Buhari’s WAEC ‘certificate’ and the show of shame at Aso Rock

I thought I was never going to recover from the shock of what played out at Aso Rock on Friday when President Muhammadu Buhari was presented with the West African Examination Council (WAEC) “attestation result. The Nigerian seat of power was agog with jubilation and near pomp as cabinet members flocked around the president to rejoice with him over the new ‘feat’. A journalist friend that was at the presidential villa when Buhari received the certificate captured the mood: “It was like jubilation galore. Everybody was happy the president has scaled what seemed like his last hurdle to the (2019) elections.”

Now, for those of you that may not have been following recent events and wondering what is the big deal in obtaining a WAEC certificate, here is the gist: While other presidential candidates in next year’s election submitted their academic credentials among other particulars to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the president told the commission his own credentials were still with the military board. The issue might have not generated much ripples but for the fact that the president had made the same submission in 2014 in the build up of the 2015 elections. And so, all hell was let loose as the opposition and some other Nigerians insisted the president must produce his academic certificates.

Until Friday, many could bet their earlobe the president will lose the case in court if it gets to that level and might eventually be disqualified from participating in next year’s presidential election – the constitution makes WAEC certificate a compulsory requirement for that position, remember.

It was Femi Adesina, the president’s spokesman, that first broke the news: “WAEC presents attestation certificate and confirmation of school cert result to President Buhari. What will the naysayers say next?” The drums then started sounding and dancers thronged to the stage. “All our enemies have been put to shame”, “Sai Buhari 2019”, “Another great feat recorded.”

In the midst of all the drama, the president took to Twitter to announce his new ‘baby’, alongside a picture of members of his cabinet including Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation, and Adamu Adamu, minister of education, in jubilant mood over the issue. Everyone looked so excited and proud of the president for the new ‘feat’.

I was disappointed and angry. Angered that in a country that currently has the highest number of out-of-school children in the world and is adjudged the global capital of poverty, the president and his cabinet members are busy rejoicing over a WAEC certificate. While other African leaders are busy brainstorming on how to leapfrog their countries to El Dorado, our leaders were short of declaring a public holiday to celebrate a WAEC certificate. Pathetic.

AN ARMY OF SHAME

Nigeria never keeps surprising you. One day, one drama. But Friday came with two dramas, that of Aso Rock and a terrible display of shame from the Nigerian army.

Who could have thought the Nigerian army was ever going to justify the killing of members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN)? Worse still, who could have believed their justification was going to be the position of US President Donald Trump on a totally different and more grievous issue?

The army shocked the whole world on Friday when it tweeted a video showing Trump directing the US military to treat stones pelted at them by asylum-seeking migrants as rifles. Of course Trump has been berated for that remark but that’s not my concern.

For an institution that has had a record of extrajudicial killings, Friday’s incident was like emptying an ocean into wounds that may never heal. Dozens of Shi’ites reportedly killed during a clash with soldiers and the army is asking Nigerians to “make your deductions” – read ‘see, we were right after all’ – from Trump’s directive? Terrible.

Chinedu Asadu is a reporter with TheCable.