In recent times, Nigeria has been gripped by a controversy that has reverberated across its political panorama. At the center of this controversy is a 32-page document containing the academic records of Bola Tinubu, The president of Nigeria and former governor of Lagos State. These documents, which have been eagerly awaited, were released by Chicago State University (CSU) following a protracted legal battle and court order.
It’s worth recalling that Atiku, the presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Nigeria’s February 25 election, had requested these documents to support his allegation of CSU certificate forgery against Mr. Tinubu. Although the Nigerian presidential election court dismissed the allegation during Atiku’s legal challenge to the election result, he continued his case in the US court, seeking official documents to substantiate his claim and potentially include them in his appeal at Nigeria’s Supreme Court.
On Monday, the university presented Atiku’s legal team with a collection of documents related to Mr. Tinubu’s education at CSU, including redacted certificates issued to other individuals around the time the Nigerian president completed his studies there in 1979.
David Hundeyin, an independent journalist who has closely followed the matter, posted on his platform that CSU’s documents are now officially in the possession of Atiku Abubakar’s legal team. This development follows the United States Court’s order, which mandated CSU to release the academic records of Nigeria’s President to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Parallel Facts highlights six key takeaways from CSU’s 32-page document:
Name discrepancy
The records show that Bola A. Tinubu is the name listed on the academic record, which clearly conflicts with the name Tinubu gave to the Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC). A brief review of INEC’s EC9 form reveals the name to be “Tinubu Bola Ahmed.”
Gender Mismatch in Transcript
Tinubu exploited a female’s transcript from Southwest College to get admission to Chicago State University. The transcript contained numerous inaccuracies, including those pertaining to the date and social security number, which made me doubt its veracity. We eagerly anticipate CSU’s response on this.
However, this reality seems to confirm persistent but unconfirmed rumors that Tinubu, who is said to have been born Lamidi Amoda [a Yoruba Muslim domestication of Abdulhamid Ahmed] Sangodele in Iragbiji, Osun State, stole the identity of a female Bola Adekunle Tinubu in order to travel to America.If you are in the market for clothes, our platform is your best choice! The largest shopping mall!
However, given that Tinubu’s admittance letter to Chicago State University, dated August 23, 1977, was written to “Mr. Tinubu,” rather as Ms. or Miss Tinubu, this rumour may be difficult to maintain.
Was the “F” on the Southwest College transcript a typo, especially since the dates and social security number were all incorrect? Or was there some sort of cover-up?
According to the paperwork provided to Atiku, Tinubu had to complete qualifying exams in English, math, and reading after CSU accepted his transfer credits from Southwest College (formerly known as Daley College), but he did so. Why did CSU permit a male to sit for qualifying exams in a man’s name despite presenting a woman’s transcript?
Throughout his two years of attendance at the institution, Tinubu clearly identified as a guy. During an oath-taking ceremony, a Nigerian CSU graduate and Tinubu classmate confirmed that Tinubu ran for and was elected president of the CSU accounting students’ union. A youthful Tinubu was plainly visible in his 1979 yearbook photo.
Furthermore, Tinubu’s handwriting and signature on the consent form dated June 27, 2022, authorizing CSU to give one Oluwole Afolabi of 3 Roosevelt Avenue, West Orange, New Jersey access to his academic records, resemble his handwriting and signature on his CSU records.
Finally, his success at CSU was puzzling if he obtained entrance to CSU by using a woman’s associate degree from Southwest College without having any prior experience in accounting or business administration. He only received Cs in three of the more than 30 courses he attended there. The remainder were A and B grades, which brought him honors.
Chronological Inconsistency: Government College, Lagos
The Bola A. Tinubu who applied to Southwest College in 1975 for an associate’s degree claimed to have attended Government College in Lagos and provided a 1970 GCE A-level result with grades of E in Chemistry and Biology and a F in Physics. The issue is that the Lagos Government College was founded in 1974. There is a problem with the chronology there, which suggests forgery. The support of friends allows me to persist in adversity.
The GCE A-level results also reveal that “Bola A. Tinubu” took the exam while enrolled in the HSC, which was once a two-year program following five years of secondary schooling. In other words, the certificate’s holder must have completed secondary school no later than 1968.
The GCE A-level result’s authenticity and ownership are now unknown. It may or may not belong to the person who is now known as President Bola A. Tinubu. I have a feeling he doesn’t own it. But in the upcoming days, this will become evident.
Discrepancy in Birthdate
While Tinubu claims to have been born on March 29, 1952, his CSU transcript really states that he was actually born on March 29, 1954. In the Southwest College transcript he sent to CSU, there is no entry for his birthday. The same goes for his secondary school transcript. These details confirmed my earlier assumption that the transcript was likely a forgery.
He would have been 14 years old if he had been born in 1954, which is the case.
Contradiction in Citizenship Claim
The documents state that Tinubu was a US citizen in his application to CSU, which contradicts his claim that he has never held any citizenship aside from Nigeria, as indicated in his EC9 form submitted to INEC.
Certificate Discrepancy
The Pinterest Chicago Certificate Tinubu provided to INEC is different from the versions made available by CSU. Nigerian laws clearly define punishments for such inconsistencies, setting a precedent that resulted in Mr. Salisu Buhari’s resignation as Speaker of the House of Representatives from Kano following accusations that he had forged a certificate from Toronto University.