It has been recommended that the federal government take action to root out people using phoney degrees and other credentials to hold senior managerial positions.
The call was made by Alhaji Musa Saidu, President of the International Human Rights Commission, Ecology and Marine, Africa.
He emphasised that the recent controversy involving forged certificates connected to a university in the Benin Republic was proof that many Nigerians holding prominent government positions had obtained phoney degrees from universities.
He declared that the government ought to start an open investigation into the degrees held by people in positions of authority, especially those from foreign universities.
He added that some people holding jobs that they weren’t qualified for were misfits and that the public audit of certifications would assist the government in having qualified people hold positions.
He claimed that some of the the nation’s backwardness may be attributed to those who held fake degrees in positions of authority in public organisations.
“This recent scandal around degrees from a university in Africa is a good revelation, it is a good one. Any one in a top government office that acquired a degree from outside should be investigated. This will help our anti-corruption drive.
“Because it is very sensitive, this will help us have the right people in the right offices. Let them speak French with those who understand the language, if possible on national television.
“Many people in government are involved. They have secured an undue advantage that they should not have.
“I have heard of this degree racketeering over twenty years ago. Many carry degrees in international languages they can’t defend.
“For me as an international rights envoy, we must stop this fraud. It will help Nigeria. “We hear all kinds of degrees in their profiles but they are all fraud.
“Nigeria is in a mess. It is why Nigeria is not progressing because many of our leaders are parading fake degrees.
“With the wrong people in offices with fake degrees, how can we progress ?”