Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC),
Muhammadu Buhari, has finally broken his silence on the school
certificate issue.
Buhari, in an address released to the press on Wednesday, January 21,
categorically stated that he attended Provincial Secondary School,
Katsina, where he obtained a Cambridge/West African School Certificate.
The erstwhile Head of State, said he has requested for a copy of the
result from his old school, and once it is available, he would present
it to the world.
Buhari said: “I only consented to address you this morning because of
the genuine concern expressed by many supporters and other well-meaning
Nigerians that the issue be addressed. Otherwise, I would have
dismissed it for what it is; ‘sheer mischief’, and would not have
considered it an issue worth the nation’s while.”
“I had assumed all along that all my records were in the custody of
the Military Secretary of the Nigerian Army. Much to my surprise, we are
now told that although a record of the result is available, there are
no copies of the certificates in my personal file. This is why I
formally requested my old school the Provincial Secondary School,
Katsina [which is now known as Government College, Katsina] to make
available the school’s copy of the result of the Cambridge/West African
School Certificate. This will be made available to the press the moment
this is available.”
“However, before we obtain that, let me say for the record that I
attended Provincial Secondary School, Katsina. I graduated in 1961 with
many prominent Nigerians, including General Shehu Yar’Adua, former chief
of staff at the Supreme Headquarters, and Justice Umaru Abdullahi, a
former President of the Court of Appeal. We sat for the University of
Cambridge/WASC Examination together in 1961, the year we graduated. My
examination number was 8280002, and I passed the examination in the
Second Division,” the statement added.
Furthermore, Buhari bemoaned the fact that a certificate “obtained 53
years ago” has become the major talking point in a political campaign,
that should ordinarily be centered on pertinent issues.
He said: “And although the ruling party may want to wish this away,
the issue in this campaign cannot be my certificate which I obtained 53
years ago. The issues are the scandalous level of unemployment of
millions of our young people, the state of insecurity, the pervasive
official corruption which has impoverished our people and the lack of
concern of the government for anything other than the retention of power
at all costs.