Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a Nigerian politician who has played a prominent role in the country’s political landscape since the late 1990s. He was born on March 29, 1952, in Lagos, Nigeria to a middle-class family, and grew up in the city’s Mushin district.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu attended St. John’s Primary School, Aroloya, Lagos, and Children’s Home School in Ibadan before proceeding to St. Paul’s School in Lagos. He then went on to study at the prestigious Government College in Ibadan, where he excelled academically.
After completing his secondary education, Tinubu attended the Richard J. Daley College in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. He later transferred to the Chicago State University, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting in 1979. He later obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the same institution. He then returned to Nigeria to begin his career in the private sector.
After completing his studies in the United States, Bola Ahmed Tinubu returned to Nigeria and started working with Mobil Oil Nigeria, where he worked for three years. He later left the company and went into business, establishing several companies, including Ocean Petroleum and the estate management firm, Alpha-Beta Consulting.
Tinubu’s foray into politics began in the early 1990s, when he joined the pro-democracy movement that was calling for the restoration of democracy in Nigeria after years of military dictatorship. He became a prominent member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), a group that campaigned for the return of democracy in Nigeria. During this period, he was arrested several times by the military authorities and spent time in detention.
In 1992, Tinubu was elected to the Senate of Nigeria, representing the Lagos West constituency. He was a vocal critic of the military regime at the time and played a leading role in the campaign for the return of democracy. He was also a member of the Senate’s committees on Banking, Finance, and Appropriations.
In 1999, Nigeria returned to civilian rule after several years of military dictatorship. Tinubu, who had by then joined the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), contested for the governorship of Lagos State in the first democratic elections held in the country in over a decade. He won the election and was sworn in as the governor of Lagos State on May 29, 1999.
As governor of Lagos State, Tinubu introduced several reforms aimed at improving the state’s infrastructure and boosting its economy. Bola Ahmed Tinubu also invested heavily in education and healthcare, and his administration built several new schools and hospitals across the state. His government also introduced several social welfare programs, including a micro-credit scheme aimed at providing financial assistance to small-scale entrepreneurs.
Tinubu was re-elected as governor of Lagos State in 2003 and served a second term in office. During this period, he continued to implement policies aimed at improving the state’s infrastructure and economic development. He also worked to improve the state’s security by investing in the police and other law enforcement agencies.
After leaving office as governor in 2007, Tinubu remained a prominent figure in Nigerian politics. He became the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), a political party that later merged with other opposition parties to form the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In the run-up to the 2015 presidential election in Nigeria, Tinubu played a key role in the formation of the APC and the selection of Muhammadu Buhari as the party’s presidential candidate. Buhari went on to win the election, defeating the incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan, and becoming the first opposition candidate to win a presidential election in Nigeria’s history.
Tinubu remains a significant political figure in Nigeria, and his influence on the country’s politics cannot be overstated. Bola Ahmed Tinubu has played a pivotal role in the formation and success of the APC, and his political savvy and strategic thinking have helped to shape the direction of the country’s politics over the past two decades.
He won the President-elect in the 2023 presidential election and declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). However, Tinubu’s political career and 2023 election victory under the APC have not been without controversy. His opponents Mr. Peter Obi of Labour Party and Atiku Abubakar of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have since challenged the results in court.
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