A political activist and former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, has asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to investigate the management of Chicago State University.
According to him, the demand became necessary because the institution has curiously refused to release relevant academic records of “a certain Bola Tinubu who is either a female or male, given that there is a President in Nigeria called Bola Ahmed Tinubu who is laying claim to a controversial certificate from that University.”
Frank in a statement in Abuja on Friday said the probe has become necessary to determine the authenticity of the certificates offered to Americans who graduated from the University that have now been called to question by President Tinubu’s claims that the University awarded him with a certificate that was littered with errors by an unnamed employee of the University which he had tendered before Nigerians.
He said in order that law abiding Nigerians are not made to believe that there is a level of compromise and complicity by the university in trying to shield Tinubu’s academic record claims from public scrutiny despite such doubtful credentials that do not match the standards of any American Academic records, independent institutions in the United State need to step in.
Frank insisted the intervention was necessary because in previous electoral claims by Tinubu, he had also blamed errors in his academic record claims on other third parties having previously stated for the electoral record documentation in Nigeria that he attended institutions which he never did and he was exposed by those who attended the school such as Government College lbadan.
He said rather than allow Tinubu’s current claims of errors by unstated third parties in the CSU, the University authorities owe the American and Nigerian public the duty to publicly state the facts as they are, that Bola Ahmed Tinubu, male, born in 1952, attended the University and submitted credentials that are accessible to the Nigerian Court System where Tinubu seeks to hold the highest office in the land, an office that requires unblemished integrity, honesty and public trust.
Frank said, “Tinubu’s records are public documents because the Chicago State University is a public academic institution and not a secret cult organisation. After all, the fake certificate being paraded by Tinubu are on the website created by CSU for fake certificates and that of Tinubu is there as a bad imitation of the genuine Bola Tinubu (female).
“Tinubu is also a public servant that is duty bound to be accountable to Nigerians if he has nothing to hide or if the academic records he claims from the University are genuine, or better still, if there is nothing fishy between him and the University. We believe the University should be proud to showcase the records of its former students by releasing them on demand except they have been compromised.
“If Tinubu’s certificate is genuine and something he is proud of, he should have allowed the university to release it to the public because he’s serving the public as he claims.”
The activist told the University not to ruin its image and reputation through conduct inimical to its integrity by refusing to release required records.
He said, “We advise the US government not to destroy its long-standing relationship with Nigeria because of one man. Otherwise, this case will make the world see the University system in US as corrupt and compromised because we understand how the American system works.
“If Tinubu is the President of America and American citizens request for his academic information, will they not grant the request?
“They will do because every President of America and those holding public offices are answerable to the public, that underpins the principle of Accountability.
“If Donald Trump could be on trial, why will someone seeking public office in Nigeria be shielded from scrutiny at the point of entry by public institutions in America? Is it that the President of Nigeria is not meant to be accountable to the citizenry?
“This is why we are calling on the American Secret Service – FBI and CIA – to investigate this clear act of possible bias on the part of Chicago State University because it does not speak well of CSU.
“Except, of course, it is a conspiracy of the United States and the Chicago State University to cover the illegality between Tinubu and Nigerians to be able to manipulate him for U.S interest.
“This would therefore mean they don’t care whether there is a legitimate or illegitimate government in the country.
“If the US truly supports and is for a democratic transparent, free and fair electoral process in Nigeria, like they do in America, they should ensure that everything about Tinubu’s academic record is released to Nigerians to enable them know who their president really is.That is the irreducible minimum expectation from the US.
“Besides, it is never a crime for taxpayers to challenge the legitimacy of public office holders in Nigeria, just like in America where former President Trump is being tried for wrongdoing.
“The American institutions do not see Trump as a former president, but they are looking at the evidence before the US authorities and that is why they are trying him.
“There is no difference between what they are doing in America and what is being done in Nigeria. So, the US should do everything to give Nigerians the records required with all urgency.
“We appeal to the judge in the State of Chicago court to order the university to release those documents they way it would have been done if a U.S. citizen had made a similar application.”
