Over the past few weeks, Nigerians from all walks of life have raised their voices concerning the malicious certificate forgery case of Bola Tinubu in the US and his many inconsistent records submitted to INEC. In this interview, Parallel Facts had the opportunity to speak with Ms. Bolanle Emiabata-Anibaba, a Nigerian based in the UK, who has been at the forefront of organizing protests in the UK to raise awareness about this issue. Here are the excerpts.
Parallel Facts: Ms Bolanle Emiabata-Anibaba, please tell us why you are so interested in Tinubu’s certificate forgery.
The president of any nation provides the prism through which the rest of the world views us. We have barely managed to escape the tag of Yahoo/419. To have a president who forged his certificate would mean that even I, who worked hard to earn my qualifications, would be seen as a Nigerian certificate forger.
Parallel Facts: But Tinubu has consistently maintained that his certificate was not forged. Why this contrary view?
Tinubu has a history of lying; for example, he claimed to have attended a primary school that did not exist. At various points, he stated that he attended Government College Ibadan. More recently, it was revealed that in his application to Chicago State University, he claimed to have attended Government College Lagos. In both cases, he claimed to have attended these schools before they even existed.
In the case of the certificate submitted by Tinubu to INEC, it had the wrong logo for the time he claims to have graduated from the university; it was signed by people who were not employed by the university at the time he supposedly graduated, and it was supposedly signed by a governing body that did not exist in 1979.
During a deposition in Chicago, Illinois, the university registrar, Mr. Westberg, stated under oath that the certificate did not come from them. When pressed further, he clarified that the university does not use a third-party vendor to unilaterally issue certificates. This suggests that the certificate Tinubu submitted to INEC is a forgery.
Parallel Facts: Even with the court deposition in the US, the BBC, in its report, cleared Tinubu.
The article titled “Bola Tinubu did not forge his diploma” is factually incorrect and biased. I assert that one of the writers works for Tinubu’s media station, TVC, while another is a supporter of the ruling party, as observed from his Facebook page.
The writers failed to take into consideration the clear, unambiguous statement by the CSU registrar that was given under OATH. The registrar made it clear that the certificate submitted by Bola Tinubu to the election umpire did not come from CSU. The certificate had the wrong university logo, was signed by people who were not working for the university when Tinubu was a student and was on a board that did not exist at the time, he supposedly received it from the university.
There was a conflict of interest and bias in the article because the authors had connections to the subject, either through employment or political affiliation.
The writers used imprecise words like “presumably” and “probably” to water down the substantive facts established by the deposition and merely gloss over material aspects of the deposition.
The registrar of CSU, during the deposition, made the following statements of fact: The 1979 certificate that Tinubu submitted to the Nigerian election umpire did not come from CSU, and they do not know where it came from. Any request for a replacement certificate can only be made through the university and not a third-party vendor.
Parallel Facts: With these pieces of evidence, the Supreme Court still upheld Tinubu’s election. Do you think justice was served?
The judicial arm of government has shown itself to be corrupt. Despite the lower court disqualifying the APC, the Supreme Court elected Hope as governor. This led to visa bans by the United States government on some judges. Also, it was the same Supreme Court that gave the Lawan judgment, which was a perverse decision. I don’t have faith in the Supreme Court.
Again, justice has been denied to millions of Nigerians who still had faith in the judiciary.
Parallel Facts: What further actions do you intend to take to bring more awareness to Tinubu’s forgery after leading a series of protests in the UK?
I organized another protest on Wednesday, the 25th, at the BBC. I am speaking on social media, and I intend to write an open letter to the BBC board and the secretary of state with responsibility for the BBC.
We also have planned protests at the Nigerian High Commission on the 27th and 28th of October and a worldwide Tinubu rally on November 4th to draw attention to the many inconsistencies in his academic records.
Parallel Facts: What advice do you have for millions of Nigerians who are as concerned as you are about the many inconsistencies in Tinubu’s academic records?
At no point in our history have we had a man with this level of criminality holding the highest office in the land. These inconsistencies mean that we don’t even know who Bola Tinubu actually is, and that presents us with a significant security risk. Therefore, I urge all well-meaning Nigerians, wherever they may be in the world, to take to the streets and join the call for Tinubu’s disqualification by the Supreme Court.
Parallel Facts: Any parting words?
I am just one person who is determined to make a difference and leave for my granddaughter the Nigeria of my dreams. If we all truly love Nigeria, then she needs all of us to speak up for her.
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Tag: BBC protest Forgery, Tinubu, BBC report Protest, Protest, Parallel Facts interview.