OPINION: Age Falsification — The Silent Fraud No One Talks About - By Tosin Agbelusi.

Nnaji.

 A week or two ago, I wrote about Certificate Forgery — inspired by the story of a minister who resigned in a controversial way. That post ruffled a few feathers – yes, I know! But truth be told, certificate forgery in Nigeria isn’t new. Still, today, I want to hit another stone: Age Falsification.

Did you just shout “Ahhh”? Exactly. That’s how I felt too. It seems normal now because most people are doing it, right? All you need is an affidavit! And that’s all! It doesn’t even matter if you don’t know how to draft it — there are people whose trade is to help you “adjust” your age. And what baffles me the most is that they can even get any court of law to stamp it! That stamp becomes like a holy seal — and suddenly, you’re the new age you want to be. With a few thousand naira, many go on legally lying about their new age. Period!

Go to the ministries, departments and agencies and you’ll hear the same excuse: 👉 “You have to reduce your age to stay longer or to be hired.” Imagine a fifty-something year’s old lying to be twenty-five just because you want to get into the police force by force by fire? What a shame! And whenever a high-ranking person is caught in the web of politics – your voice becomes the loudest on the internet. Where is your shame, bro?  

Nobody wants to leave the stage when it’s time to go. Never! Everyone wants to leave only when they’ve “finished everything.” “I don’t care if it does not get to the turn of another person – its okay for me and family alone”. Is this not the situation we currently find ourselves today? 

Sometimes, I wonder why age falsification is seen today as a lesser evil than certificate forgery. Both are crimes. Both are moral failures. Yet, we raise alarms about one and shrug off the other. For every falsified age, there’s a glory being denied and a destiny being delayed.

I strongly believe that millions of job openings — at national, state, and local levels — could be created if ages were honestly reported and properly enforced.

This is not just a personal integrity issue; it’s a national development crisis. Our workforce data is distorted, our succession plans are delayed, and our young people are left waiting for opportunities that may never come.

I challenge our Demographers, Statisticians, and Data Scientists to rise to this ugly trend — and to consider developing a localized AI model that can help detect and address age falsification in Nigeria’s labour market. This issue, what I call the “Siddon Tight Syndrome,” continues to choke our national progress. It makes planning for the younger generation nearly impossible.

What is the result? A generation of university graduates growing hopeless about employment — because no one knows when the current generation will finally vacate their seats. It’s time to face this truth: When we lie about our age, we don’t just cheat the system — we rob the next generation of their tomorrow.

A Culture of Deception. Almost every stage of life has been touched by this quiet deception: 🎓 People falsify ages to enter schools. 💼 People falsify again to get jobs. 🧾 And then falsify once more to remain in service long after they should have retired.

But if there’s any generation that should be truly angry, it’s the younger generation — the ones whose opportunities are being stolen in plain sight. They have every reason to be angry with the older generations. For too long a time, the older generations have stolen their glory through different means of age falsifications. 

Every time someone lies to remain in service, a younger person loses a chance. Every time a document is manipulated to extend tenure, a dream is delayed — or denied.

Why Do We Do It? Some say it’s because the system is broken. Others say it’s survival. But let’s be honest — how do we fix a broken system with more dishonesty?  Beyond age falsification, we see the same rot elsewhere.

Why would an outlet owner change expiry dates on products just to keep selling them? We can’t keep preaching integrity and national renewal while building our lives on falsification.

That’s hypocrisy of the highest order. What is the Real Cost? Age falsification doesn’t just distort records — it distorts the future. It tells young people, “You can cheat and get away with it.”

And when that message spreads, we lose something more precious than jobs — we lose trust. This isn’t just about birthdays or certificates. It’s about values, leadership, and conscience.

So yes, it may look normal. It may even look smart.

But the truth is, every falsified record steals from tomorrow — and one day, the same system we gamed today will turn against us.

Let’s be honest with ourselves — and with time. Because time, no matter how we write it, always catches up. ⏳

Let me ask those age falsifiers: Would you also get an extended life with your new “affidavit age”?

Just de play! 😄