Journey to Tinubu’s presidency and Tinubu autobiography

President Muhammadu Buhari transfers the baton of leadership to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on May 29, 2023.

Nigeria is in a state of both anticipation and unease.

With Tinubu acquiring the presidency of Nigeria, the nation is filled with anticipation, intrigue, and anxiety.

The path to Tinubu’s presidency was fraught with obstacles and controversies, making his victory on February 25, 2023, a significant event in the country’s political history.

Prior to the June 7, 2022 presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tinubu faced numerous obstacles, according to Obasanjonews24.

Tinubu’s victory in the party’s primary election, for which he was dubbed the “Jagaban of Borgu,” defied all odds and automatically set the stage for the transition of power from President Buhari.

This unexpected turn of events sparked both anxiety and enthusiasm throughout the nation.

Critics argued that he was too elderly and lacked the required health and vitality to govern Nigeria effectively.

In addition, one of the leading candidates for the APC ballot was Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who enjoyed significant popularity among party members and young voters.

Some party members advocated for Osinbajo’s candidacy, viewing him as President Buhari’s deserving successor. However, Tinubu’s pervasive influence and savvy political maneuvering allowed him to outmaneuver his opponents and emerge as the party’s candidate, besting prominent candidates such as Osinbajo, Rotimi Amaechi, and Tunde Bakare, among others.

Chief Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu, GCFR (born March 29, 1952) is a Nigerian politician who has served as Nigeria’s 16th president since 2023. From 1999 to 2007, he served as governor of Lagos State and senator for Lagos West in the Third Republic.

Tinubu spent his formative years in southwestern Nigeria before moving to the United States to study accounting at Chicago State University. He returned to Nigeria in the early 1990s and worked as an accountant for Mobil Nigeria before entering politics in 1992 as a candidate for the Senate seat representing Lagos West under the banner of the Social Democratic Party. After dictator Sani Abacha dissolved the Senate in 1993, Tinubu joined the National Democratic Coalition movement to advocate for the restoration of democracy.

As a member of the Alliance for Democracy, Tinubu dominated the first Lagos State gubernatorial election following the transition. After four years, he was re-elected to a second term. After departing office in 2007, he was instrumental in the 2013 formation of the All Progressives Congress. He was elected president of Nigeria in 2023.

Chief Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu, GCFR (born March 29, 1952), is a Nigerian politician who has served as Nigeria’s 16th president since 2023. From 1999 to 2007, he served as governor of Lagos State and senator for Lagos West in the Third Republic.

Tinubu spent his formative years in southwestern Nigeria before moving to the United States to study accounting at Chicago State University. He returned to Nigeria in the early 1990s and worked as an accountant for Mobil Nigeria before entering politics in 1992 as a candidate for the Senate seat representing Lagos West under the banner of the Social Democratic Party. After dictator Sani Abacha dissolved the Senate in 1993, Tinubu joined the National Democratic Coalition movement to advocate for the restoration of democracy.

As a member of the Alliance for Democracy, Tinubu dominated the first Lagos State gubernatorial election following the transition. After four years, he was re-elected to a second term. After departing office in 2007, he was instrumental in the 2013 formation of the All Progressives Congress. He was elected president of Nigeria in 2023.

Background

Tinubu was born in Lagos to the merchant family of Abibatu Mogaji, who served as the yál’jà of Lagos. According to the majority of credible sources, he was born in 1952. This year of birth is occasionally contested by political opponents, who contend that he is significantly older. According to a number of credible sources, his age has not been confirmed.

Education

Before attending Children’s Home School in Ibadan, Tinubu attended St. John’s Primary School in Aroloya, Lagos. In the United States, he completed his undergraduate education, first at Richard J. Daley College in Chicago and then at Chicago State University. In 1979, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in accounting.

Early vocation

Tinubu worked for Arthur Andersen, Deloitte, and GTE Services Corporation, all American companies. After returning to Nigeria in 1983, he joined Mobil Oil Nigeria and eventually rose to the position of executive.

Early political beginnings

1991 marked the beginning of Tinubu’s political tenure, when he entered the Social Democratic Party. In 1992, he was elected to the Nigerian Third Republic’s Senate, representing the Lagos West constituency.

