Jonathan’s PhD, Obi’s Degree Changed Nothing for Nigeria — APC Chieftain Defends Tinubu

Labour Party’s Peter Obi and former President Goodluck Jonathan

Jonathan’s PhD, Obi’s Degree Changed Nothing for Nigeria — APC Chieftain Defends Tinubu

A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alwan Hassan, has dismissed arguments that academic qualifications determine leadership competence, insisting that the educational credentials of prominent opposition figures have not translated into better governance or political judgment for Nigeria .

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Monday, Hassan argued that former President Goodluck Jonathan’s doctorate (PhD), Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi’s university degree (BSc), and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s credentials had not produced any significant national transformation. He questioned the relevance of these qualifications in practical governance and political decision-making, challenging their tangible impact on the country’s development trajectory. “Tell me what Jonathan’s PhD has done to Nigeria. Tell me how Obi’s degree (BSc) has helped improve his communication skills. Tell me what it has done to Atiku to help him navigate and know the time to contest or when to concede for the best person of the time,” Hassan said. According to Hassan, the opposition has failed to present substantive criticisms against President Bola Tinubu’s administration, relying instead on debates over his academic background rather than engaging with policy issues and governance outcomes. He accused opposition leaders of being driven by personal ambition rather than offering meaningful policy alternatives, stating bluntly that “these guys are greedy guys. They don’t have any substance to hold this man.”

Hassan also defended President Tinubu against lingering allegations surrounding his certificate from Chicago State University, maintaining that there is no official declaration from the institution that the certificate submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was forged. He argued that the university had confirmed under oath that President Tinubu attended the institution and graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and that no court had ever ruled the document invalid. “There is nowhere that Chicago State University says the certificate President Tinubu submitted to INEC is forged. What the Constitution says is a school certificate or its equivalent. An equivalent of a school certificate is the ability to read and write,” Hassan stated. His defence anchored on judicial precedents interpreting Section 131(d) of the 1999 Constitution, which specifies the statutory minimum threshold of a “School Certificate or its equivalent” as a broad qualification designed to assess basic literacy and educational attainment, which higher academic qualifications far exceed. The APC chieftain further cited global examples to support his argument, noting that one of the world’s richest men, Bill Gates, dropped out of Harvard but still achieved greatness, demonstrating that formal credentials are not the sole determinant of success. In his view, President Tinubu has, in less than four years, done more than what some past Nigerian leaders could have achieved, and he pointed out that “there are people who are Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) in this country who did not attend primary and secondary school,” suggesting that practical experience and competence matter more than paper qualifications.

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However, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain and lawyer, Kalu Kalu, rejected the APC’s defence, insisting that questions about Tinubu’s educational records remain unanswered and that inconsistencies surrounding Tinubu’s academic history continue to fuel concerns over the authenticity of his records. “Everything about President Ahmed Tinubu’s certificate is shrouded in forgery. Today, what do we have in Tinubu’s records? There is no information as to his primary school or his secondary school,” Kalu said. He challenged the President to publicly disclose the primary and secondary schools he attended, arguing that doing so would help address lingering questions about his educational background and put the matter to rest once and for all. Kalu alleged that documents obtained from Chicago State University during litigation initiated by Atiku Abubakar raised questions about information allegedly supplied by Tinubu during his admission process, and he further argued that anyone found to have submitted forged certificates would be constitutionally disqualified from contesting for the office of President under Nigerian law. Hassan dismissed the allegations, repeatedly demanding proof that any court had declared the documents forged, and challenged his opponents to provide concrete evidence rather than speculation. “The issue is, has Tinubu at any time presented a forged certificate to INEC? Can we have your evidence that he did? Show us,” Hassan challenged, shifting the burden of proof back to the opposition.

It is worth noting that Hassan has previously expressed concerns about internal party dynamics, warning that the real danger to Tinubu’s re-election may not come from opposition parties but from within the APC itself. Speaking on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily, he stated that many ministers and governors do not genuinely support President Tinubu, drawing parallels with the internal sabotage that contributed to former President Goodluck Jonathan’s defeat in 2015 when members of his own party allegedly worked against his re-election. “A lot of ministers and governors in our party (APC) do not have President Tinubu at heart. They don’t like him for who he is; they want him for what he is,” Hassan said, suggesting that some party members are more interested in personal gain than in the president’s success. He maintained that a significant number of APC power brokers were following the same pattern, pretending to be loyal while quietly undermining the president’s political standing, and warned that this internal disaffection could pose a greater threat to Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid than any opposition challenge.

Hassan’s remarks follow fresh controversies that greeted the academic credentials submitted by President Bola Tinubu for the 2027 elections as revealed by INEC, reigniting a debate that has persisted since the 2023 presidential election. The exchange reflects continued political disagreement between the ruling APC and the opposition over Tinubu’s academic credentials, an issue that has remained a subject of public debate and legal challenges. The comments were also directed at opposition figures who have positioned themselves as alternatives to Tinubu, including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi (who resigned from the ADC and was ratified as the presidential candidate of the New Democratic Congress for 2027), and others who have made their academic qualifications a point of distinction in their political campaigns. Hassan suggested that attacks on the president have been driven more by political rivalry than by genuine policy concerns, and that the opposition would be better served by presenting alternative solutions to Nigeria’s challenges rather than engaging in what he described as baseless attacks on the president’s personal history.