Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a Nigerian accountant and politician who has been the national leader of the All Progressives Congress since the party’s formation in 2013.
He previously served as the Governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007 and Senator for Lagos West during the brief Third Republic. In January 2022, he announced his intention to run for the APC nomination for President of Nigeria in the 2023 presidential election.
Tinubu was born on 29 March 1952 in Osun State, Nigeria. His mother, Abibatu Mogaji, was a trader that later became the Iyaloja of Lagos State.
He attended St. John’s Primary School, Aroloya, Lagos, and Children’s Home School in Ibadan, South West of Nigeria. Tinubu then went to the United States in 1975, where he studied first at Richard J. Daley College in Chicago, Illinois, and then at Chicago State University.
He graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.
Tinubu worked for the American companies Arthur Andersen, Deloitte, Haskins, & Sells, and GTE Services Corporation After returning to Nigeria in 1983, Bola Tinubu joined Mobil Oil Nigeria, and later became an executive of the company.
His political career began in 1992 when he joined the Social Democratic Party where he was a member of the Peoples Front faction led by Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and made up of other politicians such as Umaru Yar’Adua, Atiku Abubakar, Baba Gana Kingibe, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila, Magaji Abdullahi, Dapo Sarumi and Yomi Edu.
Full Name: Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu
Date of Birth: 29 March 1952 70 years
Place of Birth: Lagos, Nigeria
Religion: Muslim
Occupation: Accountant, politician
Nationality: Nigeria
Net-worth: $32.7 billion
Spouse: Oluremi Tinubu
Political Career:
He was elected to the Senate, representing the Lagos West constituency in the short-lived Nigerian Third Republic.
After the results of the 12 June, 1993 presidential elections were annulled, Tinubu became a founding member of the pro-democracy National Democratic Coalition, a group which mobilized support for the restoration of democracy and recognition of Moshood Abiola as winner of the 12 June election.
Following the seizure of power as military head of state of General Sani Abacha, he went into exile in 1994 and returned to the country in 1998 after the death of the military dictator, which ushered in the transition to the Fourth Nigerian Republic.
In January 1999, he stood for the position of Governor of Lagos State on the AD ticket and was elected governor.
Personal Life:
Tinubu is a Muslim. He is married to Oluremi Tinubu, the current senator of the Lagos Central senatorial district. His nephew, Adewale Tinubu is the CEO of Oando.
Tinubu’s mother Abibatu Mogaji, died on 15 June 2014, at the age of 96. On 31 October 2017, his son Jide Tinubu had a heart attack while in London and was later confirmed dead.
Awards:
Thinkers Magazine Man of the Year Award – 2015
Silverbird Man of the Year Award – 2015
Pillar of Culture in Africa at the AFRIMA Awards – 2105
Champion of Democracy Award at the Global Village Extra Seminar and Awards Night, United States of America – 2016
Grand Commander Worthy Leader of the Order of Niger (GCWLON) by the Osun Concerned Women Forum (GCWF) – 2018