Tinubu’s Chicago-Gate Scandals And The Image Of The Nation -By Gozie Irogboli

History is like a universal mystery screen that captures and archives the acts of every individual in the sublunary space. Some have a place in notoriety and shame while some are captured in the arena of fame. In Nigeria, one of the many individuals trapped in the notoriety space is on Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu whose life is enmeshed in fakery, forgery, hypocrisy and scandal.

Tinubu has a web of scandals around his name as everything about him is either faked or shrouded in obscurity. Everything he has ever mentioned about his past is in contention apart from his criminal record. The Tinubu family in Lagos which the Asiwaju claims to belong has long repudiated the claim. It is said that he came from Iragbiji in Osun State and that his real name is Amoda Yekini Ogunlere. Tinubu’s age is also in contention. Official documents indicate that he was born in 1952 while some indicate 1954. But many people believed that he was born much earlier than he claims as his biological daughter Folashade Tinubu-Ojo is said to be 62 years of age. Again, the schools that he attended are also subject of controversy. Government College Lagos which he claims to have attended in 1970 was founded in 1974. The NYSC certificates that he tendered to the INEC prior to contesting the 1999 gubernatorial has been found to be fake. He claimed to have worked with Deloitte but the reputable firm of consultants has long issued a disclaimer on that. Again it is public knowledge that Tinubu consort with drug traffickers and had to forfeit the sum of $460,000 to the US government being proceeds from heroin trafficking in 1993. The question many people have always asked is: why is Tinubu afraid of his past? How can a man’s past be so shadowy? A person with clean records should be proud to state his background no matter how lowly it is but not with Tinubu.  It is rumored that he was imprisoned in the US after which changed his name with the purpose of trying to cover up his ignoble past. There is a media report that the American FBI is trying to release a report on him and he is fretting about it.

Evidently, Tinubu’s antecedent has shown that he has close affinity with the scum and the criminal elements in the society—from the heroine ring in Chicago USA to the slums of Lagos. His preferment of area boys and the agberos of Lagos and association with scoundrels like Musiliu Akinsanya alias MC Oluomo and the other hooligans in Lagos whom he uses as a tool to advance his political interest bears eloquent testimony about his criminal tendencies. His tenure as Lagos State governor witnessed the resurgence of hooliganism and violent crimes that claimed the lives of many individuals including Chief Funso Williams the former PDP stalwart and his closest political rival. It also witnessed the OPC uprising and the mayhem concomitant to it. Mrs Kemi Adeosun the disgraced former minister of Finance, who was shooed out of office for certificate forgery and who threw Nigerian economy into recession in 2015 is one of Tinubu’s acolytes and nominees.

But, it is quite unfortunate that Tinubu has managed to swing his way through the maze of the many scandals that dogged his path because of the “Nigerian factor”. This has been the case until Atiku Abubakar the Nigerian former vice-president (1999-2007) went a little further to seek to authenticate Tinubu’s certificate by approaching the court in US to compel the Chicago State University (CSU) to release Tinubu’s alleged certificate. And the result of this venture shows that Tinubu indeed forged the certificate he tendered to the INEC.

And undoubtedly, Tinubu has brought shame and dishonor to Nigeria by his conduct. The matter is not just in public glare but at the international forum, eliciting strident calls for Tinubu’s resignation as the president of Nigeria to save the image of the country that has now become the butt of international mockery. By the time this matter is settled and it will be done very soon, Tinubu will occupy a place in the Hall of Shame as the world’s first and only fake president.

Indeed, it is not only Tinubu that is on trial but the whole nation. So, the people must rise up to prove to the world that we are not a nation of felons and certificate forgers but a decent people. Yes, it is no longer about Atiku; it is beyond Atiku for even if Atiku decides to back down on the case Nigerians may not allow that. Tinubu forgery saga is about our integrity and pride as a nation. It is about our values and ethos as a people. It is truth versus falsehood. It is Tinubu versus Nigeria…And we will not close our eyes and allow a career criminal superintend over the affairs of over 200 million people except if we are willing accept the stigma of a rogue state or criminal organization.

Obviously, the storm is gathering. And it expected that in pursuance of this case, Nigerians may not allow intimidation, distraction or propaganda as is the case now. Nigerian should look beyond the Judiciary and the National Assembly that everybody believed have been compromised. Nigerians should not give in to inane propaganda, puffy rhetoric or bloviating essays from media hirelings in defense of criminality. Nigeria will not allow the Tinubu-controlled Lagos Press to suppress or gloss over the Tinubu Chicago-gate certificate scandal or allow the political pettifoggers and ethnic irredentists to beguile them with their warped logic. The Nigerian security operatives should be wary of being used to suppress peoples’ right to expression and civil disobedience.

However, it astonishing to note that there some individuals whose consciences are cauterized by fleeting political gains, instead of condemning Tinubu are defending him. Much as the case against Tinubu is, there are still some individuals defending him trying to trivialize the severity of the scandal. And many concerned citizens have asked thusly: how can some people be so blinded by ephemeral positions and tribal consideration as to overlook the potential danger of allowing one with the antecedents of Tinubu to continue to superintend the affairs of the over 200 million Nigerian people? But the question those defending Tinubu did not ask is: why was Tinubu fidgety about Atiku seeking to verify the authenticity of a document he presented as requirement for him to contest the presidential election in Nigeria? Why did he have to plead with the court in Chicago Illinois not to release the certificate that he claimed he earned for public scrutiny when he had already tendered to INEC?

Indeed, the fact that Tinubu made several unsuccessful court appeals to stop the release of the said certification was a clear indication that he had something to hide and he admitted that the release of the result will do damage to his reputation. And this can only be true if the said certificate is forged. Tinubu’s antecedents, his conduct before and after the election confirms that he is capable of anything and therefore cannot be trusted. And no genuine person wants to work with a snollygoster.

Generally, people with integrity and honor usually should resign from office whenever there are ethical conflicts or integrity issues; whenever there are issues around them that will breach public trust. But not so with Tinubu and his ilk who have false sense of entitlement, whose existence and grandiose lifestyle can only be sustained by public funds. And so nobody will expect Tinubu to resign without a fight. And, it is not out of place to state that wherever he is right now, he is plotting how to silence every form of opposition including using security operatives/government agencies to intimidate and suppress public protest. Already, Tinubu button boys are threatening and intimidating Nigerians with the aim of suppressing the severity of the scandal. They are creating distraction to hoodwink Nigerians but we know their antics. Nigeria must not allow them trivialize and gloss over the Tinubu’s Chicago-gate Scandal if we must be taken seriously by the rest of the world.

Accommodating Tinubu with his many scandals and idiosyncrasies will portray Nigeria as lawless society; a society without standards. And sacking Tinubu will be beginning of clearing the Augean stable; the criminal elements occupying our public space must be ablated.

Evidently, the Tinubu certificate saga is a pointer or a sad reminder of the failure of our public institutions. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not do its due diligence while our security agencies, notorious for harassing and intimidating hapless civilians that they are supposed to protect, failed woefully to screen the candidates that presented themselves for election and public service otherwise they would have fished out characters like Tinubu in time and saved us from this national embarrassment. As a consequence, it follows that there are many individuals like Tinubu occupying public offices without the requisite qualifications/certification. Obviously, there are thousands out there occupying public offices with names, titles, appellations and certificates that they never earned. People are occupying offices they are not qualified to occupy. And this is one of the many reasons for low national productivity in Nigeria.

Gozie Irogboli

goziei@yahoo.com

An economist, a novelist and a public policy analyst