Dear Uche Nnaji: Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation — Be the First to Say, “I Resign” -By Professor John Egbeazien Oshodi

A Nation Waiting for One Honest Voice

Dear Mr. Uche Nnaji,

Let me begin therapeutically—not as your critic, but as a psychologist addressing a fellow human being who has stumbled where many have fallen. No one doubts that you were once that young boy with a deep, genuine pull toward science—the same curiosity that led the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) to admit you in 1981 to study Microbiology and Biochemistry. You likely arrived eager to experiment, discover, and belong among bright minds.

For whatever reason, your academic path broke midway. Then came the quiet decision to claim graduation in 1985—a small untruth that grew into a long shadow. Over decades you climbed from opportunity to opportunity, thriving in a system that often rewards image more than integrity and documentation more than discipline. But now, in 2025—the Age of Science, Technology, Innovation, and Social Media—truth has caught up. The same tools that spread innovation now preserve evidence.

In a letter dated 3 October 2025, Vice-Chancellor Professor Simon Ortuanya confirmed to Premium Times:

“Mr. Nnaji did not complete his studies and was never awarded a degree by the university.”

That sentence closed decades of quiet denial. Both UNN and the NYSC have disowned the certificates you presented. The question is no longer about your past—it is about what you will do next.

You Are Not Alone—But You Can Be Different

Context matters. Nigeria’s public life contains many who built careers on documented illusions. In such an environment, forgery is not merely malice; it becomes a misguided adaptation—a way to bridge the gap between aspiration and blocked opportunity. Recognizing that truth helps us move from blame to responsibility.

Therapy begins when one person ends the cycle. You could be that person. You could be the first minister in contemporary Nigeria to say:

“Yes, I lied. I made a mistake long ago. But I will not lead innovation through deceit.”

That sentence would not destroy you; it would liberate you. It would heal something larger than your name; it would momentarily cleanse the national psyche and reintroduce the vocabulary of moral recovery into our public life.

A Therapeutic Appeal to Conscience and Courage

The echo is now beyond paperwork. The digital world remembers. The universities have written. The public has read. A therapeutic step remains: a clear, unambiguous conversation with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu:

“Sir, I will be announcing my departure. Sir, you already carry too many headaches—Wike and his Florida troubles, Akpabio and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legislative crisis, the U.S. Senate inquiries on the killings of Christians, a biting economy, and deep insecurity. You do not need another ethical wound on your cabinet.”

Say it calmly and cleanly—like a scientist acknowledging a failed experiment so that better experiments can begin. That single act restores your dignity more than any defense ever could.

If you want the words, here is a humane outline you could adapt for a public statement:

1. Acknowledgement: “I made past errors in my academic claims.”

2. Ownership: “Those errors violate the spirit of a ministry built on evidence and truth.”

3. Impact: “Continuing in office would undermine young Nigerians’ trust in honest achievement.”

4. Action: “I hereby tender my resignation to preserve public confidence in the work of science and innovation.”

5. Repair: “I will cooperate fully with any processes and support stronger verification reforms.”

6. Hope: “My departure is a call to rebuild our culture of honesty from the classroom to the cabinet.”

The Psychology of Forgery and National Decay

In environments where fairness is unreliable, people often adopt deception as emotional survival. Psychologically, this reflects cognitive dissonance—holding a prestigious role while lacking the credential to support it produces inner tension, and the mind tries to resolve the clash by rationalizing the untruth. It also involves impression management—relying on appearances such as titles and certificates when systems prize status signals over real skill. Then there is moral licensing—the quiet thought that “I have served and succeeded; the document is a formality.” Finally, learned moral helplessness sets in: citizens expect no consequences for elites, and elites expect no shame from citizens. This spiral normalizes wrongdoing.

We cheat to pass exams, falsify credentials for opportunities, pay bribes and call it “appreciation,” and later wonder why leaders falsify credentials. They are graduates of our silent curriculum. You, sir, are not the whole disease; you are a symptom of a national illness—a chronic confusion between status and worth.

A Prophecy and a Reality

This is not a threat; it is a therapeutic prophecy grounded in observation. If you hold on, as many Nigerians shamelessly do when caught, the system will eventually suspend you quietly, and you will likely never return to this administration. The historical memory will harden and interpret your silence as stubbornness rooted in fear, not as strength.

While I do not blame you alone—this is a national sickness—healing begins when one infected person refuses to spread the disease. You still have agency. Use it now.

A Call for Redemptive Innovation

Your portfolio—Science, Technology, and Innovation—rests on a single foundation: truth. Innovation cannot bloom in the soil of deceit. Turn this crisis into a moral experiment; prove that honesty can still innovate the human spirit.

Tell the President:

“Sir, I will not be Minister of Science and Technology under falsehood. I hereby resign.”

Let that sentence be your greatest invention: moral engineering in a cynical time. Headlines may sting; history will bless you.

Beyond One Man: A Roadmap for National Psychological Recovery

1. The Presidency: Order a nationwide credential audit within 60 days. Any verified forgery must lead to public correction, apology, resignation, and disqualification from reappointment for one political cycle.

2. Universities and NYSC: Create a secure online verification system for certificates and service records, with tamper-proof digital tracking to end document manipulation.

