Tribunal VS Verdict: The Buhari Certificate/Candidacy And Nigeria’s Political State

In a nation regarded as the giant of Africa, the executive powers of the country cannot be underplayed. The executive is saddled with the responsibility of implementing laws and policies in the country.

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides the executive power invested on the head of the executive arm in section 5(1), which include that “…the executive powers of the federation shall be vested on the president… that is the president should at all times exist in a country as the executive head of the state and government.”

The Constitution laid down requirements – for qualifications – for persons who want to participate in an election. For presidency, “a person,” as required in 1999 Nigeria’s Constitution, “shall be qualified for an election to the office of the president if (a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth (b) he has attained the age of 40 (c) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party (d) he has been educated up to at least the School Certificate level or its equivalent.”

The President Muhammadu Buhari certificate scandal started before the 2015 presidential election. Reports had it that the president failed to attach his 1961 Cambridge West African School Certificate (WASC) in the binder of documents- Form CF-001, which he tendered to the Independent National Electoral commission (INEC). In an issue which seem to linger on, even after the 2015 election, President Buhari failed to attach his School certificate for the 2019 Election aspiration. This remained a bone of contention in the recent victory of the president as a qualified presidential aspirant despite his apparent lack of evidence of the school certification.

In the case of Atiku vs Buhari(2019), one of the motions conjured in the Tribunal ruling was Buhari’s eligibility and allegation of submitting false information in the affidavit submitted to INEC to aid his qualification to contest the election.

As the duty of the judiciary is to interpret laws, the judge took a careful evaluation of the provision of section 131(d) of the Constitution and considered the meaning of the phrase ‘School Certificate or its equivalent’.

In section 318 of the Constitution, the school certificate means

(a) A Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent, or Grade II Teachers Certificate, the City and Guilds certificate;
(b) Education up to Secondary School Certificate level; or
(c) Primary Six School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent; and
(i) service in the public or private sector in federation in any capacity acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for a minimum of ten years, and
(ii) attendance at courses and training in such institutions as may be acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for periods up to a minimum of one year, and
(iii) the ability to read, write, understand and communicate in the English language to the satisfaction of the Independent National Electoral Commission; and
(d) any other qualification acceptable by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Prima facie: this apparently shows the Constitution is little or not particularly concerned about the SSCE as a requirement of qualification for the post of presidency. It should be noted that the above clauses are simply optional conditions which only one of them must be met. Therefore, if a presidential candidate fails to submit his Senior Secondary School Certificate, and he has undergone a primary school education, has its certificate, and is able to read, communicate and write in English language; is constitutionally qualified to be the president of the federal Republic of Nigeria.

The cause for concern, as it is, is the trite that the educational qualification of the president of a sovereign state – who is to be in a constant interaction with other states – can no longer remain as currently contained in our constitution. The provisions set as a basis for the qualification of the presidency need to be amended by the legislature. It is beyond mere saying that a person who wish to lead a country must be properly educated. It may be argued that a President is just a supervisor and leadership isn’t necessarily by education but it takes an onerous convincing and courageous defiance to dissuade an inadequately educated and poorly informed head of state from insisting on backward foreign policies.

A nation where thousands of her citizens have impressive footprints in education and various fields of specialties in the world is repugnant to this archaic law; this is a nation where the application for a security guard even needs a university degree for qualification. The office needs a suitable and literate president; beyond the ability to read, communicate and write in English language.

It is suggested that the minimum educational requirement should be the Ordinary National Diploma or its equivalent as this certification is obtainable across all tertiary institutions of the federation. It is available in Polytechnics, in Colleges of Education and the Universities. Beyond the presidential level, this requirement should extend to the state level for governorship election.

In conclusion, the Legislature must amend the inadequacies and other fundamental provisions as related to our constitution. This is for a better society, for a better Nigeria. A nation should not be controlled or led by any president whose only qualification is his ability to read and write in English. A better education certification should be required for eligible candidacy.

Adegbite Victor is a law undergraduate of the Olabisi Onabanjo University and can be reached via victourade@gmail.com. He tweets at iamvictorErnest.