Will you still have your high school diploma at age 72? That’s been the question raging in Nigeria for the last few weeks as supporters of incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan demand his opponent produce proof he indeed did graduate. Retired general Muhammadu Buhari took to Twitter—20 times—to defend himself.

The whole affair underscores this much: Nigerians place a premium on educational qualifications in all areas of life from employment prospects to marriage partner choices … and, yes, to presidents. In global cities, like London, Washington, and Atlanta, it’s not unheard of to bump into a degree-laden cab driver from Nigeria— working on his PhD thesis at night. Of course, that pedigree comes up within minutes of conversation.

Tiger Mom writer Amy Chua included Nigerians in her controversial book, The Triple Package, as one of eight ethnic groups with a “superiority complex,” while also being fairly insecure and feeling the need to prove themselves.

“Nigerians earn doctorates at stunningly high rates … [these] groups have a cultural edge, which enables them to take advantage of opportunity far more than others.”  Or as the New York Times noted in an article about Chua’s book:

Nigerians make up less than 1 percent of the black population in the United States, yet in 2013 nearly one-quarter of the black students at Harvard Business School were of Nigerian ancestry; over a fourth of Nigerian-Americans have a graduate or professional degree, as compared with only about 11 percent of whites.

Read More: qz.com