The former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina, has disclosed the reasons behind the ex-president’s decision to withhold his WAEC result during the presidential elections in 2015 and 2019.
Adesina, in his book titled “Working with Buhari: Reflections of a Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015 – 2023),” disclosed that Buhari intentionally chose not to release his West African School Certificate to allow those criticizing it to express their opinions.
In the lead-up to the 2019 general elections, there was public outcry when Buhari declined to submit his educational certificates to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Buhari reiterated that all his credentials were held by the Secretary to the Military Board, a stance he had maintained since 2015.
However, in November 2018, Buhari was presented with a Letter of Attestation by officials of the West African Examination Council, as shown in a video posted on the verified X handle of his aide, Bashir Ahmad.
As contained in chapter 5 of the book, Buhari was quoted as saying that sometime in 2018, “I was going through a drawer some days ago, and saw copies of my certificate. I always had it, but refused to release it, so that those venting spleen on it could please themselves.”
Buhari in the book reiterated that “it would have been impossible for me to attend the Defence Services Staff College, India (1973) and thereafter, United States Army War College, as a Nigerian military officer if I didn’t sit for the WASC examinations in 1961,”
“My colleagues and I who spent close to nine years in boarding school both in primary and secondary, including Gen. Musa Yar’adua, when we intended to join the military, we had to take a military examination,” Buhari stated.
He added that “we were examined in three subjects, English, Mathematics and General Knowledge because English is the language for general instruction throughout the country because of our colonial heritage.
“Mathematics in the military was necessary, coupled with Geography. We were trained how to be dropped off in the bush, given only a pair of compass and since we’re not astronomers, you’ve to learn to find your way, calculate, using the Pythagoras Theorem and others to work out your position.”
Adesina’s book also exposed Buhari’s reluctance to dismiss the embattled governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, amidst speculations about his presidential ambition in the upcoming 2023 general election.
Additionally, Buhari was cited as expressing his preference for extraditing the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, to undergo trial in Nigeria rather than resorting to his elimination.
According to the book, Buhari deemed extradition as a more favorable option compared to mobilizing resources for Kanu’s elimination.