For prosterity sake, I will not be an onlooker and, therefore, I will add my voice to Tinubu’s Chicago State University forgery certificate scandal.
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak, is to speak and not to act is to act.”
At this juncture, it is better to be on the side of history than to flow with the lies and deceits of many that have seen a criminal behaviour as a norm. Is this not the emergence of a new social order? To forge a certificate is okay as long as you have attended a college or university; and you are obliged to make your own certificate that will not emanate from the school you attended. Some are even saying, Tinubu cannot be singled out in this kind of criminal behaviour and that it is common among other ethnic groups, as if forging a certificate is now to give it an ethnic coloration or cold war between two ethnic groups.
Is it not mind-boggling that ‘Yorùbá Ọmọlúwàbí ethos’ is now being misinterpreted to mean stealing, lie, forgery, corruption deceit and ethnic bigotry. Yes, these are no longer deviant behaviours under the new social order as defined by the so-called Tinubu’s disciples?
Yes, some of the reactions from the so-called protagonists of Tinubu are inept, gibberish and shameful!
Hmm, “Ọ̀gẹ̀dẹ̀ ń bàjẹ́ ẹ ló ń pọ́n” (the banana is rotten from inside and oozing out maggots and you are saying it is edible). What a sorry situation!
I am somehow ashamed to be a Yorùbá man at this time, not because of Tinubu’s certificate forgery but for the simple fact that some of my kinsmen are economical with the truth. Kí ni Yorùbá wá dà yí (what has become of Yorùbá as a people).
À ń wírú, wọ́n ń wírù(we are saying the obvious and they are changing the narrative).
The issue here is very clear, Tinubu submitted a forged certificate under oath to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and has erred under the electoral law. End of story!
PLEASE, STOP CHANGING THE NARRATIVE AND, IF YOU HAVE ISSUES WITH ATIKU’S ACADEMIC CERTIFICATE, PLEASE GO TO COURT AND PROVE IT AND STOP THIS DEVIANT BEHAVIOR!
I am deeply disappointed in the deviant behaviour of some of my kinsmen, and what is so worrisome is that some of them are PhD holders and eminent personalities in the society. They are justifying a deviant/criminal behaviour.
Frankly speaking, what would be the reactions of my kinsmen if somebody from another ethnic group had committed a similar offence? Hmmm, I trust the Lagos/Ìbàdàn axis; the finest press club in Nigeria.
Did Punch Newspaper not prefix former President Muhammadu Buhari as a military dictator because of his excessive and arbitrary abuse of executive power?
Did the Lagos/Ìbàdàn axis; the finest press club in Nigeria not champion the cause to remove Salisu Buhari (a Fulani – Hausa man) as the seventh Speaker of the House of Representatives over allegation of certificate forgery in 1999?
Also, did the media from the Lagos/Ìbàdàn axis, the finest press club in Nigeria not champion the cause to oust Evans Evwenrem (an Igbo man) from power as Senate President over allegation of identity theft (whether his name was Evan or Evans) in 1999?
They are now changing the narrative from Tinubu’s forged his degree certificate (he submitted under oath to the Independence National Electoral Commission, INEC) to, he attended Chicago State University and that is good enough.
Yes, Tinubu erred. He submitted a forged certificate. This is the crux of the matter at hand and nothing more.
Will some of my kinsmen get the real issue here and be silent instead of justifying a criminal behaviour?
Yes, our kinsman erred, and it may be a disgrace to Yorùbá as a people unless we condemn it.
Truth be told, I am somehow ashamed to be a Yorùbá man at this time but my conscience is now clear, because I have joined my voice to the voices (the likes of Chief Dele Momodu, Barr. Dele Farotimi, David Hundeyin, Dr. Lasisi Olagunju and Dr. Festus Adedayo) that are bold enough to speak up for the truth and the voiceless.
In this instance, let us call a spade a spade; and if we all can condemn this criminal behaviour, it will go a long way to redeem our image and let the world know that, Yorùbá would always stand for the truth. “It does not matter whose ox is gored.”
Yes, Yorùbá as a respected people must think beyond Tinubu’s Presidency and speak up to condemn this deviant and abominable behaviour.
This unfortunate incident of Tinubu’s forged certificate may have a contagious effect on our generation if we do not do the needful as a people to be on the side of history.
Hmm, ó máa lẹ́yìn o (the end result may not augur well for us as a people)!
Are we not already seeing educational institutions and governments in the western world (United States and England) probing into the academic qualifications of some of our citizens? This is currently trending in the news!
Hmmm, this is very sad.
Yes, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu erred and we ought to condemn this shameless behaviour and let the whole world know that Yorùbá, as a people, will always stand for the truth.
“Hmm, ọ̀gẹ̀dẹ̀ ń bà jẹ́ ẹ ló ń poọ́n” (the banana is rotten from the inside and oozing out maggots and you are saying it is edible). End of story! Lobatan!
Time will tell.
•Adenekan is the editor of Shekinah International magazine. He writes from Chicago Illinois.
