JUSTICE IS NECESSARY TO SORT OUT THE MATTER OF EJIKEME MMESOMA IN THE JAMB SAGA
There has never been a purported inflation of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result and it has been taken as authentic any publication on JAMB portal. But the recent alarm by JAMB, in a bid to perish the claim of posting highest UTME score in the 2023 UTME examination is an action that portends too many things and negative consequences.
In a video interview, on social media, Mmesoma Ejikeme showed Sparks of brilliance, coherence and coordination and by my assessment, could actually deserve the result being investigated. That she printed out her JAMB result and it was announced that she scored 360 out of 400, posting the highest score in the country, is a feat to be celebrated not something that will attract rebuke and accusations.
In the course of her speech, Mmesoma remarked that a further QR verification of her result prompted another name of Omotola Afolabi, who hails from South West, and scored 338 marks instead of 138 as was released by JAMB.
According to Mmesoma, DSS had already stepped in to investigate the matter and all invitations and discussions with strategic actors such as Anglican Education Secretary and Commissioner for Education have held and it is expected that due process will be followed to establish the fact of the matter.
The question is, why would JAMB be hasty to lay public allegation of manipulations on the young lad? Did they realise that it amounts to tarnishing her image and could lead to depression? Is it everybody that is or that must be a pervert in this country?
Why do public officers entertain the penchant to rush to the public opinion instead of critical verification? Why subject the little brilliant girl to public opprobrium when in the real sense and of a fact she may be innocent of the allegation?
If the QR code verification would reveal another person’s name, it means that JAMB has a fundamental integrity issue on their website and it should be investigated, not to cause any innocent girl psychological trauma.
I call for thorough investigation of this matter and for the truth to be revealed. We cannot continue to tarnish the image of our future prospective leaders and expect them to have fate in this country.
DSS, Ministry of Education, JAMB, and all relevant bodies should conduct thorough investigation in order to unearth the truth of this saga and settle this matter as appropriate. If eventually the truth reveals that JAMB portal lacks integrity benchmark, then there should be a public apologies to Mmesoma Ejikeme for subjecting her to defamation of character and integrity.
© Anthony Akalugo
Dolly Online News, 2023
