Mohammed Shosanya
The Federal Government has identifird eight universities accredited to award degrees to Nigerians in Togo and Benin Republic respectively for Nigerian undergraduates.
The decision followed the embarrassment which Nigeria suffered when an undercover reporter procured a fake degree from Benin Republic and got mobilised to participate in the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.
The Minister of Education,Tahir Mamman, disclosed the accredited institutions on Sunday night while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.
The Minister had lamented that over 22,500 Nigerians obtained fake degree certificates from the two countries, hence such certificates would be cancelled.
The ugly cases of certificate racketeering also featured prominently at a recent Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu where a Committee was mandated to probe degrees emanating from Togo and Benin Republic especially.
Mammam said only three institutions is recognised in Togo and five in Benin Republic, labelling others outside those eight as illegal institutions.
He listed the public universities below as the federal government-approved institutions to offer degree programs in Togo for students from Nigeria. Universite De Lome, Universite De Kara and Catholic University of West Africa
For Benin Republic, students from Nigeria could attend Universite D’abomey-Calavi, Universite De Parakou, Universite Nationale Des Sciences, Technologis Ingenierie Et Mathematiques, Universite Nationale D’ Agriculture and Universite Africaine De Devlopment Cooperatif.
He insisted that there is no going back on the decision of the Federal Government to cancel about 22,700 certificates awarded to Nigerians by some “fake” universities in neighbouring Togo and Benin Republic.
He reiterated that the decision to invalidate the certificates was not harsh as Nigerians who obtained degree certificates from such “illegal” tertiary institutions dent the country’s image.
He said:“Most of those parading the fake certificates didn’t even leave the shores of Nigeria but got their certificates through racketeering in collaboration with government officials at home and abroad.
“The “fake universities” capitalised on the “gullibility” of Nigerians patronising such fake schools.
“The federal government, through the offices of the Head of Civil Service and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, would fish out those in the government’s employment with such fake certificates. I also urge the private sector to follow suit.”