Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has criticized the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, following his recent comments describing President Bola Tinubu as a genius and claiming to have personally met several of the President’s former classmates at Chicago State University.
Alausa had made the remarks while defending Tinubu’s academic background, insisting that the President graduated with a first-class degree in accounting from the American university. The minister also said he had visited the institution several times and met many people who studied alongside Tinubu.
Reacting in a statement attributed to him on his official X platform, Obi accused the Minister of Education of abandoning the responsibility of defending academic integrity in favour of praising the President.
Obi described Alausa’s comments as an attempt to please his political superior, questioning how a minister responsible for Nigeria’s education sector could defend claims surrounding a political leader’s academic credentials while the country continues to face serious challenges in its educational system.
The former presidential candidate argued that Nigeria cannot build a credible education system on what he described as dishonesty, adding that public officials should demonstrate integrity, transparency and accountability rather than defend individuals at the expense of national values.
He also referred to the controversies surrounding Tinubu’s academic records and past allegations, arguing that leaders should be held to high standards of honesty and credibility.
Obi further criticized what he described as a leadership culture in which individuals are judged by their loyalty to those in power rather than their commitment to truth and public responsibility.
The debate over Tinubu’s academic qualifications has remained a subject of public discussion. Chicago State University confirmed that Tinubu attended and graduated from the institution in 1979, while the claim that he graduated with a first-class degree was specifically made by Alausa. Reports on the university records have noted that the documents do not specify a first-class classification.
Obi’s reported reaction has therefore added another dimension to the ongoing political debate, placing renewed attention on the responsibility of public office holders to protect the credibility of Nigeria’s educational institutions.
By Hammed Hammed Oluwatobi
PRESSHUB MEDIA AGENCY Newsroom
#PeterObi #TunjiAlausa #BolaTinubu #EducationInNigeria #ChicagoStateUniversity #NigerianPolitics #AcademicIntegrity #PressHubMediaAgency
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