No, I’m serious. It’s in the Constitution:
A person shall be qualified for election to the office of the President if … he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.
Who knew?
The “Constitution” cited is that of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a country where there is no small controversy right now about Nigeria’s current opposition party presidential hopeful Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (pictured right).
Sahara Reporters carries the story, linking the Buhari controversy to Barack Obama’s battle with the birthers. Reporter Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo offers Buhari some advice:
Therefore, it is imperative that Buhari not only finds his certificates1 or their equivalents, but also presents them for the people to see. That’s all that Buhari needs to do to extinguish this distraction.
It may well be that the people in Nigeria are more reasonable folks, and less conspiracy-minded than their cousins in the the United States, but I suspect that people are pretty much the same all over. Presenting the certificate, presuming he has one, may not make a difference.
Getting educational certificates in Nigeria these days is pretty simple. The student purchases a PIN for about $3 at a post office or bank and then uses it to access a national web site where a printable copy of one’s scores can be made. Of course, older persons like Buhari may have to work with “equivalent” documentation.
1I think the School Certificate in Nigeria refers to the Junior Secondary School Certificate, given to those who pass an exam at the end of the 9th grade.
“Of course, older persons like Buhari may have to work with “equivalent” documentation.”
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When I was applying to law school (as an “older person”), I needed to produce my undergraduate transcripts. One undergraduate school, where I had been a freshman, had no record of me being there. Luckily, a subsequent school still had a record of accepting those freshman credits as transferred credits….