Former President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed the reason behind his decision not to release his West African School Certificate (WASC) during the 2015 elections, despite facing pressure from the opposition.
In Chapter 5 of the book titled “Working with Buhari – Insights from Former Media Adviser (2015–2023),” written by his ex-media adviser, Femi Adesina, the revelation unfolds. Buhari clarified that he had always possessed his certificate but chose not to make it public at that time.
The book further narrates that in November 2018, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Registrar and officials presented Buhari with an attestation certificate.
Buhari was quoted as saying, “It would have been impossible for me to attend the Defence Services Staff College, India (1973) and thereafter, the United States Army War College, as a Nigerian military officer if I didn’t sit for the WASC examinations in 1961.
“My colleagues and I who spent close to nine years in boarding school both in primary and secondary, including Gen. Musa Yar’adua, when we intended to join the military we had to take a military examination.
“We were examined in three subjects: English, Mathematics and General Knowledge because English is the language for general instruction throughout the country because of our colonial heritage.
“Mathematics in the military was necessary, coupled with Geography. We were trained how to be dropped off in the bush, given only a pair of compass and since we’re not astronomers, you’ve to learn to find your way, calculate, using the Pythagoras Theorem and others to work out your position.”