By Gloria Drealomalicha
There are countries governed by laws. Then there is Nigeria a country where the law often appears to change depending on whose name is on the document.
If you are an ordinary Nigerian, your certificate is your passport to survival.
No WAEC? Forget the job.
No NYSC certificate? Don’t bother applying.
One discrepancy in your academic records? Your appointment is gone before it even begins.
But become politically powerful, and suddenly certificates are no longer certificates they become subjects of legal gymnastics, political propaganda and endless technical arguments.
That is the Nigeria we have built.
The latest release of President Bola Tinubu’s credentials by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has once again thrown the country into another round of heated debate. While his supporters insist that he has satisfied every constitutional requirement to occupy the presidency, critics argue that questions surrounding his educational history remain unresolved in the minds of many Nigerians.
What should have been a straightforward issue has once again become another national argument.
And that is the tragedy.
One viral social media post summed up the frustration of countless Nigerians:
“Only in Nigeria can someone be said not to have attended primary or secondary school, yet graduate from a university abroad and those asking questions become the problem.”
Harsh?
Maybe.
But can anyone honestly say Nigerians have no reason to ask questions?
Ironically, one of President Tinubu’s loudest defenders has been Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, who argued that the Constitution only requires the equivalent of a secondary school qualification and does not specifically require attendance at primary or secondary school.
That may satisfy constitutional lawyers.
It does not necessarily satisfy public curiosity.
Leadership is not sustained by legal victories alone.
It survives on credibility.
And credibility thrives on transparency.
What Nigerians find difficult to understand is the glaring double standard.
A graduate from Kano, Lagos, Enugu or Port Harcourt will be denied employment because one certificate is missing.
A civil servant can lose a promotion because of incomplete documentation.
A teacher can be dismissed over questionable credentials.
Nobody tells them to rely on constitutional interpretation.
Nobody tells them technicalities are enough.
The rules are clear.
Yet somehow, whenever the discussion concerns the political elite, the rules become elastic.
Many Nigerians still remember how former Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun resigned after the controversy surrounding her NYSC exemption certificate. Her economic policies became irrelevant overnight because documentation mattered.
Today, allegations have also been raised regarding the academic credentials of Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Uche Nnaji. He has denied wrongdoing, and any conclusions should be based on verified evidence and due process rather than speculation.
So why does accountability appear swift for some but endlessly negotiable for others?
That is the question many Nigerians keep asking.
The greatest danger is not even the controversy itself.
It is our growing acceptance of it.
Every scandal becomes comedy.
Every allegation becomes content.
Every serious national issue becomes another social media trend.
We laugh.
We argue.
We insult one another.
Then we move on as if nothing happened.
Meanwhile, the ordinary Nigerian continues paying the price for standards that the powerful appear able to debate endlessly.
If certificates are important, then they must be important for everybody.
If documentation determines whether a young graduate gets a job, then it should also determine whether public officials enjoy the confidence of those they govern.
There cannot be one Nigeria for the poor and another for the politically connected.
That is not justice.
That is privilege disguised as democracy.
This is not about hatred.
It is not about political parties.
It is not about personalities.
It is about equality before the law and equal standards in public life.
Until Nigeria reaches a point where transparency is automatic not demanded and accountability applies equally to presidents, ministers, governors, market women, graduates and civil servants alike, this country will continue to struggle with a credibility crisis.
Because the real issue has never been certificates.
The real issue is whether Nigeria truly believes that no one is above the standards imposed on everyone else.
Sadly, many Nigerians no longer believe that.
And perhaps that is the biggest national tragedy of all.
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