The Nigerian government has taken its crackdown on dubious degrees to a whole new level by expanding the suspension of degree evaluations. After halting assessments of degrees from Benin Republic and Togo, Nigeria has now set its sights on Uganda, Kenya, and Niger. Nigeria Education Minister Tahir Mamman, on a mission to cleanse the education system, made this surprising announcement.
The initial suspension was triggered by an exposé involving an investigative journalist who obtained a degree from a Benin Republic university in under 60 days, subsequently using it to enroll in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
Mamman boldly declared, “We are not going to stop at just Benin and Togo. We are going to extend the dragnet to countries like Uganda, Kenya, even Niger, where such institutions have been set up.” The goal? To weed out questionable certificates from these nations.
Highlighting their strategy, Mamman emphasized investigating institutions operating over the last decade to track down Nigerians who attended them. He asserted, “If we can get records of Nigerians who attended that institution, the security agencies will go after them because they are criminals.”
Addressing the issue of Nigerians holding fake foreign certificates, the minister left no room for leniency, stating, “Once we do that, they are criminals, and you know there is no timeframe to criminality. We will trace them.”
The Federal Government of Nigeria underscored its uncompromising stance, with Mamman stating, “I have no sympathy for such people. Instead, they are part of the criminal chain that should be arrested.”
As questions arise about the extent of the crackdown, the Nigerian Ministry of Education kept it mysterious, leaving it unclear whether all universities in Kenya, Uganda, and Niger are under scrutiny or if the focus is on institutions lacking physical infrastructure.
While Nigeria has accused Kenya, Uganda, and Niger, the bombshell revelation is that the government is yet to provide concrete evidence that institutions from these countries unlawfully issued degree certificates.
