By Kazeem Akintunde
Her name, Mmesoma means Goodness or Good works in Igbo dialect,
but in the last few days, that name has been on the lips of many
Nigerians for not-so-good reasons, no thanks to her fraudulent acts after
writing the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB)
examination.
Mmesoma, who is from a poor background in Anambra State, claimed
that she scored 362 marks in the examination, prompting many to
celebrate her brilliance, with Innoson Motors, an indigenous vehicle
manufacturing company, rewarding her ‘hard work’ with N3 million.
In an attempt to do same, the Anambra State government tried to
validate her claims through a letter to JAMB, but the bubble burst when
JAMB wrote to the Commissioner for Education in the State, stating that
the result that Mmesoma was parading was a fake.
But with an unassuming personality, Mmesoma did not come across as
someone who would want to play a fast one on JAMB but she got
embroiled in the raging controversy after her fraud was exposed due to
layers of technology deployed by the examination body to detect anyone
desperate enough to compromise the integrity of the exam body.
The young lady appeared determined to use technology to make a claim
not knowing that JAMB had deployed a far higher level of technology to
prevent such. It was later revealed in the course of investigations that
Mmesoma scored 249 in the UTME. Even with her intention to study
Pharmacy at the University of Lagos, that score was enough to secure
her admission into UNILAG if she gets distinctions in five core subjects
in addition to the UNILAG post-Jamb examination.
What appears puzzling to most is why the young lady wanted more by
trying to project herself as the overall best student. Couldn’t she have
waited for the examination body to declare to Nigerians who got the
highest marks in the examination? Mmesoma used a template last used
in 2021 to forge the 362 score.
However, many Nigerians appear to be sympathetic towards her since
the dilemma broke out. To them, the exam body was, by their story,
simply out to tarnish the image of the aspiring young girl and to deny the
Igbo another ‘glory’. In spite of the announcement by JAMB that the
candidate that scored the highest mark was one Miss Kamisiyochukwu
Nkechinyere Umeh, also from Anambra State, but based in Ogun State,
with a score of 360, some Nigerians, especially her Igbo-speaking
brothers, and sisters, are ready to tear JAMB to pieces.
The internet warriors among them turned what appears to be a case of
fraud into tribal warfare, to the extent that a lawyer among them gave
the examination body 48 hours to apologise to Mmesoma or face legal
action. Another ‘money miss road’ among them promised to get her out
of the country by offering her a scholarship to study in either the United
States of America, Canada, or Britain. She only has to mention the
country of her choice and it would be done.
The tribal sentiment made a former Minister in the country to write that
JAMB was wrong in its treatment of the young lady. Oby Ezekwesili in
actual fact, put a call through to the Registrar of JAMB, Professor Isiaq
Oloyede, asking for a review of the case and calling for an independent
body to probe it. She only stopped short of rubbishing an institution of
government she presided over as Minister of Education.
It wasn’t until JAMB came up with incontrovertible evidence to prove
that Mmesoma actually forged the 362 mark; came out with her actual
score, and provided evidence of her several attempts to lodge into the
JAMB portal with the fake result – and wait for it – Mmesoma’s
admission on TV that she actually scored 249 – that her defenders
relented.
Again, a probe panel set up by the Anambra State Government came up
with a damming report that Mmesoma actually forged the 362 mark she
claimed and that she has confessed to the fraudulent act.
Although some of her fans have actually apologised to JAMB and
Nigerians, many still continue in their persecution of JAMB. Some of
her defenders-in-chief however gave themselves a ‘soft landing’ by
postulating that she must have done what she did because she learned
from our leaders who they claim are experts at cheating and lying to
Nigerians.
What the whole Mmesoma/JAMB imbroglio has shown is that President
Bola Ahmed Tinubu has a big task ahead of him. He is presiding over a
divided nation. We have never had it so bad. Nigerians are no longer
acting and speaking with one voice, nor share the same values. We are
quick to take sides with the alleged victim in any case based on his/her
ethnic background. Our fault lines as a nation are now so glaring that it
could endanger national development. How did we get to this sorry
state?
