Former Anambra State Governor and Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has warned Nigerians against making excuses for unverified academic credentials, saying such practices could undermine the standards and values of society.
Obi raised the concern in a statement posted on his official X account on Tuesday, stressing that the issue should not be viewed through the lens of political affiliation or personal support for individuals.
He argued that allowing questionable or unverified academic qualifications to go unexamined, particularly among people seeking or holding positions of responsibility, could set a dangerous precedent for the country.
According to him, the credibility of the process through which individuals attain leadership positions is as important as their performance while in office.
“A nation that tolerates unverified academic credentials at any level of leadership, regardless of who is involved, risks destroying the very standards upon which a society is built,” Obi said.
He maintained that Nigerians should not excuse credentials that are blurred, missing, questionable or yet to be verified simply because they belong to individuals they support politically.
Obi said the demand for verification should apply equally to everyone, regardless of political party, position or popularity.
“The issue is not about an individual. It is about standards, accountability, and the values we choose to pass on to the next generation,” he said.
The former governor warned that normalising the abandonment of basic verification procedures could eventually weaken professional standards across critical sectors.
“If we normalise the abandonment of basic verification today, tomorrow we may have professors who never attended a university, doctors who never studied medicine, and judges who never studied law,” he said.
Obi described such a possibility as a dangerous precedent that Nigeria must avoid.
He argued that the country’s future should not be sacrificed for short-term political interests, stressing the need to establish a system where truth and accountability are applied consistently.
“Nigeria cannot sacrifice its future on the altar of today’s transactional politics,” he said.
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The Labour Party chieftain called for a society where truth is not determined by political affiliation and where established standards are not compromised for convenience.
“We must build a society where truth is not partisan, standards are not negotiable, and accountability applies equally to everyone,” he said.
Obi also urged Nigerians to consider how their actions and political choices would be judged by future generations.
“History will judge us not only by those we defended, but by the principles we were willing to defend,” he added.
He called for Nigerians to prioritise truth, established standards and the long-term interests of the country over political expediency.
“We must choose truth over convenience, standards over sentiments, and the future over political expediency,” Obi said.
The former governor concluded by reiterating his belief that a better Nigeria remains possible, but stressed that achieving such a society would require citizens and leaders to uphold principles even when doing so becomes politically inconvenient.
“A New Nigeria is possible, but only if we are willing to do the right thing, even when it is inconvenient,” he said.