Mixed reactions are at the moment trailing the discharge of the educational credentials of President Bola Tinubu by the Chicago State University, CSU, to former vp, Atiku Abubakar.
The launch was in compliance with the order of the District Court of Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.
Recall that the courtroom on Saturday ordered the CSU to launch the educational records of Mr Tinubu to Mr Abubakar, who was the presidential candidate of the People Democratic Party within the 2023 election.
Details of the launched paperwork sought by Mr Abubakar confirmed that the college complied together with his request for a real, appropriate copy of the diploma for Bachelor of Science diploma issued in 1979 and Bates labelled as CSU 0001 via 0007 with an obscured scholar’s identify which they stated was for privateness causes.
The college, nevertheless, stated it didn’t have a real and proper copy relating to the diploma it issued in 1979 to Tinubu as it didn’t preserve copies of certificates.
The college stated, “CSU does not in the ordinary course keep copies of student diplomas, and after diligent search cannot locate a copy of the original diploma it prepared for Mr Tinubu in 1979, hence has no documents responsive to this request.
On the former vice president’s request for any of the university’s diplomas other than that of Mr Tinubu that “contains the same font, seal, signatures, and wording which purports to be a CSU diploma issued to the president on or about June 22, 1979, the university said after diligent search it located and bates labelled them CSU 0008 through CSU 0010 and obscured the student’s identity for privacy reasons.
However, the release of the document has generated mixed reactions on social media, especially the microblogging site, X.
While some believed the released document had settled the age-long debate on Mr Tinubu’s credentials, others said it vindicated their claim that the president submitted forged documents to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
In a piece titled “6 Major Findings about Tinubu from the CSU Documents, A professor of journalism Farooq Kperogi said the president did graduate from the CSU but forged his certificate after losing the original one.
“Although he did legitimately graduate from Chicago State University in 1979, he obviously lost his certificate and, instead of applying for a replacement, decided to forge it.
“That strikes me as mysterious self-harm. It costs only $26 to get a replacement diploma from CSU. But it takes between eight and 10 weeks to receive it after filling out the diploma replacement order form.
“My guess is that, in the typical last-minute, fire-brigade approach to things among Nigerian elites, Tinubu didn’t plan ahead and didn’t have enough time to apply for his replacement diploma from CSU to meet INEC’s deadline and decided to visit Lagos’ infamous Oluwole for a counterfeit,” he stated.
Another X consumer with the deal with @Ukomah stated, “Bola Tinubu used a lady’s result from Southwest College to ‘possibly’ enter Chicago State University. The man is also an identity thief! I didn’t say it, the documents said it”.
@RealQueenBee__ additionally alleged that Mr Tinubu cast his certificates and must be made to face the regulation.
“The name Bola A. Tinubu belongs to a woman. Therefore, the identity BAT belongs to a woman whose US academic records are held by Southwest College
“There is a case of identity theft and certificate/academic fraud, which are also visibly clear and have been established by the records shared.
“Therefore, it has now been officially confirmed that Bola Ahmed Tinubu submitted a forged degree certificate to INEC.
But in his reaction, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, asked Mr Abubakar to apologise to the president after engaging in a futile exercise.
“From the responses by Chicago State University, ATIKU’s journey to Chicago and back has been a journey to nowhere, a fruitless exercise, and an odyssey in self-humiliation. President Tinubu and Nigerians deserve an unreserved apology from him,” Mr Keyamo wrote.
Also, a former aide to the previous president, Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, stated: “Yesterday, Chicago State University released documents validating Bola Tinubu’s academic records. They did that under the penalty of perjury. It is now established beyond the shadow of a doubt that I was right, and AriseTV reported lies to Nigerians passed off as truth. I am never for Bola Tinubu, but I will not lie and say that he did not attend a university I know he attended”.
