Nigeria Seeks to Ban Degrees From Kenya & 4 Other Countries
On Wednesday, January 3, the Nigerian government declared a suspension of the assessment of academic qualifications obtained from institutions in Benin Republic and Togo.
After suspending 45 universities in both countries, Nigeria announced its plan to expand the suspension to include Kenya, Uganda, and Niger.
Nigerian Education Minister Tahir Mamman pledged to overhaul the education system in his nation, making this commitment known.
Sanctions were imposed following an investigative journalist obtaining a degree from a Benin Republic university in a study period of fewer than 60 days.
Right after obtaining his degree, he utilized the certifications to seek and successfully secure a placement in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
“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 here where such institutions have been set up,” Mamman announced.
He clarified that the extension of the suspension to Kenya and other nations aimed to eliminate certificates obtained from deceitful or illegitimate institutions.
“If along the line, we can trace that there are people already in the system. For instance, if a particular institution or operator has been operating, say in the last 10 years, we will check if we can get records of Nigerians who attended that institution,” the Education Minister explained how Nigeria was tackling the case of fake certificates.
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Mamman when asked what would be done to Nigerians with fake foreign certificates already within the system, stated, “Once we do that, they are criminals and you know there is no timeframe to criminality. We will trace them. As long as we can lay our hands on their institutions and they are right here with us, certainly, the security agencies will go after them because they are criminals,”
The Minister stated that the Nigerian Federal Government wouldn’t show leniency towards citizens who obtained certificates from institutions marked as suspicious or questionable.
“I have no sympathy for such people. Instead, they are part of the criminal chain that should be arrested,” he remarked.
A probe revealed that individuals from Nigeria were obtaining altered academic documents from overseas locations and utilizing them to secure employment opportunities in their home country.
The Nigerian Federal Government declared it had sent security personnel to apprehend individuals holding counterfeit certificates. The Nigerian Ministry of Education did not clarify whether its focus was on all universities in Kenya, Uganda, and Niger, or if it was specifically targeting institutions lacking physical infrastructure.
The Kenyan government has not responded or provided any comment regarding Mamman’s statement.
Furthermore, despite Nigeria’s accusations directed at Kenya, Uganda, and Niger, there was no evidence presented by the Nigerian government to substantiate claims of any institutions in these countries illegally providing degree certificates.
Nigeria Seeks to Ban Degrees From Kenya & 4 Other Countries