it is clear that GMB lied about his certificates in his Nomination Form and even if he presents the certificate(s) tomorrow, it will not change anything. For sure, GMB will be disqualified by the Courts after the election must have held; if GEJ wins the election then no problem but if GMB wins & then is disqualified, that is where the big danger lies. THE COURTS ARE ON STRIKE NOW but not for ever; when they resume, they will have ONE QUESTION ONLY to consider: did GMB lie when he said the Originals of his Certificates are with the Military? If they find that he lied, then he is disqualified. The issue is not about whether he was educated up to WASC or has Masters Degree from War College, etc but SIMPLY whether or not he lied in his affidavit submitted to INEC. The military has come out to say that he lied as THEY DO NOT HAVE HIS CERTIFICATES whether Original or copies. In summary, the Military said: (1) GMB was admitted to the Army BEFORE he wrote his WASC exams based on recommendation letter from his Principal, (2) GMB later on, in the course of his Army career, filled forms indicating that he had subsequent to joining the Army passed his WASC with five distinctions including English, etc but that the WASC certificate whether Original or Certified True Copy was never produced to the Military for verification till this day & that no copy of it has ever been in their custody. (3) what is worrying is that GMB did not attach any copy of any Certificate to his Nomination Form as required by the AMENDED 2011 Electoral Act: not even his Pry 6 FSLC. So there is no evidence that he even has the Pry 6. If you go for a job interview today with only your B.Sc Certificate but without your FSLC or WASC, or giving ACCEPTABLE reason for not coming with those, you will be chased away: no one will ASSUME that since you have B.Sc, then you must have also obtained FSLC/WASC; you must bring proof that you have those as well; equally, if you seek admission for a Master's Program & produce only your Bachelor's results/Certificate but no FSLC/WASC, you will not be admitted. For the people making noise about EQUIVALENT Certificates, War College M.Sc, etc, you should note that GMB himself in his nomination Form never relied on Equivalent Certificate or M.Sc; he SPECIFICALLY relied on WASC/WAEC but did not produce any copy of it; instead he LIED that it is with the Military. That disqualifies him. I don't often comment hereon & would have been content to allow APC supporters continue to play the Ostrich and bury their heads in the sand, but my worry, which is what I want all of us to think about is what will happen to our nation if GMB wins but is then disqualified as will be bound to happen. Will we blame GEJ/PDP for what may transpire? Why? GMB still has the opportunity to save our country from unnecessary bloodshed/upheaval. As an elder Statesman, he should think long & hard on this issue. He should consider toeing the path of honor & resigning his Candidature as the Electoral laws allow so the APC can replace with a credible candidate with less baggage. That's my ten pence worth. Thank you. #PrayForNigeria

I AM SO DISAPPOINTED that this is all GMB came up with. This controversy has raged for over a month now & a press conference was arranged to put it to bed once & for all. Yet all we are told is that GMB "assumed" that ALL his certificates are with the Military. But the REAL QUESTION is why does GMB not have the originals or any copy of his certificates? As far as we know, every other Military Officer, whether serving or retired including those who joined the Army at the same time as GMB submitted only copies & still have their originals. Only GMB has ALL his documents in the custody of the Military. In his affidavit submitted to INEC, he never bothered to state the circumstances that led to this anomaly; now again in his press conference after a month of agitation, he again does not think that Nigerians deserve to know; instead different people throw out all sorts of speculations as to why he does not have it. Buhari should show respect to Nigerians he wants to be his subjects by coming clean on this issue once & for all; buying time and hoping it will go away will not work. First he assumed that his Certificates were with the Army until they came out to say his assumption was wrong as they do not have it; at today's press conference, he is again assuming the documents are with his old school; we will have to wait for their response to this latest ASSUMPTION.

