Good Morning, Gentlemen of
the Press.
I only consented to
address you this morning because of the genuine concern expressed by many
supporters and other well-meaning Nigerians that the issue be addressed.
Otherwise, I would have dismissed it for what it is - sheer mischief and would
not have considered it an issue worth the nation’s while.
I had assumed all along
that all my records were in the custody of the Military Secretary of the
Nigerian Army. Much to my surprise, we are now told that although a record of
the result is available, there are no copies of the certificates in my personal
file. This is why I formally requested my old school the Provincial Secondary
School, Katsina [which is now known as Government College, Katsina] to make
available the school’s copy of the result of the Cambridge/West African School
Certificate. This will be made available to the press the moment this is
available.
However, before we obtain
that, let me say for the record that I attended Provincial Secondary School,
Katsina. I graduated in 1961 with many prominent Nigerians, including General
Shehu Yar’Adua, former chief of staff at the Supreme Headquarters, and Justice
Umaru Abdullahi, a former President of the Court of Appeal. We sat for the
University of Cambridge/WASC Examination together in 1961, the year we
graduated. My examination number was 8280002, and I passed the examination in
the Second Division.
And although the ruling
party may want to wish this away, the issue in this campaign cannot be my
certificate which I obtained 53 years ago. The issues are the scandalous level
of unemployment of millions of our young people, the state of insecurity, the
pervasive official corruption which has impoverished our people and the lack of
concern of the government for anything other than the retention of power at all
costs.
Thank you very much.
General Muhammadu Buhari
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