Forged NYSC Certificate: Kemi Adeosun Still Beyond Shame

By Ikeddy ISIGUZO—

WERE Kemi Adeosun not beyond shame, she should have been grateful for the criminal comforts that the Buhari administration firmly instituted in Nigeria—and kept quiet about her part in them. If Nigeria were not in such a declining moment, the police would have pulled Mrs. Adeosun in for questioning about the NYSC certificate. It is not too late, but unlikely in a government that has no interest in the fidelity of the certificates its members parade. Could it be an undeclared APC policy for its best and brightest to thrive on questionable credentials?

Playing the role of a victim in a crime that should have put her in jail, and instead of offering the public puerile tales of her innocence, she continues to disturb Nigerians with stories that prove how far desperation has taken her. Does she want another chance? Each time we are about to forget Kemi Adeosun and her NYSC certificate, Mrs. Adeosun forcefully reminds us that she got away with the crime. Was Mrs. Adeosun innocent of the allegation that she had serially paraded a fake NYSC certificate from her days as Commissioner of Finance in Ogun State? Was the certificate different from what she presented as Buhari’s Minister of Finance? Does she need to be reminded that when the scandal broke in 2018, she could only mumble incoherent answers before seeking refuge abroad? Has she forgotten? Let’s remind her.

The issue is not whether Mrs. Adeosun had a certificate of exemption or not. What cost her the office of Minister of Finance was her forged certificate of exemption. The certificate was forged. If she does not know, forgery is a crime! NYSC, the issuing authority, stated it was not the source of the document. Mrs. Adeosun could not explain how she obtained it.

For three months after the story broke, Mrs. Adeosun clung to her malodorous presence, thinking she could ride out the storm. She became an embarrassment at meetings, only resigning after she was barred from official gatherings. Justice Taiwo Taiwo ruled in Adeosun’s favour in a suit at the Federal High Court, Abuja. The court determined that an NYSC certificate was not a requirement for appointment as a Minister or to contest an election. Adeosun uses this court decision to shore up her tarnished integrity. Forgery, her crime, was never presented before the court, as the APC federal government had no interest in prosecuting her. How could it, when Buhari was battling to convince Nigerians that he possessed a 1961 secondary certificate, the only evidence of which was a Statement of Result issued by the Kaduna State Ministry of Education? A stark reminder: Katsina was created in 1987, 26 years after Buhari supposedly took the said examination. The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) issued Buhari an attestation letter in November 2018.

Nigeria has endured many such situations. Summing up her reasons for not serving since graduating abroad at 22—the law approves exemption from age 30—Adeosun affirmed, “The 1979 constitution made it very clear. This woman is not, or was not at the material time, a Nigerian. And the constitution, of course, is the highest law. So, once the constitution says you’re not a Nigerian, then you’re not subject to Nigerian laws.” The issue has never been the status of her citizenship; she could have had a valid reason for not serving. What we are dealing with is completely different.

Adeosun lied. She finds new lies to cover a crime—forgery. She presented a forged NYSC certificate of exemption at least twice. The absurd stories she weaves around a non-existent integrity can only lead to her further ruination. She is the only known member of the organised criminal ring that produced the forged NYSC certificate she presented when she was being screened as a minister. The seemingly innocent Adeosun presented the same document earlier, when she served as Commissioner of Finance in Ogun State. There was no furore over the document in Ogun State because those who wanted her as Commissioner allegedly facilitated it. Mrs. Adeosun reportedly fell out with her sponsors when, upon becoming Minister of Finance, she no longer took their calls. They kept reminding her of the unwholesome document and went public when she ignored them.

Why does she keep bothering the public with new versions of her diminished innocence? When will she sue those who got her into this jam? And what would she sue them for? “I’m not confused about the fact that I had powerful enemies who I believed saw an opportunity. ‘Let’s get rid of her?’” Adeosun told Laolu Akande in Inside Source, a programme broadcast on Channels TV. The former Minister of Finance was forced to resign after Boss Mustapha, then Secretary to the Government of the Federation, investigated the Premium Times story of her allegedly forged NYSC certificate, and the NYSC confirmed that the document was fake. Mrs. Adeosun admitted the forgery in her resignation letter of 14 September 2018: “I have, today, become privy to the findings of the investigation into the allegation made in an online medium that the Certificate of Exemption from National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) that I had presented was not genuine,” Adeosun wrote. “This has come as a shock to me, and I believe that in line with this administration’s focus on integrity, I must do the honourable thing and resign.” She blamed associates who procured the document for the infraction.

When will Adeosun stop regurgitating new versions of her layered lies? Shouldn’t she be grateful for the compromised system that made it possible for her not to have served a jail term? Time is up for Kemi Adeosun and her version of integrity. It is still on record that she admitted presenting a forged NYSC certificate.

Finally…

AN accident that killed two of Anthony Joshua’s associates has become the reason for concerns about safety on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway (LIE). How many have died from accidents on the same road? Have these deaths in any way addressed the bad curves and uneven surfaces that result in tankers laden with petroleum products overturning and bursting into flames? We now know there are no facilities for medical services or rescue of victims on the LIE. Our hypocrisy only gets better daily. The fact that Anthony Joshua was involved might change safety and emergency services on the LIE, while other roads can suffer all the accidents they can.

VENEZUELA has the sort of complications that only generate new debates about the sanctity of sovereignty and cures for a dictator like Maduro, and the bully Donald Trump, whose infantile praises of his decision to invade Venezuela hint at uncertainties about his mental health. So-called leaders, or rather oppressors, should learn from Maduro’s humiliation, which is, well-deserved.

TALKING about lessons, Barrister Ezewoke Nyesom Wike, the claimant of Rivers State and everything therein, is too far gone to remember sometimes that he is still a human being. He is cock-sure about tomorrow and prescribes future outcomes. Wike, with a withering hold on everything, plays the god of tomorrow. A stranded Wike is pushing his troops to impeach Governor Simi Fubara. What did the people of Rivers do to deserve the chaos their state has become?

NOTHING has stopped the killing of farmers and travellers in Benue and Plateau States. More states are falling into these sad situations. The number of deaths seems too low to elicit government action. Of course, the President is on holiday in Europe, eleven days into 2026. His solution is to give challenges in distance as he focuses on getting re-elected.

CONGRATULATIONS to the Super Eagles for the moments of brilliance they offered in the 2-0 victory over Algeria. You can beat Morocco; rather, you will. Thanks to the new skipper, Wilfred Ndidi, who offered to pay the team’s outstanding bonuses for earlier matches won in this AFCON when threats of a boycott were distracting preparations for the tie with Algeria.

*ISIGUZO is a major commentator on minor issues.