A political controversy involving Bola Tinubu, the recently elected president of Nigeria, centers on Chicago State University.
Atiku Abubakar, a political competitor of Tinubu, asserts that the lack of authenticity of the documents proving Tinubu’s 1979 graduation from Chicago State University warrants the annulment of Tinubu’s election victory earlier this year.
The People’s Gazette reports that Tinubu gave the degree to the Nigerian election commission. Elnora Daniel, the university president, is said to have signed it and it was allegedly granted in 1979. Daniel, on the other hand, didn’t start at CSU until 1998 and left around ten years later. According to Abubaker, the election should be declared invalid if fake records were sent to the National Election Commission before to the vote.
Abubakar’s attorneys requested a federal judge to order CSU officials to give over Tinubu’s academic records and show up for depositions during a hearing in Chicago this week. The request was not decided upon by Judge Jeffrey Gilbert of the Northern District of Illinois’ United States District Court.
Gilbert was informed by Michael Hayes, the CSU’s attorney, that the institution couldn’t validate Tinubu’s diploma under oath.
A CSU spokeswoman claimed that the institution could attest to the president’s graduation. It is a ceremonial document that is not a part of a student’s formal academic record, hence it cannot authenticate the diploma.
Abubakar’s challenge to the election of Tinubu on February 25 was rejected by Nigeria’s Presidential Election Petition Court earlier this year.
However, Abubakar continues to fight the results here in Chicago.
Chicago State has issued this statement:
As an educational institution, we are sometimes asked to provide information related to student records. Federal law known as FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) protects the privacy of student records and limits what an institution can release.
In August 2023, a request was made in U.S. federal court for the university to provide information related to educational records concerning Bola Tinubu, the President of Nigeria, and a former CSU student. The university has confirmed Tinubu attended CSU and graduated in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree. Federal law, however, prevents us from providing any further information without consent or unless allowed to do so via court order.
CSU is confident in the veracity and integrity of our records regarding Tinubu’s completion of graduation requirements and degree certificate. The university is not a party to the Nigerian legal proceedings that spurred this request, and a U.S. federal judge will determine whether the university will provide further requested information.
Our response to the request for Tinubu’s academic records has been entirely consistent with our practices, policies and federal law. We would respond in exactly the same manner for any request for any student information by a third party.
Ref: CBS
