ASUU Strike, Certificate Tampering Destroying Education Standard - Group

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The West African Forum on Education, Economic and Social Progress has said Nigeria's level of education is severely hampered by the ongoing industrial action by the Universities Academic Staff Union and the increase in cases of falsification of certificates by politicians.

WAESAF Nigeria District Chairman Mr. Olatunji Taiwo has said that the worrying and saddening frequent interruptions in academic activities at universities are a cancer in the country's education system.

Taiwo, in a statement made available to reporters on Monday, said it was important for stakeholders to stand up in unison and referred to the dire state of education in the country.

According to him, between 1999 and 2022, the ASUU launched no less than 16 strikes with a cumulative total of 1404 days as of August 29, 2022.

The statement reads: "We are sincerely of the view that Nigeria, a country reputed to have produced leading scholars and globally recognized scholars, should be a pioneer in the development and advancement of education.

“We therefore join our voices with millions of disenfranchised Nigerian students in calling on the government and ASUU to urgently resolve their differences to ensure that universities can reopen as soon as possible.” He said.

Similarly, WAESAF has expressed concern over the growing wave of fake certificates among Nigerian politicians jostling for various public posts in the 2023 general elections.

“In July, a Federal High Court in Abuja disqualified the candidate for governor of the Peoples Democratic Party in Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori, on the grounds that he “submitted information from questionable or falsified identification/certificates in order to participate and declared the winner of the PDP gubernatorial primary election.

"Similarly, a certificate falsification case is pending against the gubernatorial candidate of the People's Democratic Party in Akwa Ibom, Umo Eno, in the Uyo Federal High Court. According to reliable information, Umo Eno was dragged to court by Akan Okon, a candidate for the May 25 PDP gubernatorial primary, over allegations that he (Eno) exhibits fake Examination Council certificates. West Africa with the aim of actualizing his ambition for governor. According to the latest reports on the case, two renowned professors and forensic experts in the country, Prof. Jideoni Charles and Prof. Michael Nwokolo, jointly conducted the forensic investigation of the said WAEC certificates and confirmed that they were falsified.

"As published on many reliable media platforms, the forensic report not only confirmed that the Umo Eno are forged, but also revealed that Mr. Eno had created a fake WAEC website to publish his fake WAEC result." The group said it was surprised the review body did not address the issue of alleged website cloning and certificate tampering involving Umo Eno and other politicians, alleging it exposed the image advice to unnecessary public reactions.

"We therefore call on WAEC to address this outrageous issue of counterfeiting as its continued silence may send the wrong message to students not only in Nigeria but across the West African region who will be taking the exam at We urge the review body to work with security agencies to thoroughly investigate these cases and ensure those found guilty are prosecuted accordingly,” the statement added.