Breaking News: Buhari clears the air on certificates

Presidential candidate of the All Progressives
Congress, APC, has finally cleared the air on the
controversy surrounding his School certificate
result.
Buhari, in a briefing Wednesday, said, he would
have dismissed the certificates issue as sheer
mischief but for the concern expressed by many of
his supporters and other well-meaning Nigerians.
According to the former head of state, he sat for
the University of Cambridge/WASC Examination in
1961 with examination number 8280002, and
passed in the Second Division.
Buhari’s words: ” 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.
“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.”