3. National Assembly: Make full verification mandatory before confirmation or election. Penalize any staff or intermediary who facilitates or conceals forged documents.

4. DSS and Police: These agencies must lead by example. Verify all credentials of appointees and senior officers before clearance. Honesty must replace the “protect the big man” culture. Failure to do so brings national disgrace and erodes security integrity.

5. Political Parties: Require third-party credential verification for all nominees. Publish summary verification reports to restore public trust.

6. Faith Institutions: No honorary titles for public officials with unresolved credential doubts. Preach truth as worship and moral courage as patriotism.

7. Media and Education: Promote integrity education from secondary school upward. Establish a national credentials tracker for public offices and teach that cheating is the seed of corruption.

8. Courts and Regulators: Fast-track forgery cases and ensure restitution and reform—not just punishment.

This is national therapy: practical, measurable, and culture-shaping.

If You Choose to Resign: What Redemption Can Look Like

Apology and Explanation: Own the error plainly, without excuses.

Restitution: Support scholarships or laboratory funds at UNN; invest in evidence-based learning.

Advocacy: Champion the National Verification Portal bill from outside office.

Mentorship: Speak regularly to students about the cost of shortcuts and the dignity of truth.

Rebuilding: Pursue any missing academic requirements openly, if you so choose, as a public example of repair over pretense.

Redemption is not the erasure of wrong; it is the reconstruction of self in public view.

Final Reflection: A Therapeutic Mirror

This letter, Mr. Nnaji, is not an indictment—it is therapy. I am not blaming you alone. Even the powers and institutions that raised you up knew you did not complete your university education. They also saw, or should have seen, that both the bachelor’s degree and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate you presented to President Tinubu, the National Assembly, and the offices of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation were not real.

One would have expected the very agency for domestic intelligence, the State Security Service (SSS), to conduct real verification before you were sworn in. But in Nigeria, institutions know all about the “big man” and still keep quiet. They rubber-stamp rather than scrutinize. That is why even now, although you stand alone in public disgrace, the SSS, the Senate, and every vetting body involved are equally implicated in this forgery.

In a sane society, presenting a fake degree and a forged NYSC certificate would land a person in lockup while investigations ran their course. We both know that. But I am not calling for cages or spectacle. You are not the only product of a system that rewards dirty leadership and silent complicity. I do not want to add punishment to an already sick nation; I want restoration.

This is the real tragedy of our time: the individual is shamed while the system that enabled him remains untouched. But every healing begins with one painful admission. Every therapy begins with a moment of courage that interrupts denial. If you step forward now, the mirror that has cracked around you will not shatter further—it will begin to mend. Each act of honesty repairs not just your story, but a piece of Nigeria’s fractured conscience.

Be that rare Nigerian who transforms scandal into recovery. Do not be remembered as another official who clung to illusion, but as the one who walked toward truth when the world expected silence. Resign not from fear or pressure, but from clarity and strength.

With universities now everywhere—physical campuses, online programs, and distance-learning options—you could have quietly gone back to school years ago to earn a real degree, especially when, deep inside, you knew you had lied to yourself. Even now, while at home, you can begin again, pursue your studies openly, and show that learning never ends. The same energy that built your political career can now build your personal truth.

Show that the most advanced science in any nation is not found in its laboratories but in its leadership’s capacity for truth. Let your departure become an experiment in moral innovation—a live demonstration that self-correction is still possible in public life.

Pick up the phone. Make the call. Say the words that can still redeem both man and nation:

“I take responsibility. I choose integrity. I resign.”

Do that, and you will not be ending a career—you will be beginning a cure. Oga, go away quietly, and let life go on. That simple act preserves your dignity and spares the nation another public wound. Even after the lie, remember this truth: a man can still graduate—from denial into conscience.

Professor John Egbeazien Oshodi, Clinical/Forensic Psychologist

About the Author

Prof. John Egbeazien Oshodi is an American psychologist, educator, and public affairs analyst specializing in forensic, legal, clinical, and cross-cultural psychology. Born in Uromi, Edo State, Nigeria, and son of a 37-year veteran of the Nigeria Police Force, he has dedicated his career to linking psychology with justice, education, and governance. In 2011, he introduced advanced forensic psychology to Nigeria through the National Universities Commission and Nasarawa State University, where he served as Associate Professor of Psychology.

He is currently contributing faculty in the Doctorate in Clinical and School Psychology at Nova Southeastern University; PhD Clinical Psychology, BS Psychology, and BS Tempo Criminal Justice programs at Walden University; Professor of Leadership Studies/Management and Social Sciences (Virtual Faculty) at ISCOM University, Benin Republic; and virtual faculty at Weldios University. He also serves as President and Chief Psychologist at the Oshodi Foundation, Center for Psychological and Forensic Services, United States.

Prof. Oshodi is a Black Republican with interests in individual responsibility, community self-reliance, and institutional democracy. He is the founder of Psychoafricalysis (Psychoafricalytic Psychology), a culturally grounded framework centering African sociocultural realities, historical memory, and future-oriented identity. He has authored over 500 articles, multiple books, and numerous peer-reviewed journal articles spanning Africentric psychological theory, higher education reform, forensic and correctional psychology, African democracy, and decolonized therapeutic models.