“If Nigeria Had a President, the Minister Would Have Been Sacked” — Aisha Yesufu Slams Government Over JAMB Glitches

 

Popular Nigerian activist and vocal government critic, Aisha Yesufu, has once again called out the leadership of the country—this time over the recent massive failures recorded during the 2025 JAMB examination. In her reaction to the situation, she didn’t hold back, saying that if Nigeria truly had a functioning presidency, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, would have been fired immediately.

The controversy stems from a shocking confession made by the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, during a press conference held in Abuja on Tuesday, May 14.

During the press briefing, an emotional Prof. Oloyede broke down in tears as he openly admitted that there were serious technical glitches during the conduct of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). These technical issues, according to him, severely impacted students in all five South-East states as well as Lagos State, leading to widespread poor results among candidates from those areas.

“There were glitches,” Oloyede said, “and we deeply regret the impact it had on students, especially in the South East and Lagos. It’s something we take responsibility for.”

This admission has triggered a wave of criticism from Nigerians, especially from those who feel that students from certain regions are being unfairly affected or neglected by the system.

One of the loudest voices reacting to this development is Aisha Yesufu, co-founder of the #BringBackOurGirls movement and a long-time advocate for good governance and accountability in Nigeria. She took to X (formerly Twitter) to express her outrage, directing her criticism not just at JAMB but at the Federal Ministry of Education and the Nigerian leadership as a whole.

Here’s what she posted on her verified X handle:

“If Nigeria had a President, the Minister of Education would have been sacked by now!”

With that single sentence, Yesufu highlighted what many Nigerians feel — that there is a lack of accountability at the highest levels of government. Her statement suggests that in any serious or well-functioning democracy, such a grave error in a critical national exam would have had immediate consequences, starting with the resignation or removal of the education minister.

JAMB is a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Education, and the Minister, Dr. Tunji Alausa, is expected to oversee its operations and ensure its integrity. Yesufu’s position is that the failure of JAMB in this case reflects a broader failure in leadership and governance.

This is not the first time Aisha Yesufu is speaking out boldly on national issues. She has become known for her unfiltered takes on political matters, often challenging top government officials and institutions to do better by the Nigerian people.

Many Nigerians have since echoed her sentiments, especially students, parents, and educators from the affected states. There are growing calls on social media for the Federal Government to conduct a full-scale investigation into the UTME failures, to release accurate data on the number of affected candidates, and to ensure that students are not unfairly punished for failures that were no fault of theirs.

As things stand, there has been no official statement from the Ministry of Education regarding Yesufu’s comments or whether any disciplinary actions will be taken against JAMB officials or the minister himself.

But one thing is clear: Nigerians are watching — and they want answers.