Obi (left), Tinubu, Atiku.| File photo
‘He [Tinubu] should re-introduce himself to the nation he governs and to the world for the avoidance of further doubt. He should let the world know his name, nationality, his place of birth, his parentage, the primary and secondary schools he attended with dates as well as the actual universities he attended and certificates obtained’
By Valentine Amanze
The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi, has raised the alarm that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s identity crisis has worsened Nigeria’s image globally.
He said that he was distressed as a Nigerian after the prolonged identity crisis that recently played out in the U.S. Court system and the controversy surrounding the authenticity of the Chicago State University credentials of Tinubu.
Obi also lamented that because of the identity crisis the uninformed outsiders now see every Nigerian as a potential fraudster, certain forger, or identity thief.
He pointed out that the controversy was unnecessary just as the implicit global embarrassment could have been avoided.
Obi, who spoke in Abuja on Tuesday, said that Tinubu should have saved the nation and himself the embarrassment and the undue anxiety.
His words: “In my opinion, Chief Bola Tinubu should have saved the nation and himself from this protracted embarrassment and undue anxiety.
Also read: Opinion: Tinubu and his cases in U.S.
“Even this late in the day, however, Chief Bola Tinubu still owes the nation and the world a simple debt of obligation that only he can discharge. I call on him to immediately and personally mount the rostrum of his present high office to perform a simple task once and for all time.
“He should re-introduce himself to the nation he governs and to the world for the avoidance of further doubt. He should let the world know his name, nationality, his place of birth, his parentage, the primary and secondary schools he attended with dates as well as the actual universities he attended and certificates obtained.”
He also urged Tinubu to indicate clearly where and when he did his National Youth Service (NYSC), stressing, “If at any time he has had a change of name, he should clearly state so and the circumstances. That, in itself, is no crime.
“This simple task should take no more than a few minutes. It requires no a+davits, prolonged court processes, spokespersons, agents, or surrogates. This task is one that only Chief Bola Tinubu himself through a direct personal statement can perform.
“He must perform this task urgently in order to lay to rest, once and for the last time, the many lingering doubts and valid speculations about his true identity.
“The people deserve to know for a certainty the true identity of their leader and this overrides whatever rights he may have to personal privacy.”
Meanwhile, neither Tinibu nor the Presidency has officially reacted to the president’s identity crisis.
