The Constitutional lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay, has declared that the controversy surrounding the qualification Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retired.) should be laid to rest, saying that his credential is equivalent to a Master’s degree.
Sagay, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria was reacting to a claim by another senior advocate, Mr. Mike Ozekhome, who said that Buhari was not qualified to contest because he could not provide his certificate. The Peoples Democratic Party is also making a big issue of the Buhari certificate.
Sagay said there was nowhere in the constitution where it was stated that a candidate of a political party must provide his certificate. He said Buhari attended the Military Training College in Kaduna; the Mons Officer Cadet School in the United Kingdom; and the Army War College in the United States. He said anyone that did not have a secondary school certificate could not have attended such prestigious military schools.
He said, “This whole discussion of Buhari’s qualification is a negative distraction from the legitimate process of electioneering which should involve issues, records of the candidates, their character, and their capacity to govern. These are things we should be talking about. “The constitution is very clear on the issue of qualification. It states that you are qualified to be a President if you have achieved the level of school certificate or its equivalent. Buhari has been to Military College in Britain, he has been to colleges in India and USA, involving high level of training and intellect. “We need to ask if participation and completion of courses at these levels and the basic officers training in Mons Officers Cadet School are less than school certificates. On the contrary, you need school certificate to attend those courses. So, if he has attended all those courses, then there is absolutely no need to be talking about secondary school certificates anymore.
Sagay said Nigeria had continued to worsen under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan despite the fact that he was the first doctorate degree holder to become the President of Nigeria.
