Former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Professor Chidi Odinkalu, has raised fresh questions about President Bola Tinubu’s educational and personal background, arguing that Nigerians have not been provided with sufficient information about his early life.
Odinkalu made the remarks while discussing Tinubu’s political career and the controversies that have surrounded questions about the President’s background.
He argued that Tinubu was unlike previous Nigerian leaders whose educational histories, teachers and former classmates could be readily identified.
“This man is a total mischief, he is the only Nigerian President who does not have people he went to school with, the only Nigerian leader in our entire history.”
Odinkalu compared Tinubu’s publicly documented history with those of earlier Nigerian presidents and military leaders, including Nnamdi Azikiwe, Tafawa Balewa, Aguiyi Ironsi, Yakubu Gowon, Murtala Mohammed, Olusegun Obasanjo, Shehu Shagari and Muhammadu Buhari.
According to him, details about the education and early careers of those leaders are available through historical records and personal accounts.
He specifically referenced former President Buhari, saying former schoolmates from Daura visited him after he became President.
“Count every President down to Buhari we know who they were and their schools and as a matter of fact when Buhari became President, his school mates from Daura visited him.”
Odinkalu argued that the absence of comparable publicly identifiable schoolmates associated with Tinubu raises questions that deserve greater public scrutiny.
“Tinubu is the only President in our history who does not have school mates and none of whose school mates have ever dreamt of taking pride in his ascension to the presidency.”
He also questioned Tinubu’s nationality and referred to the controversy surrounding a Guinean passport associated with the President.
“Which country does he come from, we actually don’t know because at the time he ran for President, Tinubu had a passport from Guinea.”
However, the passport claim requires context. Tinubu’s possession of a Guinean passport has been reported and debated publicly, but the existence of a foreign passport by itself does not establish that he was not a Nigerian citizen or constitutionally ineligible to contest the presidency.
Nigeria’s Constitution sets out specific requirements for presidential eligibility, including Nigerian citizenship. Questions surrounding Tinubu’s nationality and eligibility have previously been litigated and debated during and after the 2023 presidential election.
Odinkalu nevertheless argued that Tinubu’s background deserved greater scrutiny, describing the questions surrounding the President as part of what he called a broader “mystery”.
“Does it not bother you? This is more than a drug story because it’s part of a larger mystery of a man whom we have in the presidency.”
He ended by asking:
“Is he from Nigeria?”
Tinubu’s educational history has been the subject of political and legal controversy for years. His opponents have repeatedly questioned aspects of his academic records, while his supporters have defended his credentials and eligibility.
Tinubu has identified himself as a graduate of Chicago State University, and the institution has previously confirmed that he attended the university and received a degree in accounting in 1979.
The President’s educational records have also featured prominently in legal proceedings surrounding the 2023 presidential election, including cases in Nigeria and proceedings involving requests for records from Chicago State University in the United States.
Odinkalu’s latest comments therefore reopen several long-running political arguments surrounding Tinubu’s background, but his statements about the absence of schoolmates and the implications of a Guinean passport remain his assertions and should not be treated as established facts without supporting evidence.
The comments come as political debate around Tinubu’s administration and the 2027 presidential election continues to intensify, with opposition figures and government critics increasingly scrutinising the President’s record and personal history.
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