ANOTHER NNAJI BREWING: When will Nigeria stop appointing people of questionable character to manage our future?

By Ohuchi Fred

There is a certain brazenness that has become the hallmark of public service aspirants in Nigeria: a stunning audacity that treats our highest offices not as sacred trusts but as trophies to be seized through deception, forgery, and bare-faced lies.

The unfolding scandal at the National Pensions Commission is not merely another case of credential fraud; it is a damning indictment of a culture that rewards duplicity and punishes diligence.

A nominee for Executive Director of the Pensions Commission stood before a Senate screening committee and, under oath, denied holding concurrent federal government appointments. This was a lie. A deliberate, calculated falsehood delivered with the kind of confidence that suggests he believed he would simply get away with it.

Had it not been for the exceptional vigilance of the screening committee, he would have. Let that sink in for a moment. A man seeking to oversee the pension funds of millions of Nigerian workers (funds representing their hopes for dignified retirement) saw fit to commit perjury before the nation’s Senate. The violation of the law against holding concurrent public offices is not a minor administrative oversight; it is a fundamental disqualification that speaks to character, or rather, the absence of it. But the perfidy does not end there.

The screening committee uncovered irregularities in the nominee’s declared age, with his change of date of birth failing to comply with legal requirements. Then came the certificates: multiple doctorates, master’s degrees, and first degrees, each raising more questions than they answered. The inconsistencies in names, the dubious timelines of acquisition, and the whole sordid mess recall too vividly the scandal of former Minister Nnaji, whose academic credentials became a national embarrassment.

One must ask: what manner of desperation (or is it contempt?) drives individuals to fabricate entire academic histories in pursuit of public office? What does it say about our country that such
Can characters believe they can present themselves with fraudulent documents and walk away with appointments to manage billions of naira in public trust?

These are not victimless crimes. When
Incompetent or dishonest individuals occupy positions of public trust; every Nigerian suffers. The Pensions Commission manages the retirement futures of our workers: teachers, civil servants, soldiers, nurses, and people who have given their productive years to this nation. To place their welfare in the hands of a man who cannot even tell the truth about his own credentials is not just negligent; it is cruel.

In this morass of deceit, the Senate screening committee stands as a beacon of institutional integrity. Their thoroughness, their refusal to accept testimony at face value, their insistence on documentary evidence and their eagle-eyed attention to detail have saved Nigeria from yet another catastrophic appointment. They asked the hard questions. They demanded proof.

They did not allow themselves to be charmed, intimidated, or deceived. This is what due diligence looks like. This is what protecting the national interest demands. Every member of that screening committee deserves the gratitude of Nigerians who are tired (exhausted, really) of watching charlatans and fraudsters parade through the corridors of power with impunity.

But we must confront an uncomfortable truth: why do these individuals keep trying? Why does this nominee believe he can present himself with questionable credentials and concurrent appointments?

Why does anyone think they can forge certificates and falsify ages and lie under oath? The answer is simple and sobering: because too often, they succeed.

Our system has become so permissive, so tolerant of mediocrity and dishonesty, that aspirants to high office calculate (correctly, in many cases) that the odds favor the fraudster over the honest
civil servant.

Background checks are superficial. Verification is lax. Consequences are rare. And so the cycle continues: incompetents appointed, national resources mismanaged, public trust
betrayed, and the country lurches from one avoidable crisis to another.

How long will we continue to make the same mistakes? How long will we allow our most critical institutions to be led by people whose primary qualification is the ability to forge a convincing certificate?

How long will we tolerate perjury before the Senate as if it were a mere formality rather than a fundamental assault on the integrity of our democracy?

The workers whose pensions hang in the balance deserve better. The Nigerian people, who watch in frustration as their institutions crumble under the weight of incompetence, deserve better.

Our children, who will inherit whatever wreckage we leave behind, deserve infinitely better.

The ball is now in the Senate’s court. The screening committee has done its job with exemplary professionalism. They have exposed the lies, documented the inconsistencies, and laid bare the
unsuitability of this nominee. The evidence is overwhelming. The recommendation is clear.

Now comes the test of institutional will. Will the Senate at plenary uphold the findings of its own committee? Will it stand with the Nigerian people and reject this nomination? Or will it succumb to whatever pressures (political, financial, or otherwise) inevitably accompany such decisions?

Distinguished Senators, you face a choice that is both simple and profound. You can uphold the law, honor the truth, and protect the pensions of millions of Nigerians. Or you can rubber-stamp
another questionable appointment, and add to the growing list of national embarrassments.

History is watching. Nigeria is watching. And we are tired of watching our hopes betrayed by leaders who mistake public office for personal entitlement.

Do what is right. Do what the law demands. Do what the Nigerian people deserve. Reject this nomination. Send an unmistakable message that the era of fraudulent credentials and casual perjury is over. Show us that our institutions still have the capacity for self-correction, that integrity still matters, and that truth still counts for something in the halls of power.

Fred writes on governance, the Pensions Industry, transparency, and public accountability.
He is based in Abuja.