Tinubu became a founding member of the pro-democracy National Democratic Coalition following the annulment of the results of the June 12, 1993, presidential elections. This coalition mobilized support for the restoration of democracy and the recognition of Moshood Abiola as the winner of the June 12, 1993 election. Following General Sani Abacha’s usurpation of power as military head of state in 1994, he went into exile and returned to Nigeria in 1998 after the military dictator’s death, which ushered in the Fourth Nigerian Republic.

Bola Tinubu was a protégé of Alliance for Democracy (AD) leaders Abraham Adesanya and Ayo Adebanjo in the run-up to the 1999 elections. Ultimately, he defeated Funsho Williams and Wahab Dosunmu, a former Minister of Works and Housing, to win the AD primaries for the Lagos State governorship election. In January 1999, he ran for governor of Lagos State on the AD ticket and was ultimately elected.

State Governor of Lagos

During his eight years in office, Tinibu initiated the construction of new roads to accommodate the state’s rapidly expanding population.

In April 2003, Tinubu and a new deputy governor, Femi Pedro, won re-election to the position of governor. All other South Western provinces were won by the People’s Democratic Party in these elections. He was engaged in a dispute with the federal government controlled by Olusegun Obasanjo over whether Lagos State had the right to establish new Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) to accommodate its large population. The controversy resulted in the federal government confiscating state and local council funding. During the latter portion of his tenure in office, he engaged in ongoing conflicts with PDP figures such as Adeseye Ogunlewe, a former Lagos State senator who had become minister of works, and Bode George, the chairman of the PDP’s southwest region.

Tinubu attempted to convince the then-vice president of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, to become the leader of the Action Congress (AC) in 2006. Abubakar, a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and President Olusegun Obasanjo had recently fallen out over Abubakar’s desire to succeed Obasanjo as president. Tinubu offered Atiku Abubakar the opportunity to transfer parties and join the AC on the condition that he would serve as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate. Atiku declined the offer and, after switching to the AC, chose Senator Ben Obi from the southeast as his running companion. Even though Atiku stood for office on Tinubu’s platform, the PDP still won by an overwhelming margin.

After Femi Pedro announced his intention to compete for governor, Tinubu’s relationship with his deputy governor grew increasingly strained. In the 2007 elections, Pedro ran for governor as the AC candidate but withdrew his candidacy on the eve of the party’s nomination. He joined the Labour Party while retaining his position as vice governor. Tinubu’s term as governor of Lagos State ended on May 29, 2007, when his Action Congress successor, Babatunde Fashola, assumed office.

Pre-presidency

2007 general election

In 2009, following the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) resounding victory in the April 2007 elections, Tinubu began negotiations to unite the disparate opposition parties into a “mega-party” capable of challenging the then-ruling PDP. In March of 2009, there were allegations of an assassination conspiracy against Tinubu. In February 2013, Tinubu was one of several politicians who created a “mega opposition” party by merging Nigeria’s three largest opposition parties—the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and the new PDP (nPDP), a faction of the then-ruling People’s Democratic Party —into the All Progressives Congress (APC).

American Progressive Congress

In 2014, Tinubu supported former military head of state General Muhammadu Buhari, leader of the CPC faction of the APC, who commanded extensive support in Northern Nigeria and had previously run for president as the CPC candidate in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 elections. Tinubu initially desired to be Buhari’s vice presidential candidate but later conceded to his ally and former justice commissioner, Yemi Osibanjo. Buhari rode the APC to victory in 2015, ending the 16-year rule of the PDP and marking the first time an incumbent Nigerian president was defeated by an opposition candidate. [28]

Tinubu went on to play a crucial role in the Buhari administration, supporting government policies and maintaining internal party control despite his long-standing rumored presidential ambitions. [29] In 2019, he supported Buhari’s re-election campaign, which resulted in Atiku Abubakar’s defeat. In 2020, following an internal party crisis that resulted in the removal of Tinubu ally and party chairman Adams Oshiomole, it is believed that the move was intended to derail Tinubu’s presidential aspirations prior to 2023. [30]

2023 presidential election

Tinubu made his formal announcement of his candidacy for president on January 10, 2022.

Tinubu won the APC party convention vote on June 8, 2022, receiving 1,271 points to defeat Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Rotimi Amaechi, who received 235 and 316 points, respectively.

