The breaking of this News caused a lot of reactions on the social media platform, leaving a lot of persons in shock. Meanwhile this act had been in existence for a longer period now.
In fact, this is how everything happened;
The story of obtaining questionable degree certificates from universities in Benin Republic and Togo is not new. What is new, however, is how these certificates can be obtained with ease and speed.
Cotonou is not only famous for the thriving second-hand car business popularly called ‘tokunbo’; it also serves as a mecca for those in need of express degrees.
The requirements are O-level certificates – fake or genuine – and the required amount of money, which varies depending on the course, urgency and class of degree.
And in less than a month or two, one can be a ‘graduate’ from any of the mushroom universities dotted across the two West African countries.
The beneficiaries of these substandard certificates, who are either unintelligent or lazy, compete for jobs and other opportunities with hard-working graduates who undergo academic rigours for at least four years to obtain their degrees.
DAILY NIGERIAN gathered that some use the questionable certificates to get civil service jobs or aspire for elective offices, while some of their peers with hard-earned credentials languish in joblessness and hopelessness.
To get first-hand information on how these certificate racketeers operate, DAILY NIGERIAN reporter, Umar Audu, went undercover and investigated the booming business.
Obtaining a Cotonou degree
In December 2022, our reporter reached out to a racketeering syndicate that specialises in selling the infamous degree certificates from the neighboring countries to willing buyers at an ‘affordable rate’.
The agent however told our reporter the option of “studying” for a year or month, but he opted for the month option.
“That’s not a problem; we can help. If the money is ready, we can help you out. We have done it for a lot of people. If you make the payment now, the results will be ready next month,” he assured.
Our reporter’s choice of mass communication from any “university” in Cotonou was premised on the fact he could easily scale through the screening as he had knowledge of the course.
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The agent gave the reporter the breakdown of the amount to pay, which included tuition fees, an evaluation letter, a resident permit, immigration stamps at the border post and transportation.
On December 27, 2022, our reporter made the payment and was issued a payment receipt.
True to the agent’s words, the certificate and transcript of Ecole Superieure de Gestion et de Technologies, ESGT, Cotonou, Benin Republic, were delivered to his office on February 17, 2023.
The transcript indicated that this reporter commenced the institution in 2018 and graduated on September 5, 2022.
Unfortunately, there was a slight mistake on the transcript, so it had to be transported back to Cotonou for correction, and one month later, the corrected version was received on March 29.
Prior to that, this reporter was never issued an admission letter or knew about the school the agent was processing for him.
All the agent said was, “don’t worry, everything will be sorted out.”
Like miracle, our reporter “finished” the four-year degree programme in less than two months without application, registration, studying, writing exams or crossing Nigerian border.
But despite having the certificate and transcript in his possession, the reporter had fears they could be fake, until he discovered a scan code placed on the left bottom of the transcript. And when the reporter scanned through, it directed him to the website of ESGT University, indicating that he is a genuine product of the institution.
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