•President Bola Tinubu
News reports indicate that in the court-ordered sworn testimony of Chicago State University officials on Tuesday, CSU expectedly denied knowledge or production of the certificate tendered by Bola Tinubu to INEC.
This was no surprise because Tinubu’s serial criminality and fraud is well documented even against himself and by himself. The only issue here was whether CSU officials would risk going to jail and further tarnishing their image by defending the indefensible. They chose the rule of law and reputational redemption over Tinubu.
At this point, Tinubu and Nigerians must ask the same of themselves. Will they choose the rule of law and redemption of their reputation or will Nigeria be sacrificed on the altar of ambition of a perennial fraud who has been confirmed on oath to be an “international cheat cheat” (ICC) – to paraphrase the late musician activist Fela?
On Oct 3, ex-US president Trump was in court for lying on his business applications by falsifying his financial status to secure loans. That same day, US President Biden’s son was in court for lying on a gun application about his drug use to obtain a licence. That same day, Nigerian President Tinubu was in office despite lying on his election application to secure the presidency as attested to in a US court deposition. Only in Nigeria is fraud a path to office instead of a bar to office!
This is beyond an international embarrassment – it is the global certification of Nigeria as the capital of criminality and fatherland of fraud. Just days ago, letters of credit from Nigeria were rejected before the certification of the president as a fraudster even.
This is also a slap on the face of law enforcement and intelligence agencies in Nigeria that a U.S. court in two months uncovered what Nigeria’s intelligence agencies combined could not do in 24 years. Nigeria does not have “law enforcement” agencies – it has “farce enforcement” agencies who force the farce of false nationhood on the victim inhabitants of a so-called country.
Tinubu must resign as his position is no longer tenable. Beside the ruination abroad, his man-woman identification at home spells irreversible humiliation.
He is now a symbol of illegitimacy and iniquity who has institutionalised forgery – from presenting forged certificates to INEC to causing INEC to present blank papers, photos of women in bathrooms etc as his presidential election results. This must not stand.
Tinubu can resign and finally do one honourable thing in his crime-spree life and maybe avoid prosecution yet again for sparing the nation any further ordeal. Or he may cling to power and risk igniting the African spring sweeping through the subregion in Nigeria as well.
Beyond the credibility crisis is his crisis of confidence and moral bankruptcy. The US has known for years he is a druglord and a fraud especially as confirmed by FBI legal attaché Jennifer Dent, who investigated his CSU claims. The question is how was this used to compromise Tinubu?
Like Ernest Shonekan, Tinubu can now leave having tasted power legally or illegally. Game over!
•Emmanuel Ogebe is a US-based lawyer
