BY TheCable
In the last 48 hours, a video where Lai Mohammed, minister of information, spoke about the secondary school certificate examination result of President Muhammadu Buhari has been trending on social media.
The controversy over Buhari’s certificate started in the buildup to the 2015 general election when supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), then the ruling party, alleged that the president did not sit for the Cambridge West African Examination.
The party made this allegation after Buhari failed to submit his academic credentials to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). In an affidavit, the president had said his certificate was with the secretary of the military board.
Despite the heat generated by this, Buhari defeated ex-President Goodluck Jonathan in the election.
As the 2019 elections closed in, the issue of critics of the president’s certificate became a topic of debate between his critics and supporters but this did not stop Buhari from securing another term.
He defeated Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the PDP, who is challenging the election result at the tribunal. Ahead of the tribunal’s verdict, the issue of the certificate is making the rounds again.
In a video currently circulating on social media, Mohammed was heard asking Nigerians to pardon Buhari over senior secondary school certificate.
“It’s been 53 years after a fellow left secondary school; 53 years. I think we should pardon him if he does not know where he kept his certificate,” the minister said.
The video:
While it is true that Mohammed made the comment when he appeared on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, the impression being given that it’s recent is misleading.
The minister made the comment as far back as 2015.
Meanwhile, here are some reactions from those who thought Mohammed’s comment is fresh:
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