Move On Nigeria, a civic action group promoting good governance and democracy has urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) to quit dodging issues and face squarely issues concerning the health and certificate of its presidential candidate and former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd).
The group said Buhari’s qualification had always been an issue even within the military circle where his intellectual ability had always had a question mark.
“Buhari’s qualification will remain an issue until he comes clean on the matter. If Buhari will be willing to publicly declare his assets as he said he would, he should also be willing to publicly show his acclaimed certificate.
“So far, every independent inquiry with regards to Buhari’s qualification has returned negative, the onus now is on Buhari to ensure that he collects his original secondary certificate from University of Cambridge in United Kingdom before returning to Nigeria during his London trip in order to put rest to the controversy surrounding his academic qualification. Any cab in London can take him to Cambridge.”
The group which accused the APC of lying and deceiving Nigerians about Buhari’s health and qualification, urged the party’s leadership and Buhari’s new mentor, former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, to prevail on their candidate to collect his result from Cambridge before returning back to the country, insisting that Buhari did not possess secondary school certificate as he claimed in Form CF001 submitted to Independent national Electoral Commission (INEC).
Move on Nigeria, according to it, took the pain to make enquiries from WAEC office in Nigeria and the West Africa Regional Office, Accra, Ghana, where the authorities said with finality they have no information on the candidate.
Speaking through a signed statement which was made available to journalists in Lagos yesterday, the National Coordinator of the group, Mr. Clem Aguiyi, maintained that if Buhari failed to collect his controversial result from the University of Cambridge this time around, and a clean bill of health supporting he is fit to withstand the rigours of office if elected, he should voluntarily withdraw from the the race, urging Buhari to use the opportunity to shame his critics over the controversial school certificate by collecting it from University of Cambridge.
Aguiyi said: “We strongly believe Buhari does not possess school certificate as he claimed and may have risen to the rank of General in the army using the same deception but we want Nigerians to give him the benefit of the doubt by bringing the result from University of Cambridge that claimed to conduct the said examination during his London trip and the result must tally with the earlier Statement of Result released through online medium by the Provincial Secondary School in Katsina State.
“It is high time Buhari cleared the air and lay the controversy surrounding his school certificate to rest before it is too late. Nigerians are graciously waiting to see Buhari’s original result of 1962 and we want to tell Nigerians that the APC candidate was enlisted into the Nigeria Army on the basis of Principal’s recommendation letter not basis of Secondary School Certificate.
“Also, failure of Buhari to bring the result during this trip, it means, his acclaimed integrity is not complete and he should hide his face behind a rock as we know that integrity begins with personal matters before graduating into ultimately public matters,” Aguiyi said.
The group, which expressed deep concern about Buhari’s rumoured ill health, urged the North to wise up saying the North is again being taken for a ride. We insist it is in the best interest of the North to allow President Goodluck Jonathan complete the eight-year tenure for the South-south while the north takes its turn by 2019 when it would provide a sound, healthier and younger Northerner who will be less a divisive character and generally acceptable than Buhari whose antecedent and competence is nothing to cheer.”
