Mmesoma JAMB Result: The Truth Of The Matter

In case you have been seeing netizens use the term 'Idan' and you don't understand it, just follow the Mmesoma Ejikeme and her Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) result saga.  The 19-year-old is the real Idan. She possesses the in-born drive and street credibility to succeed in Nigeria. She was made in Nigeria, groomed in Nigeria, and is prepared for Nigeria. In specific terms, she is a true product of the country. 

As Nigeria has made a reputation out of rewarding bad behaviour handsomely and entertaining questionable success stories; people like Mmesoma will be like trees planted by the riverside. After scoring 249, she wasn't satisfied with the outcome just like the average Nigerian politician. She decided to cheat her way out. She found an app on the Google Play store and used it to inflate her score to 362. That's a typical INEC signature move.

It should be noted that the original highest scorer named Nkechiyere Umeh had 360. If Mmesoma had settled for 300, she could have slipped under the radar. But she wanted to be the best not by hard work but by crook. She printed the result and took it to her parents to celebrate as every child would do. The deceit needed to start from home - the grassroots and she did just that. From there, the news would have spread organically to her neighbours, friends, schoolmates, marketplaces, and the rest.

Her parents who appear to be from the lower economic class must have happily concluded it was a confirmation that they would be reaping the fruits of their labour in abundance in the coming years. This is the prayer of average Nigerian parents. Her feat would later attract a N3 million scholarship from the business mogul, Chukwuma Innoson - the CEO of Nigeria's vehicle manufacturing company, Innoson Motors. The photo-ops with Innoson's team were released to the media with a flowery press statement. Only if the entrepreneur knew he was being conned. Mmesoma spared nobody in the deceit including herself. Success and overnight stardom were so sweet that it was difficult for her to wake up from her slumber and face reality. Isn't this similar to the mindset of politicians who openly rig elections, shed blood and confidently share testimonies on the pulpit of big churches?

Then JAMB came to burst her bubble. Mmesoma wasn't ready to give up easily, so she prepared for a fight. She was ready to drag JAMB around the court of public opinion when most Nigerians easily secure victories by playing the victim. She made a highly emotional video explaining she was being victimized and frustrated. She was smart enough to play the mental health card by claiming she was 'traumatized'. This card works! 

She was very articulate, civil, and calm as she concisely made her defense. Just like most Nigerians/politicians embellish their resumes during electioneering campaigns, Mmesoma did the exact same thing. She claimed she had always come 'first' all through her educational journey. This was all she needed to say and the attendees of the court of public opinion were swayed.

Since our institutions are largely flawed and shamefully ineffectual, coupled with the problem of tribalism, people accused JAMB of trying to destroy her career. JAMB banned her for three years and this move attracted more public sympathy for the underdog.

Mmesoma valiantly went to Channels TV - a TV station with arguably the biggest coverage in Nigeria to defend her falsified result. Even when the Department of State Security, DSS, invited her for questioning, she dealt with the investigators expertly. She was unstoppable. As JAMB released the series of evidence of her digital imprints to expose her, the teenager matched them evenly with more evidence. Mmesoma exemplifies the age-long rot in Nigerian society. The only problem here is that she learns too fast.

There is a relationship between leadership and followership in human society. Leaders are pace-setters. Their actions and inactions influence their followers who consciously and unconsciously imitate them. This is why in saner climes, leaders are highly accountable and scrutinized for their actions. An erring leader is easily made to pay the biggest fine for the simplest misdeeds. Their scandals are also well publicized to shame them and also serve as a deterrent to would-be offenders.

I have said for years that criminals who are supposed to be behind bars are always celebrated in Nigeria. They are paraded before the younger ones as figures to emulate. Intelligent and honest people with the best credentials are relegated to the background while the Picaros, illiterates, drug lords, fraudsters, and other non-state actors wielding force, manipulate their way into public offices. Today, the story around former President Muhammadu Buhari's secondary school leaving certificate appears incomplete.

It looks like a case that was politically settled. His successor, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appears to have forged EVERYTHING including his identity. The Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke was also embroiled in a school certificate forgery scandal. The former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun also forged her NYSC certificate, what about the Anambra Senator Stella Oduah? In short, the list of Nigerian public office holders involved in certificate forgery cases might be longer than the Second Niger Bridge.

Politicians are also able to cheat the electoral process by rigging elections. To this day, the Rivers State presidential election results of this year have defied mathematical calculations.

We have political thugs, motor park touts, militants, armed robbers, bandits, kidnappers, money launderers, drug addicts, and other miscreants working for politicians. In the past, these outlaws would work for politicians behind the scenes. Things have changed today. You now find them at the front seats of political campaigns, and also playing lead roles in democratic administration. A perfect example is the NURTW poster boy in Lagos who offers 'secret liaison' certificates to the Yoruba actresses. It was in the same fashion that the late Ibadan strongman, late Chief Lamidi Adedibu rose to prominence. He became the kingmaker in Oyo State for years.

Mmesoma stirred controversy between the Yorubas and the Igbos. The JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, is Yoruba and she is Igbo. People from the Southeast felt their child was being robbed, just like Tinubu allegedly robbed Peter Obi of his mandate. It also became an economic class battle between the rich and the poor. Another narrative started that the Nigerian system is cheating her because she is the daughter of a nobody. The controversy soon became intense that the 'highly-paid-but-less-busy' House of Representatives waded in. They set up a panel of inquiry on the issue while calling on all involved parties to stand down.

Mmesoma remained unfazed despite the massive public interest in the matter. Isn't her action synonymous with the fighting spirit of politicians who hire several Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs to defend frivolous election cases in court? They jump from one court to the other in the pursuit of a mandate that was never stolen. The Anambra State government had to intervene by setting up a panel of investigation to grill the rookie. And she finally admitted she doctored her JAMB result. End of story!

Young Mmesoma reminds me of the legendary Argentine footballer, Lionel Messi when he made his debut in the 2005 World Youth Championship. Messi and Mmesoma both grabbed the headlines in style. One in sports, the other in education by con artistry.

The truth of the matter is that Mmesoma is a bonafide product of Nigeria. Fruit doesn't fall far from the three. She will go far within the geographical setting of Nigeria. With a score of 249, there are elements of brilliance in her like a former Minister Festus Keyamo reiterated on social media. She almost robbed the original highest scorer, Nkechinyere Umeh, of her glory.

She has displayed a rare talent that has taken most undeserving Nigerians to the top. With her street credibility, eloquence, and charming innocence, she stands a good chance of manipulating more people, structures, and institutions in Nigeria in the near future. She will likely learn to be smarter next time. Success in Nigeria isn't all by hard work but 'smart work'. People cheat and call it 'grace'.

I feel for the poor girl. She isn't the problem, she is only a symptom of a cancerous ailment that has eaten deep into the body of the Nigerian society. She is the proverbial horse at the back which is looking up to the horse in front during a race. Unfortunately for her, the horse in front is vividly a bad example. The one in front is just a typical Nigerian politician with a pen that is more lethal than a gun.

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Osahon George Osayimwen is a UK-based Nigerian journalist