Sophia Michaels
Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last election has slammed certificate forgers.
This followed the battle between Atiku Abubakar and President Bola Tinubu over accusations of forging certificate.
Reacting, Obi said some Nigerian should not expect people who forged their certificates to do things right.
Obi who spoke on Monday while featuring on Arise TV program, explained that leaders who manipulated their academic records via certificate forgery prior to their election into offices are living a falsified life.
The former Anambra governor who opined that academic qualifications should not be criteria for leadership positions, however, said leaders should be honest about their status.
Obi pointed out that some past and present world leaders were not highly qualified academically but were honest about their qualifications.
He said, “It is the issue of leaders making statements, doing things that are honest and truthful. This is an issue of honour and integrity. It is the foundation on which you build society.
“If you look at what is happening in Nigeria today, there are so many issues of certificate, age and all sorts of falsification or the other. It is all over within the leaders.
“There is no way people can be doing this and be able to do the right things. Because that means that they are living a falsified life.
“There are so many great people in the world who did not go to school. I can say that the greatest president in America is Abraham Lincoln. He did not go to a former school because he came from an extremely poor family.
“He didn’t have to say he had a PhD here or there to generate arguments like what we are having all over Nigeria today which is bringing the credibility of the nation into question.
“You don’t need to have all the degrees in the world to be great but you need to be honourable about your past”.
Recall that some Governors, lawmakers and even the president are currently having legal battles following the discrepancies surrounding their academic records.