INEC declared Tinubu the victor of the 2023 presidential election on March 1, 2023. He was proclaimed president-elect after garnering 8,794,776 votes to defeat his rivals. Atiku Abubakar of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) received 6,984,520 ballots in second place. Peter Obi of the Labour Party received 6,101,533 ballots to place third.

Presidency (2023–present)

Constitutionally, Tinubu assumed the presidency on May 29, 2023. At 10 a.m. (WAT), the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola, will administer his oath of office as President of Nigeria at Eagle Square in the Federal Capital Territory. His government, having overcome the opposition’s legal obstacles following the March election, is widely accepted and has international legitimacy. Multiple heads of state and government are expected to witness the inauguration. Tinubu was awarded the Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic by his predecessor Muhammadu Buhari, and his Vice President Kashim Shettima was awarded the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger on May 25.

Ideology and reputation

Views

Throughout his political career, Tinubu has advocated for a comprehensive political and economic platform. The progressive ideal of Tinubu encompasses egalitarianism, social justice, freedom, and the recognition of fundamental rights. He views the state as a proponent of public welfare and its intervention in Nigerian society as necessary to ensure equality, justice, and social cohesion. This ideal is not so distant from his activism for democracy in Nigeria during the military dictatorship. The majority of international economists are still uncertain as to the nature of this political and ideological departure from Buddhism. The World Bank and IMF have emphasized the urgency for the incoming government to implement macro-structural adjustments on the magnitude of the reform of the late 1980s in order to revive the Nigerian economy in the midst of a global decline.

The Lion of Burgundy

The primary article is Lion of Bourdillon.”

Tinubu is commonly known as the “Godfather of Lagos.” The Lion of Bourdillon, a 2015 documentary emphasizing Tinubu’s political and financial grasp on the city-state, uncovered his role in manipulating the reins of the megacity-state. Tinubu has lodged a $150 billion defamation lawsuit against Africa Independent Television (AIT). The documentary’s broadcast ceased on March 6, 2015. In December 2009, it was reported that Fashola and Tinubu had fallen out over the issue of Fashola’s re-election as Governor of Lagos in 2011, with Tinubu favoring Muiz Banire as the commissioner of the environment. A similar conflict occurred in 2015 over Akinwunmi Ambode, Fashola’s successor, pitting Fashola against Tinubu, who cast his entire support behind Ambode. Ambode succeeded Fashola, was defeated by Tinubu, and was superseded by Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Indictments of malfeasance

Tinubu’s assets were sequestered by the U.S. government in 1993 as a result of a court case in which it was alleged that the U.S. government had “probable cause” to believe that Tinubu’s American bank accounts contained proceeds from narcotics trafficking. Later that year, he resolved with the U.S. government and forfeited approximately $460,000. According to court documents and subsequent reporting, he collaborated with two Chicago opiate traffickers.

In April 2007, after the general elections but prior to the inauguration of Babatunde Fashola as governor-elect, the Federal Government brought Tinubu before the Code of Conduct Bureau for the alleged illicit operation of 16 separate foreign accounts.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission exonerated Tinubu and governors James Ibori of Delta State and Obong Victor Attah of official corruption, money laundering, and abuse of office in connection with the 2004 sale of Vmobile network shares in January 2009. There were allegations in September 2009 that the British Metropolitan Police were investigating a transaction in which the Lagos State government invested in Econet (now Airtel). Tinubu stated that the transaction was straightforward, profitable for the state, and involved no middlemen. The Federal Government denied Britain’s request to divulge evidence required for further investigation and prosecution of the three ex-governors of Nigeria in a London court.

During the 2019 election, a bullion van was spotted entering Tinubu’s residence on Bourdillion Road in Ikoyi, as he explained, “I keep money anywhere I want.”

Personal sphere

In 1987, Tinubu married Oluremi Tinubu, a former senator who represented the Lagos Central senatorial district. Zainab Abisola Tinubu, Habibat Tinubu, and Olayinka Tinubu are their three offspring. He had three children from previous relationships: Kazeem Olajide Tinubu (12 October 1974–31 October 2017), Folashade Tinubu (born June 17, 1976), and Oluwaseyi Tinubu (born October 13, 1985), whose mother was reportedly the former air attendant and prophetess Bunmi Oshonike.

Abibatu Mogaji, Tinubu’s mother, passed away on June 15, 2013, at the age of 96. Son Jide Tinubu passed away in London on October 31, 2017. Tinubu is a Muslim.