Tinubu’s Academic Records And Atiku’s Wild Goose Chase

By Kunle Awosiyan

In 2003, Punch Newspapers mandated me to investigate the WASC result of the then former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Hazeem Gbolarumi.

The best I could get was that the man had no record with WAEC after Punch had written an official letter requesting for the result.

The council did not release any statement. I got my story through a scoop and after it was published, nobody, including the deputy governor issued a rebuttal.

It was our cover page, which my line editor Mr. Seth Akintoye described as “World Exclusive”. We would have gone further with the investigation if WAEC had told us that the man in question had a record with it.

The WAEC Principal Public Affairs Officer at the time, Mr. Yusuf Ari told me that the council wouldn’t have released the result to me if at all the deputy governor had a record because it was against the council’s policy.

He said no court could even force the council to release the result without the consent of the candidate.

In the case of President Bola Tinubu, his Alma Mater, Chicago State University said that he had a result with it. That he was its student and a brilliant one at that.

Institutions like schools, anti-graft agencies can request for candidate results most times with the candidate consent.

A judge, based on the application before him or her can direct a school to release a student’s academic record but not without the student’s consent.

In case a student is enrolling in a school for a higher degree, it is the student who pays for his transcript and with his consent to send the document to a particular address.

Despite the request for former President Muhammadu Buhari’s WASC by individuals, the council refused and only handed over the certificate to the president.

The council also refused to release the WASC of Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun to individuals who wanted to have it.

As it is in Nigeria, so it is in the United States and I will have to quote the write-up of Ademola Bello, New York, US based Journalist.

He wrote

“Judge Nancy Maldonaldo will only rule whether she would grant partial release of Tinubu transcript or academic records without jeopardizing the privacy laws in the US which states that students academic records cannot be released to anyone without the students consent.

The first Judge ruled that Tinubu’s partial academic record should be released to Atiku without jeopardizing his privacy.

However, Tinubu appealed that. And the Judge agreed with him.

Tinubu attended Chicago State University. The University had confirmed that.

The issue is whether someone else can get access to someone’s academic records.

Forget all these fake news.

Even Barack Obama fought for his academic records from Columbia University and Harvard Law School not to be released to Republicans and Donald Trump who asked for them.

Ditto for former President Trump and President W Bush

There is a law called FERPA ( Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. FERPA safeguards students privacy by limiting who may access student records.

Tinubu is not hiding anything regarding his Chicago State University.

He attended the institution. But like any student or former student he has a right to academic privacy under the U.S. law and he can ask the University not to release his academic records. Obama and Trump did the same thing.

They believe their political opponents will use their academic records for mischief.”

From this, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar can continue to chase the wild goose.