Before, I didn’t think much of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu becoming President of Nigeria. He was not my ideal presidential material.
But my feelings about his presidential aspiration changed when against all odds, odds that would have made lesser souls buckle under, Tinubu fought like a wounded lion and took 2023 APC presidential ticket by fire by force.
That audacity of his appealed to me, because I share that fighting spirit. And I then asked myself, being of same party as Tinubu, what other choice have I than to support the winner of my party’s presidential primary who has demonstrated capacities to go all the way to general electoral victory?
However, just as I was consulting tens of thousands of members of Jideofo 2023 (my 2023 presidential campaign movement by which I had wanted to win 2023 presidential election but had to suspend my aspiration on personal reasons), for us to re-brand for Tinubu support, news of Tinubu’s certificates or lack of them broke.
I believe that Tinubu attended both primary and secondary schools. Why would he not in a part of Nigeria that always cherished education and even implemented free education policy at primary school level at least during his time?
How would he not have attended secondary school when he travelled to the United States to do high school and university? How did he gain admission into those foreign schools if he had no O-Level results?
Yes, I also believe that Tinubu attended high school and university in the United States. So, why the hullabaloo about his school certificates?
I think that Tinubu does not want to say the primary and secondary schools he attended and when exactly because he doesn’t want things like his original name, his real age, his parentage, his state of origin and perhaps also his grades in the various school exams to become known.
But why should those considerations continue to burden his heart? If he changed his name, would he be the first person to do so? If he is older than the 69/70 he claimed recently, why should he hide his real age? Even if he is 80, would that stop his supporters from voting for him?
If Tinubu’s real parents were not educated and rich with big names, why should Tinubu be apologetic about that? If Tinubu is originally from Osun State, would he be the first person to ’emigrate’ and assume indigeneship of another state?
I really don’t get the secrecy that threatens Tinubu’s hard-won APC presidential ticket and even threaten our party’s participation in the 2023 presidential election.
If I were Tinubu, I would immediately come clean on all relevant and essential aspects of my background. I think that he might become more popular for his honesty and bravery in coming clean.
But if coming clean would cost him support (which I don’t think it would), I would still come clean and unburden myself of unnecessary fears. It is better in life to live a simple and straightforward life than a complicated one.
Jideofo 2023 would stand by and fight with Tinubu to 2023 electoral victory on a platform of honesty and integrity, but would be uncomfortable with campaigning for someone afraid of telling the essential truths about himself and his background.
•Written By Dr Chinedu Jideofo-Ogbuagu