Though those fault lines have been there for quite some time, they
became manifest months before the 2023 general elections. In a nation
made up of three major ethnic groups, winning an election in Nigeria has
always been for two major ethnic groups to form an alliance in order to
win. It was so in 1979, 1983, 1999, and in all previous elections. But the
2023 general elections came with unique features. Each of the three
leading tribes came up with a presidential candidate. What gave Tinubu
the edge was the fact that his ruling party agreed to a power shift to the
South after the North has been at the helm of affairs for eight years
through Muhammadu Buhari. The candidate of the leading opposition
party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, comes from the North but many of his
compatriots felt that the North retaining power for another eight years
may create a crisis for the country.
Peter Obi, who was the flag bearer of the Labour Party was initially part
of the PDP but he felt that it was time for the South East region to
produce the President of the country.
Obi and the southeast have a genuine case but he was unable to build
any alliance with other regions. Rather, he felt that he could win the
presidency on his own without the buy-in of other regions. Again, due to
the fact that the Igbos can be found in all the states of the federation, he
felt that their votes were enough for him.
Even before the poll, the Governor of Anambra State and Obi’s brother,
Charles Soludo, had warned that the tactics deployed by his people,
harassing and bullying those who were not in support of the candidacy
of Obi would be counterproductive for Ndigbo but he was also shouted
down. They called the Hausas names and abused the hell out of Tinubu
and the Yoruba. Many who don’t even like Tinubu eventually queue
behind him when Ndigbo turned Obi’s project into an Igbo affair.
We all know how the actions of the Ndigbo played out in the election
results. The declaration of Tinubu as the President is still being contested
at the tribunal and it may go all the way to the Supreme Court. For now,
Tinubu is presiding over a divided country and he must do all within his
power to unite the nation. He must ensure that the Igbos are carried
along in the scheme of things for peace to reign in the country.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari felt let down by Ndigbo in the
2015 and 2019 general elections due to the block votes the region gave
to the opposition, the PDP, and he practically shut them out of his
government. Tinubu also got the same treatment at this year’s polls but
he should be magnanimous in victory and should carry every ethnic
group along in his government. He started well by appointing an Igbo
man as the chief of Naval Staff, and we hope that he will continue along
that line when Ministers and Board appointments are made. Aside from
that, he could also endear himself to Ndigbo by being magnanimous and
releasing Nnamdi Kanu from prison. All he has to do is to discontinue
the trial and hand over Kanu to the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo so
that the tension and senseless killings going on in the Southeast will
abate.
He could also use the opportunity of Kanu’s release to canvass for
Ndigbo to put a stop to the call for a separate country-Biafra, a project
that I believe will not fly, as we are too interwoven as a nation and
people for any of the regions to be agitating to stand alone. One needs to
visit cities like Lagos and Abuja to see the number of inter-tribal
marriages between Igbo and other ethnic groups across the country.
What will happen to a Yoruba man married to an Igbo lady and their
offspring living in Lagos or Abuja if the Igbo have to go their separate
ways? What will become of the thousands of properties owned by Igbos
in Lagos and Abuja? It is time for us to start speaking in one voice and
shun issues that could further polarize us as a nation.
While the House of Representatives has called on JAMB to seize fire
and hold on from further punishing Mmesoma following its ban on her
from writing the exam for three years, it is time for the Nigerian
Communication Commission (NCC), and the federal government to
wield the big stick by deactivating all known Apps on social media used
by students to fraudulently upgrade their marks in public examinations.
Mmesoma is not the only culprit involved in this shady practice and all
those involved should be identified and sanctioned. It is when the
foundation of a nation is strong that it would be able to withstand any
turbulence in the future. Our children are the foundation we need to
build a strong society in the future. And we need to start building that
strong nation through the sound and moral upbringing of our youths.
Now is the time for Nigerians to recognise and reward the efforts of
Miss Umeh, who scored the highest marks in this year’s JAMB, as we
should not allow the impasse created by Mmesoma to rob her of her
deserved honour and recognition. Congratulations, girl!