Tinubu's missing primary school cert is not the real issue

Deyemi Saka, a public policy analyst, has dismissed the whole controversy over President Tinubu leaving his primary and secondary school qualifications blank on his INEC nomination form for the 2027 election. Speaking on Arise Television on Sunday, Saka said the certificate issue has been settled and we should move on. He said, "The certificate has been questioned and has been ascertained to be real and not fake. He has fulfilled all constitutional requirements and I think we should move on. There are better topics to pick up with the president."

Now, I am an old man from Ibadan and I have seen many elections. I will tell you something: this debate is a distraction. The constitution requires a minimum of a school certificate or its equivalent, and Tinubu has a B.Sc. from Chicago State University, which is far above that. Whether he attended primary school in Ibadan or not does not change his legal eligibility. We are arguing about a blank space on a form while the naira is falling and the cost of garri in Bodija market has doubled in one year. That is the real issue.

But I know some of you will say, "Uncle, if he is hiding his primary school, what else is he hiding?" That is a fair question, but it is not a legal one. The man has been in public life since 1999, his records have been scrutinised more than any of us. If there was a disqualifying issue, the courts would have dealt with it. Let us argue about the economy, about insecurity, about the way we are borrowing money. Those are the topics that will decide 2027, not a missing primary school certificate. Am I the only one that thinks this way?