By SAMUEL ANDERSON, CHICAGO
Ordinarily, Chicago State University, CSU, would not have become one of the most searched universities in the world if not for the issue of alleged certificate forgery involving Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu.
Investigation by TheDispatch has revealed that Chicago State University has been involved in several corruption scandals in the past before the new one involving Nigeria’s President.
One of the notable scandals according to our investigations involved the Institution’s former President, Wayne Watson.
Watson’s unethical practices, we gathered resulted in a settlement of $1.3 million in December 2016.
Watson’s unpleasant deeds included unconstitutional policies, corruption, and censorship, which we gathered led to a lawsuit against the university.
The lawsuit which negatively affected the institution we gathered was settled several years ago by agreeing to change the unconstitutional policies in question and paying $60,000 in attorney’s fees and damages.
Further investigation by TheDispatch showed that when Watson decided to fight on, it prompted the school to pay $650,000 in attorney’s fees and damages.
Also, it was gathered that former Vice President Glenn Meeks was fired after he blew the whistle on Watson’s unethical practices
Another Scandal In CSU
Another scandal that happened in the involved a former Chicago State University professor and interim dean, Carmita Coleman, who was accused of embezzling more than $650,000 from a student-based organization and using the funds for herself.
Now Tinubu’s Certificate Scandal Involving CSU
The new scandal rocking the university is related to the newly elected Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s graduation from the university in 1979.
Tinubu’s political rival in the last presidential election in Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, claimed that the documents showing Tinubu’s graduation are not authentic and that this is grounds to nullify Tinubu’s election victory earlier this year.
Atiku Abubakar accused Tinubu of forging the certificate he submitted to Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, prior to the presidential election in Nigeria.
Abubakar’s lawyers have asked a federal judge to compel CSU officials to turn over Tinubu’s academic documents and appear for depositions, but CSU’s lawyer has said that the university wouldn’t be able to certify Tinubu’s diploma under oath.