Dino Melaye's shame is not ABU's

True, Dino Melaye overstayed at ABU. He was a serial carry over student. He was also a cocky, staunch aluta comrade, and "insuferrably attention-seeking boor," Farooq Kperogi wrote. If you had known any real aluta nerd you'll testify that they're more interested in students' politics and gaining popularity (especially among ladies) on campus. Any other thing is secondary. But did Dino actually finish ABU?

Whether Dino finished ABU or not is still unclear. But for sure, even as recently as September last year, he was a postgraduate student in the Department of Political Science and International Studies at ABU. Then I was a final year economics student. He always came with his thugs and fleet of posh cars. Students were mostly impressed. Not me.

If at all Dino did not pass exams to qualify him for the degree, then he must be an excessive risk taker - faking ABU certificate and presenting it to ABU to obtain a higher one. And ABU's well-known phrase of conferring degrees based on "character and learning" would be under serious doubt. At issue is ABU's awe-inspiring admiration and the respect it earns in the sight of the world. 

As expected, Nigerians have already started hurling a stream of invective at the mighty ABU. This is what Nigerians are best at. They condemn it as corrupt, useless institution that lacks standard and all that. But is that fair?

First of all, even if Dino had obtained ABU degree without passing exams, that doesn't make the whole ABU a corrupt institution. He might have secretly connived with one or few lecturers to do that. The shame is on them, and not on the institution. If he had faked it himself, then shame on him - and only him. ABU has nothing to do with that. 

Second, the fraud of forging certificate is not peculiar to ABU alone. In 2007 the Dean of Admissions at MIT was forced to resign after it was discovered that she had faked three degrees, ending her 28-year career in one of the world's top universities. The shame was not on the colleges she lied to have attended, but on her. 

ABU is great. It'll always be. Dino is such a tiny person to bring a shame on it. It has produced tens of hundreds of alumni more honorable than him. Let's hope his degree is genuine.