The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) has said the Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Prof Ibrahim Garba, should have rejected the invitation made to him by the Senate to appear before its committee to prove the academic status of Senator Dino Melaye.

According to the group, “Garba’s appearance exposed the level of rot in our education system and corroborates the school of thought which says that many of our institutions have commoditized certification which is responsible for the qualities of graduates that are churned out periodically.”

CACOL stated this in a statement signed and issued by its Executive Chairman‎, Debo Adeniran, on Thursday.

The group said Melaye’s certificate forgery allegations put him on the same scale as Senate President, Bukola Saraki, whom it had hitherto rated low morally.

While describing Melaye’s reaction to the confirmation of his graduate status by ABU VC as ‘tomfoolery’, CACOL said it portrayed lack of self-confidence in his inherent abilities and the false need to parade himself as what one is not.

The group noted that Melaye’s certificate saga only showed that in Nigeria, as a country, it was wrong to predicate the election of persons on certificates over meritocracy.

The statement reads: “Dino’s certificate saga has further exposed the level of rot in our education system given the drama where a Vice Chancellor had to join the trago-comedy of the Senate by appearing in a session to proof the academic status of a former student. It corroborates the school of thought which says that many of our institutions have commoditized certification which is responsible for the qualities of graduates that are churned out periodically.

“The saga has also shown that, as country, it is wrong to predicate the election of persons on certificates over meritocracy. This is one of the fundamental things that lead desperate politicians to forge certificates because of their aspirations. Certificates have never proven to be the best test of ability when it comes to leadership, so as a country, we seem to have gotten it wrong from the beginning.

“As for Dino Melaye and his trending disgusting show of shame over the certificate forgery allegations, it is clear that he belongs to the same box with Saraki on the scales of integrity, self-esteem, self-respect and morality.

“The facts that are already in public domain on his academic qualifications from different institutions including the prestigious Harvard Law School, in New York, London School of Economics and Nigerian institutions are glaringly in sharp contradictions with Dino Melaye’s claims.

“His reactions so far has been nothing sensible, they only betray boldly the extent of tomfoolery a so-called Senator of the Federal Republic can engage in, particularly when a matter of honour is in question!

“It shows lack of self-confidence in one’s inherent abilities and the false need to parade oneself as what one is not. It is moral bankruptcy. An honest person would not lie about educational qualifications no matter what. To even know that the constitution does not compel anybody to have a degree before being eligible to contest for elective positions and some people still prefer to forge certificates speaks volumes about the character of whoever commits such acts.

“No one needs not to be told that anyone capable of forging a certificate to get to office is extremely likely to perpetrate corruption if elected into office. This is one of what is responsible for the rampant corrupt and sharp practices we witness in the public and elected offices on daily basis.”

“It is important to point out too that, a country that cannot guarantee free education for its populace lacks the moral basis or right to deny the people of access to leadership because position they do not possess certificates; it is unjust and it represents exclusivity. And the truth is that there are a lot of Nigerians who qualify to be in leadership positions over many who have the best of certificates. In fact, the certificated ones seem to have performed more brilliantly in terms of the perpetration of corruption.”