By Today, the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu joins the league of septuagenarians. The former Lagos State governor and celebrated politician clocks the age of 70.
Here are ten interesting facts you should know about the Jagaban of Borgu.
1. Born on March 29, 1952 in Lagos, Nigeria, he was christened Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu. His late mother, Abibatu Mogaji was the Iyaloja of Lagos State — a position Tinubu’s eldest daughter, Folashade now holds.
2. In 1975, young Tinubu travelled to the United States of America for his tertiary education, studying at at Richard J. Daley College in Chicago, Illinois, and later at Chicago State University before he bagged his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting in 1979.
3. Tinubu cut his teeth in the professional world with stints in American companies such as Arthur Andersen, Deloitte, Haskins, & Sells, and GTE Services Corporation. Upon his return to his fatherland in 1983, he got a job at Mobil Oil Nigeria where he rose through the ranks to become an an executive.
4. His foray into politics was in the year 1992 when he was elected as the Senator representing the Lagos West constituency under the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the short-lived Nigerian Third Republic.
5. Following the infamous annulment of the June 13, 1993 presidential election, Tinubu became one of the arrowheads of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), a pro-democracy group which fought for the restoration of democracy in Nigeria.
6. In 1999, Tinubu was elected governor of Lagos State under the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD). He would go on to spend eight years in office, ending his tenure in 2007.
7. He is largely credited for his role in the political merger that birthed the All Progressives Congress (APC), a mega opposition party which sent the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) out of office after 16 years of rule.
8. After months of speculations, Tinubu who has been said to be nursing a presidential ambition, on January 10, 2022 informed President Muhammadu Buhari on his intention to succeed him in 2023.
9. Since he announced his presidential bid, he has been on a series of consultations to different parts of the country, meeting key stakeholders and soliciting for their support.
10. To mark his 70th birthday, the 13th Annual Bola Tinubu Colloquium will hold on Tuesday (today) at the Eko Hotel in Lagos. President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to grace the event.
