Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu(BAT): The Memoir Of An Icon

 

            Bola Ahmed Tinubu was born in Lagos on March 29th, 1952, to a Muslim family from the Yoruba ethnic group in Nigeria. He is the only child of the one time Iya-Oloja of Lagos state, Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji. Tinubu's early life, education,work and finances are unclear and, at times challenged. He  attended St. John Primary school, Aroloya, Lagos State before proceeding to Children Home School in Ibadan, Oyo State. Other details about his education includes Richard J. Daley college and Chicago State Univeristy, where he earned a B.S. in Business and Administration in 1979. He worked as an accountant for a few years before deciding to join politics.

           Tinubu has through out his political career espoused a comprehensive, political and econimic platform. Tinubu's ideal of progressivism  inclues the values of  egalitarianism, soical justice, liberty and the recognition of fundamental human right. He viewed the state as a positive advocate for the public welfare and its intervention in Nigeiran society as necesssary to ensure equality, justice and social harmony. His ideal is not to far removed from his activism of democracy during the military dictatorship in Nigeria. It is believed that Bola Ahmed Tinubu was one of the fore-fronters that propagated democracy and championed the country to a new state of democracy and independence after the last military rule. In 1987 he married his wife, Oluremi Tinubu and  is the father of six children.

         Tinubu was elected to the Lagos West senate seat in 1992 as part of Social Democratic Party (SDP). In the wake of the country's annulled presidential election in 1993 and Gen. Sani Abacha’s subsequent seizure of power later that year, Tinubu became active in a pro-democracy group, the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). He was initially jailed for his pro-democracy activities before fleeing in exile in 1994; he returned to Nigeria after Abacha’s death in 1998. He succeeded  Colonel  Mohammed Buba Marwa after winning the Gubernational elections in 1999 and he was succeeded by Babatunde Raji Fashola in 2007 who is also now a minister and an elderly stateman. 

           Bola Ahmed Tinubu contested for the 2023 presidential election in feburary and won the elections ahead of Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, alongside Rabiu Kwankwaso all from the People Democratic Party(PDP), the Labour Party and the New Nigerian people party(NNPP) respectively. Like the other candidates, Tinubu focused his campaign on the main concerns of Nigerians: the increasing insecurity in the country as well as economic issues such as inflation and unemployment. He also vowed to make much needed infrastructure  improvements. Tinubu campaigned with the slogan “Emi lokan”—Yoruban for “It’s my turn”—which irritated some voters who thought it signaled a sense of entitlement to the presidency. Others were bothered by his deviation from the tradition of having a mixed-faith ticket: instead of selecting a Christian running mate, Tinubu chose Kashim Shettima, who was Muslim like himself. Some voters were also concerned about his overall fitness for the office, citing his age and rumours of poor health.

           The electoral commission declared Tinubu the winner, reporting that he had taken the largest percentage of the votes—almost 37 percent—and had satisfied the requirement of winning at least 25 percent of the vote in two-thirds of the country’s 36 states and Abuja Federal Capital Territory. His victory was immediately disputed by opposition candidates, who cited the problems noted by observers, and later challenged the results in court. Meanwhile, Tinubu was sworn in as president on May 29, 2023. 

       The president also holds many chieftancy titles, including Asiwaju of Lagos, Aare if Ile Oluji, Eze Obalu Gawu na Oko, Jagaban of Borgu, Are-Ago of Egbaland and Wakilin Raya Emir of Gusau.