I have said this severally that GMB is seriously embarrassing himself & our nation the more he continues to lie in order to cover up previous lies. At his press conference, he stated that he graduated from secondary school with classmates such as General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, former Chief of Staff. But this is a very CLEAR & BLATANT lie. Yar'Adua joined the Army in 1959 a full 2 years before Buhari claimed to have graduated. Just google YAR'ADUA or go to Wikipedia. What sort of calamity is this? We are now laughing stock in the eyes of the World. Please, the leadership of APC should put a stop to this charade. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

I have said this severally that GMB is seriously embarrassing himself & our nation the more he continues to lie in order to cover up previous lies. At his press conference, he stated that he graduated from secondary school with classmates such as General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, former Chief of Staff. But this is a very CLEAR & BLATANT lie. Yar'Adua joined the Army in 1959 a full 2 years before Buhari claimed to have graduated. Just google YAR'ADUA or go to Wikipedia. What sort of calamity is this? We are now laughing stock in the eyes of the World. Please, the leadership of APC should put a stop to this charade. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

I AM SO DISAPPOINTED that this is all GMB came up with. This controversy has raged for over a month now & a press conference was arranged to put it to bed once & for all. Yet all we are told is that GMB "assumed" that ALL his certificates are with the Military. But the REAL QUESTION is why does GMB not have the originals or any copy of his certificates? As far as we know, every other Military Officer, whether serving or retired including those who joined the Army at the same time as GMB submitted only copies & still have their originals. Only GMB has ALL his documents in the custody of the Military. In his affidavit submitted to INEC, he never bothered to state the circumstances that led to this anomaly; now again in his press conference after a month of agitation, he again does not think that Nigerians deserve to know; instead different people throw out all sorts of speculations as to why he does not have it. Buhari should show respect to Nigerians he wants to be his subjects by coming clean on this issue once & for all; buying time and hoping it will go away will not work. First he assumed that his Certificates were with the Army until they came out to say his assumption was wrong as they do not have it; at today's press conference, he is again assuming the documents are with his old school; we will have to wait for their response to this latest ASSUMPTION.

Dear Nigerians, whether we are supporters of APC or PDP, we should recognize the clear & present danger facing all of us and address it instead of talking inanities & cursing each other on this forum. With all that has transpired, it is clear that GMB lied about his certificates in his Nomination Form and even if he presents the certificate(s) tomorrow, it will not change anything. For sure, GMB will be disqualified by the Courts after the election must have held; if GEJ wins the election then no problem but if GMB wins & then is disqualified, that is where the big danger lies. THE COURTS ARE ON STRIKE NOW but not for ever; when they resume, they will have ONE QUESTION ONLY to consider: did GMB lie when he said the Originals of his Certificates are with the Military? If they find that he lied, then he is disqualified. The issue is not about whether he was educated up to WASC or has Masters Degree from War College, etc but SIMPLY whether or not he lied in his affidavit submitted to INEC. The military has come out to say that he lied as THEY DO NOT HAVE HIS CERTIFICATES whether Original or copies. In summary, the Military said: (1) GMB was admitted to the Army BEFORE he wrote his WASC exams based on recommendation letter from his Principal, (2) GMB later on, in the course of his Army career, filled forms indicating that he had subsequent to joining the Army passed his WASC with five distinctions including English, etc but that the WASC certificate whether Original or Certified True Copy was never produced to the Military for verification till this day & that no copy of it has ever been in their custody. (3) what is worrying is that GMB did not attach any copy of any Certificate to his Nomination Form as required by the AMENDED 2011 Electoral Act: not even his Pry 6 FSLC. So there is no evidence that he even has the Pry 6. If you go for a job interview today with only your B.Sc Certificate but without your FSLC or WASC, or giving ACCEPTABLE reason for not coming with those, you will be chased away: no one will ASSUME that since you have B.Sc, then you must have also obtained FSLC/WASC; you must bring proof that you have those as well; equally, if you seek admission for a Master's Program & produce only your Bachelor's results/Certificate but no FSLC/WASC, you will not be admitted. For the people making noise about EQUIVALENT Certificates, War College M.Sc, etc, you should note that GMB himself in his nomination Form never relied on Equivalent Certificate or M.Sc; he SPECIFICALLY relied on WASC/WAEC but did not produce any copy of it; instead he LIED that it is with the Military. That disqualifies him. I don't often comment hereon & would have been content to allow APC supporters continue to play the Ostrich and bury their heads in the sand, but my worry, which is what I want all of us to think about is what will happen to our nation if GMB wins but is then disqualified as will be bound to happen. Will we blame GEJ/PDP for what may transpire? Why? GMB still has the opportunity to save our country from unnecessary bloodshed/upheaval. As an elder Statesman, he should think long & hard on this issue. He should consider toeing the path of honor & resigning his Candidature as the Electoral laws allow so the APC can replace with a credible candidate with less baggage. That's my ten pence worth. Thank you. #PrayForNigeria

I will repeat the post I made yesterday here under but before I do, let me ask: has GMB submitted the original or indeed any copy of the "M.Sc" allegedly obtained from the U.S. War College to INEC? Is the submission to be made by law on Nairaland or pages of newspapers & social media? Did he mention having such certificate in his Affidavit which is the only evidence yet submitted by him to INEC? Why did Dr. Abayomi not simply refer to the existence of equivalent or higher certificates than WASC instead of giving us analogy of someone who was dismissed and could not take certifying exams for raping the daughter of his teacher? As someone has demonstrated above by adding Abubakar Shekau's name to the list, plaques like this can be easily altered, photoshopped or forged. What is required is a Certificate & not picture of a plaque. That this kind of gimmick has become necessary at all tells you something is wrong somewhere. After all, someone whose name is on that plaque, assuming it is authentic, which is doubtful, could still be denied the "M.Sc" for raping the wife of one of the Faculty.
