By Juliet Umeh
The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, has said politicians seeking to lead Nigeria in the 2027 general elections must be prepared to account for their past, insisting that Nigerians have the right to scrutinise their educational background, antecedents and integrity.
Publicity Secretary of the ACF, Prof. Tukur Baba, stated this while speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Tuesday, stressing that the debate over candidates’ academic qualifications should go beyond the mere presentation of certificates to focus on the credibility, consistency and transparency of their personal histories.
Baba said: “If you are presenting yourself for election to the highest office in Nigeria, holding lives together, being the Commander-in-Chief, it is legitimate to ask questions.”
According to him, Nigerians are entitled to know the history of those seeking their votes, adding that leadership requires transparency and accountability.
“The certificate is not as important as the story itself. It has to be straight. It has to be consistent. If it is not, there is a problem,” he said.
Baba, who acknowledged that the 1999 Constitution does not specifically require presidential candidates to present documentary evidence of every stage of their education, said the issue should nevertheless not be dismissed.
“The law is clear, but I want to move away from focusing just on the qualification. You see here, we practise a brand of politics that is different from all those countries you listed,” he said.
He explained that countries such as China operate leadership selection systems where aspiring leaders undergo years of scrutiny before reaching top positions.
“In China, you cannot just come from nowhere. You start from the very word and you climb. They have a very leadership selection process that you go through many years before you get to that point,” Baba said.
“By the time you get to the point of leadership, everything is known about you. Everything is scrutinised.”
The ACF spokesman said Nigeria’s leadership selection process remained weak because standards were often compromised.
“We are simply flexible in our demands for accountability. There are no standards, and there are no standards because we do not demand standards,” he said.
Baba, however, said the average Nigerian was less concerned about certificates than the impact of governance on daily life.
“What matters to them is the effect of good governance,” he said, stressing that Nigerians wanted leaders who could improve healthcare, education, housing, transportation and household welfare.
“At the end of the day, what goes into my pocket? How is my family protected? Would my wife go to the hospital and expect service? Would my children receive quality education?” he asked.
He urged political actors to embrace transparency, saying Nigerians deserved to know “who it is that they are voting for” in 2027.
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