A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alwan Hassan, has dismissed arguments that academic qualifications determine leadership ability, saying the educational credentials of opposition figures have not translated into better governance for Nigeria.
Hassan made the remarks on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he argued that the PhD of former President Goodluck Jonathan and the university degree of Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, had not produced any significant transformation for the country.
“Tell me what Jonathan’s PhD has done to Nigeria. Tell me how Obi’s degree (BSc) has helped improve his communication skills.
“Tell me what it has done to Atiku to help him navigate and know the time to contest or when to concede for the best person of the time,” Hassan said.
The APC member argued that leadership should be assessed based on performance and results rather than academic qualifications.
He said opposition parties had failed to provide strong criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, choosing instead to focus on debates surrounding the President’s academic background.
Hassan also defended Tinubu against allegations concerning his academic records from Chicago State University, saying there had been no official declaration from the institution that the certificate submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was forged.
“There is nowhere that Chicago State University says the certificate President Tinubu submitted to INEC is forged. What the Constitution says is a school certificate or its equivalent.
“An equivalent of a school certificate is the ability to read and write,” he said.
He maintained that possessing academic qualifications alone does not guarantee effective leadership, insisting that the focus should remain on a leader’s ability to deliver results.