My word of advice to APC faithful is to take this crises seriously instead of the frivolity I see them displaying on this forum. Yes it is a serious crises. You gain nothing by cursing the PDP or Jonathan because they have no hand in this issue; it is a Constitutional matter and not to be joked with. Those saying this issue is rubbish and they will still vote GMB should note that he may not be on the ballot on Feb. 14 if the needful is not done or even if he is; his candidacy may be subsequently invalidated and heavens will not fall. Don't joke with the PDP; as we speak they are probably already quietly putting their strategy in place; in a game as dicey and important as this, you don't leave unnecessary loopholes. What are the facts?
(1) The Constitution has laid down a Minimum qualification to contest. That qualification is Secondary School Certificate or Equivalent. It is the Constitution that requires this not PDP or "Jonathanians"; so frothing at the mouth & cursing "corrupt" PDP sympathizers is really an exercise in futility and idiotic. The EVIDENCE of any educational qualification or its EQUIVALENT is the Certificate. Note, we are dealing with Constitution here; hence law. In law Evidence is EVERYTHING. A Court of Law looks at nothing else other than "the evidence before it". For instance, no one doubts that Fashola is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and this is general Knowledge but if that issue becomes subject of dispute tomorrow, the Court will not rule based on the general and accepted knowledge, or the hysteria on Nairaland, but on the evidence before it, which is the SAN certificate or any other acceptable evidence of the conferment. Even if the Judge was present at the conferment ceremony & witnessed it & saw the certificate being handed over to him but Fashola fails to present acceptable evidence of the certificate DURING THE TRIAL, the Judge is bound to hold that no such evidence of conferment of SAN on Fashola was adduced before it and reach a decision accordingly. In this case the Electoral Act mandates COMPULSORILY that evidence of qualification MUST be shown to INEC within the stipulated time.
(2) The Constitution having prescribed a minimum Qualification, it is the duty of a Candidate to procure evidence before INEC that s/he meets such qualification. It is not the duty of INEC or the Army to enter the arena of conflict and start canvassing whether someone is qualified or not; I am therefore amazed at the mindless curses being rained on INEC & the Army. It is the sole duty of GMB to produce evidence that he meets the minimum requirements; if he does not provide such evidence or procure CREDIBLE evidence why he could not, then the presumption in law is that he does not satisfy the Constitutional requirements to contest the election & so there is the very real danger and possibility of his being disqualified either before or after the election. As an aside, those saying PDP and their supporters should go to Court or go "hug a transformer", etc should know that PDP has gifted strategists; PDP that I know will prefer not to do anything now until the period for substitution of candidates has elapsed, thus leaving APC with no VALID candidate; if they act too soon, APC may recognize the danger, persuade GMB to resign and substitute him with another candidate who can still give PDP a stiff fight.
