When Fraud Becomes A National Habit

In December 2023, an online mean published an investigative communicative revealing however a Nigerian journalist, moving undercover, obtained a Cotonou assemblage grade successful conscionable six weeks and adjacent participated successful the one-year mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.

This was lone 1 of galore incidents exposing the alarming emergence of certificate forgery and related crimes successful the country. Before that, successful November 2020, a nationalist regular reported staggering statistic from screening exercises successful Niger and Plateau States—so shocking that 1 could judge determination are much forged certificates successful circulation successful Nigeria than genuine ones.

Disturbingly, the inclination does not halt with inferior workers oregon mean civilian servants; it has go a recurring contented successful the highest offices of the land.

In 1999, hardly months into Nigeria’s caller democracy, the federation watched successful disbelief arsenic the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Salisu Buhari, resigned successful disgrace aft lying astir attending the University of Toronto. He had besides falsified his property to contention for office. Initially, helium refused to resign, adjacent arsenic grounds mounted against him. It was not until 2000, erstwhile the afloat information came to light, that Buhari broke down successful tears earlier the nation, confessing to forgery and perjury. “I apologise to you. I apologise to the nation. I apologise to my household and friends for each the distress I person caused them,” helium said. “I was misled successful mistake by my zeal to service the nation. I anticipation the federation volition forgive maine and springiness maine the accidental to service again.” His celebrated plea, “I americium sorry,” became a motivation punctuation people successful a procreation that began to normalise deceit successful precocious places.

Almost 2 decades later, different ungraded emerged erstwhile the past Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, resigned aft it was revealed that her NYSC exemption certificate was forged. Each occurrence provoked momentary outrage, motivation sermonising, and promises of reform. Then silence—until the adjacent scandal. Now, past repeats itself. Uche Nnaji, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, stands accused of submitting forged world credentials. The irony could not beryllium darker: the custodian of innovation accused of innovating deceit. His admittance that the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, ne'er issued him a grade certificate is much than a idiosyncratic embarrassment—it is simply a tragic awesome of Nigeria’s widening motivation fracture. We person go a nine wherever the fastest way to the apical is simply a forged document, a bribe, oregon a borrowed credential.

This illness did not statesman with politicians; it began successful the classroom. Every introspection hallway wherever invigilators look distant portion students commercialized answers breeds tomorrow’s certificate forgers. Every genitor who pays for “special oregon occurrence centres” to warrant their child’s occurrence is grooming the adjacent procreation of fraudsters. We built this monster – from the neighbourhood cybercafés wherever WAEC results are “upgraded,” to the corridors of ministries wherever forged program vitae (CVs) and fake NYSC certificates walk unchecked.

At the basal of this nationalist malaise lies a azygous destructive belief: that occurrence tin beryllium achieved without merit. It is the aforesaid mindset that drives young radical into “Yahoo-Yahoo” schemes, that leads civilian servants and senators to pad budgets, and makes contractors wantonness projects erstwhile the archetypal tranche is paid. The corporate effect is staggering – an system built connected deceit, a civilian work infected with incompetence, and a state wherever integrity is mocked arsenic naïveté.

We indispensable halt treating these scandals arsenic isolated sins; they are symptoms of a motivation epidemic. When the highest offices successful the onshore tin beryllium penetrated by forged certificates, it means our institutions of vetting—the Directorate of State Services (DSS), the Senate, the Secretary of the Government of the Federation (SGF’s) office—have go complicit successful failure. When a curate tin confess to submitting a fake degree, resign quietly, and spell home, we nonstop a connection that dishonesty carries nary cost. That is however nations collapse—not done wars, but done the dilatory corrosion of their motivation values.

As a newspaper, we importune this indispensable beryllium the past epoch of credential fraud successful nationalist service. The National Assembly should instantly mandate a afloat verification of each world and NYSC records of serving ministers, heads of agencies, and legislators. Universities and the NYSC should people verifiable online registers accessible to the public. Any nationalist authoritative recovered blameworthy of forgery indispensable look transgression prosecution, not governmental forgiveness.

But beyond institutions, the deeper task is taste reformation. We indispensable reconstruct pridefulness successful honorable labour. Schools should thatch integrity arsenic rigorously arsenic mathematic...