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Over 2,000 Nigerians Sign Petition Asking Yale University To Withdraw Okonjo-Iweala’s Doctorate
by Musa Abdullahi
Thousands of Nigerians had Thursday signed a petition asking Yale University to withdraw the honorary doctorate degree awarded to Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
NewsWireNGR recalls that Yale University awarded 9 honorary degrees to individuals who have achieved distinction in their respective fields and a Nigerian Minister was among the awardees..
Nigeria’s Minister of Finance Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, was awarded a doctor of humane letters by the institution for tackling corruption and the growth of the Nigerian economy.
Okonjo-Iweala had been awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters on Monday, May 18, 2015 during Yale’s Commencement ceremony in New Haven, Connecticut, alongside eight others.
The petition, which is being hosted on Change.org, the world’s largest petition platform, was started by a Nigerian resident in the United States, one Sunday Iwalaiye.
When the petitioner kicked off the movement, the signatures had trickled in by the seconds but they have since leaped to over 2,000, with more probably on the way.
Tagged “Yale University gave its prestigious honorary doctorate degree to an undeserving Nigerian,” the petition reads in part: “There is no tangible evidence of any economic development in Nigeria under the leadership of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (sic) in all reality.
“Nigeria’s economy is still an oil-dependent economy that is debt and borrowing ridden as well as 100% consuming and importing in nature.”
