Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu (born 29 March 1952) is a Nigerian politician serving as the 16th and current president of Nigeria since 2023. He previously served as the governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007 and senator for Lagos West in the Third Republic.

Tinubu spent his early life in southwestern Nigeria and later moved to the United States where he studied accounting at Chicago State University. He returned to Nigeria in the 1980s and was employed by Mobil Nigeria as an accountant, before entering politics as a Lagos West senatorial candidate in 1992 under the Social Democratic Party.

After the military dictator Sani Abacha dissolved the Senate in 1993, Tinubu went into exile and became an activist campaigning for the return of democracy as part of the National Democratic Coalition movement. In the first post-transition Lagos State gubernatorial election, Tinubu won by a wide margin as a member of the Alliance for Democracy. Four years later, he won re-election to a second term.

After leaving office in 2007, he played a key role in forming the All Progressives Congress in 2013. In 2023, he was elected president, defeating Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi. Under his leadership, the government ended prior fuel subsidies, dissolved governing boards of numerous federal agencies and state-owned enterprises, and supported regional efforts to respond to the 2025 Benin coup d'état while engaging with security cooperation with the United States against the Islamic State.

Tinubu was born in Lagos to a Muslim family from the Yoruba ethnic group, the son of Abibatu Mogaji, the Ìyál'ọ́jà of Lagos. His age has been sometimes disputed, though he is generally accepted to have been born in 1952. Tinubu attended St. John's Primary School, Aroloya, Lagos before proceeding to Children Home School in Ibadan.

He arrived in the United States in 1975, where he commenced undergraduate studies first at Richard J. Daley College in Chicago and then at Chicago State University, majoring in accounting and management. He worked various odd jobs to support himself through college, made the honor dean’s list, and taught remedial tutorials. He was the university accounting society president in his senior year with a cumulative GPA of 3.54.

Tinubu graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1979. After graduation, he worked as an accountant for American companies Arthur Andersen, Deloitte, and GTE Services Corporation. At Deloitte, he gained experience in auditing and management consultancy services for Fortune 500 corporations. He was a consultant for Saudi Aramco’s joint venture partner National Oil, helping establish their accounting system.

Tinubu moved to London, where he was recruited as an auditor for Mobil Oil UK, later joining Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (now Seplat Energy) as a senior company executive and treasurer in the 1980s. He actively contributed to community development programs in Lagos through Primrose Group. His political career began in 1991 when he joined the Social Democratic Party and campaigned for Moshood Abiola’s candidacy.

In 1992, he was elected to the Senate, representing Lagos West. After the 1993 election results were annulled, he became a founding member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), campaigning for democracy. Following Sani Abacha’s military takeover, Tinubu faced arrests, detentions, and threats, leading him to flee Nigeria in 1994. He returned in 1998 after Abacha’s death, winning the 1999 Lagos State gubernatorial election as a member of the Alliance for Democracy.

As governor, Tinubu survived clashes with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) over his creation of 37 additional Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs). He won re-election in 2003, despite PDP dominance in the South West. His tenure included road construction and awards for governance, including the Best Governor in Nigeria for 2000.

In 2006, Tinubu attempted to persuade Atiku Abubakar to join his new party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), but Atiku declined, choosing a South Eastern running mate. Despite this, PDP won the election, and relations with his deputy, Femi Pedro, became tense. In 2009, following PDP’s landslide victory, Tinubu became involved in negotiations to form a mega-opposition party.

He later endorsed Nuhu Ribadu and Fola Adeola as ACN presidential candidates in 2011. In 2013, he helped merge opposition parties into the All Progressives Congress (APC). Tinubu supported General Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, helping APC win the presidency. He remained influential in the Buhari administration, though his presidential aspirations were reportedly scuttled by internal party moves in 2020.

On 10 January 2022, Tinubu formally announced his candidacy for president. He won the APC convention vote on 8 June 2022, defeating Yemi Osinbajo and Rotimi Amaechi. INEC declared him winner on 1 March 2023, with 8,794,726 votes, defeating Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi. The election was marred by reports of vote buying, intimidation, and fraud.

Tinubu was sworn in on 29 May 2023, ending decades of fuel subsidies and suspending Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank governor. He also purged military leadership and appointed Nuhu Ribadu as National Security Adviser. His economic policies, Tinubunomics, aim to overhaul Nigeria’s economy, though critics and international observers await further details.

Tinubu has faced criticism for alleged nepotism, such as appointing his daughter’s husband as head of the Federal Housing Authority in 2024. He has also been accused of strong-arming politics, including conflicts with former Lagos governor Babatunde Fashola over gubernatorial succession. Tinubu’s presidency has been marked by controversies, including a 2025 coup plot and U.S. military intervention in Nigeria.