(3) APC supporters have made several very weak arguments that are childish. They claim that GMB has attended several top Military Schools and courses some of whose certificates are equivalent to Master's Degree. The problem is that GMB did not refer to any of these in his affidavit. What people claim on social media has absolutely no bearing on the evidence required. What GMB said is that ALL his credentials are with the Military Board without even listing what they are. So for all we know it could be only his nusery school certificate or FSLC that is with the Military. He ought to have listed all his qualifications in the Affidavit and specify those which are equivalent to or above the minimum required but that was not done. Whatever he says he has was averred to be with the Military. But the Military has issued a statement denying that they keep the originals of any officers' certificates. They say that what they have is service records and that in any event anyone who wants to obtain a copy of what they have can apply and they would oblige. The BIG question is: if GMB indeed has any certificates in possession of the Military from which he retired about 30 years ago, why did he not apply to have at least the copy? And if they refused to oblige him that fact would be averred in his affidavit? Is it conceivable that anyone submits his originals to his employers & does not have a single copy anywhere at all? Why is it that of all the thousands of other officers that have served and still serving in the Military, it is only GMB whose original certificates were retained by the Military since all others affirm that they have always had theirs? Note also that the Military statement did not refer specifically to GMB; they only spoke in General terms to the effect that: they do not retain any officer's original certificates but that they have service records of all officers and that they can supply copies of WHAT THEY HAVE upon application. So if the required certificates of GMB never existed and is not with the military, how does this statement help GMB? Thus if all they have is FSLC for instance, it is only that copy they can give upon application. It does not also help when GMB's supporters ask how he could have attained all the lofty positions he held and be Head of State if he did not have minimum of School Certificate, etc. A Court does not deal with speculation; that is common knowledge. As stated earlier, a Court is interested only in EVIDENCE. That evidence must first be presented to INEC under the electoral laws not to Nairaland or other body; and so if at the close of the stipulated period, evidence of GMB having attained the minimum qualification is not before INEC, then he is standing on very slippery grounds. I say this in case he has the Certificate but he is holding on to it to produce at his leisure. There are strict legal regulations as to form, whom, when and how the evidence is to be adduced. Don't joke with technicalities of law and believe me, a huge Legal battle is already shaping up and it won't look good for GMB and APC.
(3) Statements by Dr. Abayomi and others on behalf of APC are not helpful; they seem not to appreciate the gravity of the matter. Moreover, the very regrettable analogy of someone who raped a teacher's daughter and thus expelled and stopped from taking the certification exams is very unfortunate on such issue of National importance. Also, Dr. Abayomi's asssertion that certificates are not necessary to prove academic qualifications left me dazed and my jaw hit the floor and stayed there for several minutes. If this is the quality of Legal and other Advice GMB receives, then he is in deep trouble. It is incredible that Dr. Abayomi who claimed that they issued GMB with a Certificate after they screened him to show that he passed the screening exercise now turns around to tell us that certificates are not required under the Law to prove qualification. Maybe that is why they are showing suspicious looking plaques instead of certificates to prove M.Sc degree.
(4) Self deceit is a big problem. Any APC supporter who does not see the looming danger and treat it with the seriousness it deserves is simply living in blissful ignorance.

My word of advice to APC faithful is to take this crises seriously instead of the frivolity I see them displaying on this forum. Yes it is a serious crises. You gain nothing by cursing the PDP or Jonathan because they have no hand in this issue; it is a Constitutional matter and not to be joked with. Those saying this issue is rubbish and they will still vote GMB should note that he may not be on the ballot if the needful is not done or even if he is; his candidacy may be subsequently invalidated and heavens will not fall. Don't joke with the PDP; as we speak they are probably already quietly putting their strategy in place; in a game as dicey and important as this, you don't leave unnecessary loopholes. What are the facts?
(1) The Constitution has laid down a Minimum qualification to contest. That qualification is Secondary School Certificate or Equivalent. It is the Constitution that requires this not PDP or "Jonathanians"; so frothing at the mouth & cursing "corrupt" PDP sympathizes is really an exercise in futility and idiotic. The EVIDENCE of any educational qualification or its EQUIVALENT is the Certificate. Note, we are dealing with Constitution here; hence law. In law Evidence is EVERYTHING. A Court of Law looks at nothing else other than "the evidence before it". For instance, no one doubts that Fashola is a Senior Advicate of Nigeria (SAN) and this is general Knowledge but if that issue becomes subject of dispute tomorrow, the Court will not rule based on the general and accepted knowledge but on the evidence before it, which is the SAN certificate or any other acceptable evidence of the conferment. Even if the Judge was present at the conferment but Fashola fails to present acceptable evidence, the Judge is blue to hold that no such evidence of conferment of SAN on Fashola was adduced before it and reach a decision accordingly.
