•••COMMENDS DAVID HUNDEYIN, MEDIA FOR EXPOSING SCANDAL
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on Thursday, reacted to the raging certificate scandal involving President Bola Tinubu.
Atiku who spoke at a world press conference at the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, said that the late human rights activities, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, can now rest in peace over two decades after he started the expose.
He commended Nigerian, especially David Hundeyin, the media and other Nigerian youths for exposing Tinubu’s academic scandal after a tortuous struggle to unveil the controversy surrounding his Chicago State University’s certificate.
The former Vice President on Thursday reacted for the first time since he obtained Tinubu’s academic records from the Chicago State University via a Court in the United States of America.
The Waziri Adamawa, Vice President of Nigeria (1999-2007) and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party at the February presidential election 2023, said Nigeria’s reputation in the global circle is at stake with the controversy surrounding the Chicago State University’s certificate submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission by President Bola Tinubu.
“The reputation of our country is at stake and that affects Nigerians everywhere and wherever they may be,” Atiku said.
According to Atiku, Nigerians irrespective of tribe and religion should uphold the tenets of democracy by establishing the truth about the certificate submitted to the electoral umpire by the president.
Atiku said the struggle to unveil Tinubu’s academic records was not for or about him adding that it was a quest for the enthronement of truth, morality, and accountability in the public affairs.
He said the struggle was in line with the truth and therefore called on all well-meaning Nigerians, leaders of thought, religious leaders, traditional leaders, community leaders, political leaders, and in particular, Governor Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP and, the leaders of every political party in Nigeria, and, indeed, every single person who loves the country, to join him in the campaign to enshrine probity, accountability and the basic principles of justice, morality and uprightness in the country and in government.
He said the task is for each and every Nigerian.
Recall that Atiku, after a subpoena, successfully forced a court in the United States of America to release Tinubu’s academic records from Chicago State University (CSU).
The US court released Tinubu’s academic records, first on October 3 and the records showed that the Tinubu’s 1979 CSU certificate he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was different from samples of the certificates the University issued to students that same year.
The Registar of the university, under oath said he could not authenticate the certificate Tinubu presented to INEC.
The full statement:
Gentlemen of the Press, Fellow Citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I consider it important to address and report to you today on issues that define the future of elective government and legitimate leadership in our country.
Political leadership and active citizenship matter because they are ways through which we all work together to build a country that works for all who live in it.
Our country is bigger than any of us, and its standing in the world affects the fate of all who come from or live in it. As leaders, it is our duty to advance the well-being of all our people and of the country.
For this purpose, my generation worked hard to return the soldiers to the barracks and to defend the right of the people to elect and establish for ourselves a legitimate government. Our elections are established and governed by law and founded on the constitution from which leadership and government in Nigeria alone derive their legitimacy.
The people look up to us as leaders to respect these rules and, where necessary, to defend them. This is what brings us here.
Today, we are called upon again as a people to uphold and defend the ground rules of elective government in our country. The constitution prescribes the requirements for those who seek the highest elective office in the land.
It should not take months or, indeed, decades, for the institutions concerned to be able to do their work in establishing the credibility of any certificates presented by candidates for public office.
We undertook this journey at great cost and for important reasons. The ground rules for legitimate governance in our country need to be upheld, and the reputation of our country is at stake. That affects everyone, Nigerians everywhere.
I am a democrat by conviction and a citizen of a country that I love. The issues at stake in this case require us once more to re-dedicate ourselves to both the country and our constitution.
Now, we entrust these facts to us all as citizens and as leaders of the institutions charged with interpreting our constitution.
I should thank the lawyers both in Nigeria and in the United States, who have assisted us in bringing clarity and definitive answers to these issues that appear to have defied our institutions for nearly a quarter of a century.
I also want to extend my gratitude to Nigerian citizens and friends of Nigeria both within and beyond the shores of our country for their patience as we have sought to find the facts and establish the truth.
I wish to pay tribute to the late human rights activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, who inspired us on this path of discovery.
Now, he can truly rest in peace in the assurance that what he started about 23 years ago has come to fruition. Gani’s vindication today gives credence to the saying that no matter how fast a lie runs, the truth will someday overtake it.
Former American President Thomas Jefferson once said, “If I had to choose between government without newspapers, and newspapers without government, I wouldn’t hesitate to choose the latter”. From exposing the Watergate scandal and unravelling the dubious certificates of politicians, journalists have maintained eternal vigilance by bridging the gap and stepping in when other arms of government failed.
It is for these reasons that commendation must be given to David Hundeyin, an independent journalist whose extraordinary work and those of many more young people like him has become a source of inspiration.
Special thanks must be given to the millions of Nigerian youths and citizen journalists too who continue to put out the truth online even when no one is listening.
Indeed, the price of Liberty is Eternal Vigilance. They have put the country first in their firm commitment to unravel the truth and hold leaders accountable. This gives me the hope that we have worthy partners in the struggle to reclaim the country we call home.
This quest is not for or about Atiku Abubakar. It is a quest for the enthronement of truth, morality, and accountability in our public affairs. In line with this, therefore, I am calling on all well-meaning Nigerians, leaders of thought, our religious leaders, our traditional leaders, our community leaders, our political leaders, and in particular, Governor Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP and, the leaders of every political party in Nigeria, and, indeed, every single person who loves this country, as I do, and who wishes nothing but the best for the country, as I do, to join me in this campaign to enshrine probity, accountability and the basic principles of justice, morality and uprightness in our country and in our government. This is a task for each and every one of us.
Thank you for listening. May God bless you, and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.