The head of the South-West sociocultural organization Afenifere, Ayo Adebanjo, has responded to the debate over Bola Tinubu’s academic controversies at Chicago State University (CSU).
He asserts that a public figure ought not to fight hard to prevent people from seeing his academic records.
In an interview, he claimed that the subject was one he didn’t want to address, but all he knew was that once one enters politics, one’s private life is no longer kept private and that the public deserves to know the truth.
The Afenifere leader stated that since people can comprehend what is happening and it is not complicated, they should be the ones to decide things.
He also revealed that Bola Tinubu is preventing the public from exercising their right to know about him. He noted that if one fights hard to prevent people from accessing one’s records, then obviously it’s weird and improper.
According to him, he said, “What do you make of it yourself? When you say you have a certificate, they say you should make it public. For example, how can they tell me now that I should provide my academic record, and I will now tell them not to get the record? It sounds somehow”
He explained that, as a political leader, one’s academic records are public records. There’s nothing “private” for anyone who’s a public figure.
“An academic record is a public document. If I told you I worked at a bank and you told me that you were going to the bank to find out if I truly worked there, then I say don’t go there. What does that mean? You don’t need rocket science to tell you what is happening, but let the people judge.
Personally, I don’t want to be involved in this issue of academic record. All I know is that for any political figure, your life is no longer private. Everything about him is public, and if any public figure is now saying anything contrary, I leave the public to judge.”
He further said, “The country is better together, but it means getting together on the principles of equity, fairness, and inclusiveness. Then, everybody will be better together. I won’t be in Nigeria, where one tribe is cheating me. That is the essence of equity, and that is why there should be federalism in a multi-national, I mean ethnic nationalities, a nation where every nation will develop in its own space.
The moment you don’t do that and you allow one section to dominate the other, there is no fairness there. So, if we are sincere about keeping Nigeria together as a nation, then adopt federalism where every section will be equal.”