(2) The Constitution having prescribed a minimum Qualification, it is the duty of a Candidate to procure evidence before INEC that s/he meets such qualification. It is not the duty of INEC or the Army to enter the arena of conflict and start canvassing whether someone is qualified or not; I am therefore amazed at the mindless curses being rained on INEC & the Army. It is the sole duty of GMB to produce evidence that he meets the minimum requirements; if he does not provide such evidence or procure CREDIBLE evidence why he could not, then the presumption in law is that he does not satisfy the Constitutional requirements to contest the election & so there is the very real danger and possibility of his being disqualified either before or after the election. As an aside those saying PDP and their supporters should go to Court or go hug a transformer, etc should know that PDP has gifted strategists; PDP that I know will prefer not to do anything now until the period for substitution of candidates has elapsed this leaving APC with no VALID candidate; if the act too soon, APC may recognize the danger, persuade GMB to resign and substitute him with another candidate who can still give PDP a stiff fight.
(3) APC supporters have made several very weak arguments that are childish. They claim that GMBH has attended several top Military Schools and courses some of whose certificates are equivalent to Master's Degree. The problem is that GMB did not refer to any of these in his affidavit. What people claim on social media has absolutely no bearing on the evidence required. All that GMB said is that ALL his credentials are with the Military Board without even listing what they are. So for all we know it could be only his nusery school certificate or FSLC that is with the Military. He ought to have listed all his qualifications I the Affidavit and specify those which are equivalent to or above the minimum required but that was not done. Whatever he says he has was averted to be with the Military. But the Military has issued a statement denying that they keep the originals of any officers' certificates. They say that what they have is service records and that in any event anyone who wants to obtain a copy of what they have can apply and they would oblige. The BIG question is: if GMB indeed has any certificates in possession of the Military from which he retired about 30 years ago, why did he not apply t have at least the copy? And if they refused to oblige him that fact would be averred in his affidavit? Is it conceivable that anyone submits his originals to his employers? Why is it that of the thousands of other officers that have served and still serving in the Military, it is only GMB whose original certificates were retained by the Military since all others affirm that they have always had theirs? Note also that the Military statement did not refer specifically to GMB; they only spoke in General terms to the effect that: they do not retain any officer's original certificates but that they have service records of all officers and that they can supply copies of WHAT THEY HAVE upon application. So if the required certificates of GMB never existed and is not with them, how does this statement help GMB. Thus if all they have is FSLC for instance, it is only that copy they can give upon application. It does not also help when GMB's supporters ask how he could have attained all the lofty positions he held and be Head of State if he did not have minimum of School Certificate, etc. A Court does not deal with speculation; that is common knowledge. As stated earlier, a Court is interested only in EVIDENCE. That evidence must first be presented to INEC under the electoral laws not to Nairaland or other body; and so if at the close of the stipulated period, evidence of GMB having attained the minimum qualification is not before INEC, then he is standing on very slippery grounds. I say this in case he has the Certificate but he is holding on to it to produce at his leisure. There are strict legal regulations as to form, whom, when and how the evidence is to be adduced. Don't joke with technicalities of law and believe me, a huge Legal battle is already shaping up and it won't look good for GMB and APC.
(3) Statements by Dr. Abayomi and others on behalf of APC are not helpful; they seem not to appreciate the gravity of the matter. Moreover, the very regrettable analogy of someone who raped a teacher's daughter and thus expelled and stopped from taking the certification exams is very unfortunate on such issue of National importance. Also, Dr. Abayomi's asssertion that certificates are not necessary to prove academic qualifications left me dazed and my jaw hit the floor and stayed there for several minutes. If this is the quality of Legal and other Advice GMB receives, then he is in deep trouble. It is incredible that Dr. Abayomi who claimed that they issued GMB with a Certificate of Clearance after they screened him now turns around to tell us that certificates are not required under the Law to prove qualification.
(4) Self deceit is a big problem. Any APC supporter who does not see the looming danger and treat it with the seriousness it deserves is simply living in blissful ignorance [color=#990000][/color]