By NAJEEBULLAH LAWAN
24th March, 2026
The recent announcement from Bayero University, Kano (BUK) regarding the expulsion of 171 students for falsifying entry results has triggered a wave of heated debate across social media. On platforms like Facebook, the reactions are deeply polarized. The nagging question from critics is: “Why now? Why wait until they are in their final year or after four years of study to expel them?”
As an alumnus of this institution, I find this line of reasoning not only flawed but fundamentally dangerous to our future in academic journey and societal growth. To understand BUK is to understand a culture built on uncompromising standards. While the university may show leniency in some administrative areas, there are three “deadly sins” that carry an automatic death sentence for one’s academic career: Examination Malpractice, Stealing, and the Falsification of Results.
The conversation needs to move beyond the “wasted years” of the students involved. We must consider the moral cost of a stolen seat. Every individual sitting in a lecture hall with a forged result is occupying a space that rightfully belonged to a qualified, honest candidate who was denied entry. In many ways, these students are no different from the corrupt public figures we criticize daily. If someone is willing to steal an educational opportunity through forgery at age nineteen, twenty or so, what will they do when they have access to public funds at forty? Dishonesty does not have a “minor” version; whether it is looting a treasury or forging a WAEC result, the root is the same: a selfish desire to bypass the system at the expense of others.
I remember my own journey, which could have taken a very different turn had I lacked the courage to stand my ground. While studying for my Diploma in Law here in Kano, I was a consistent Distinction student. However, in my final semester, I noticed an “Absent” mark against one of my courses, which threatened my standing and drop my CGPA to 4.34. When I went to the exams office for verification, a staff member of the college offered me a shortcut. He suggested that I forget about the verification and accept the 4.34 CGPA, promising the “Absent” mark would be deleted. He even tried to intimidate me, warning that if I did not accept it as it is, the formal verification is not as automatic as pass. I may find out that I failed the course from the unset.
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It was a tempting moment to take the easy way out, but I insisted on the truth. I demanded the verification. The result was an ‘A’ in that course, and my First Class standing was secured through the front door and consistency. Imagine if I had listened to that shortcut and used a manipulated result to gain admission into BUK. I would have spent five years with a ticking time bomb under my seat, living in constant fear that a routine audit would expose the flaw in my foundation.
The 171 expelled students are now facing the consequences of building a house on sand. You cannot blame the university for the timing of the discovery; the blame lies solely with the individual who committed the fraud in the first place. BUK’s verification process is thorough, and while the wheels of justice may turn slowly, they grind exceedingly fine.
To those seeking admission into Bayero University, let this be a sobering lesson. BUK is not a place for shortcuts. The university’s “no-nonsense” reputation is exactly what gives our certificates value in the professional world. If the institution began to overlook forgery simply because a student had “stayed too long,” the degree would become worthless for everyone else.
Follow the instructions. Be honest about your background. It is far better to spend an extra year getting your papers right than to spend five years earning a seat, only to be walked out of the door in disgrace on the eve year of graduation or even after graduation. In the race of life, the shortcut is often the longest way to nowhere.
Najeebullah Lawan writes from Kano and can be reached via: najeebullahlawan@gmail.com
