A former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has questioned President Bola Tinubu’s educational background and personal history.
Odinkalu described Tinubu as the only Nigerian president whose classmates and schools remain unknown.
The former NHRC chairman made the remarks while raising questions about what he described as unresolved gaps surrounding Tinubu’s background and the information contained in his electoral records.
According to him, Tinubu’s educational history is difficult to trace because he did not provide details of the primary and secondary schools he attended on the forms submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He argued that, unlike previous Nigerian Presidents whose schools, classmates, teachers and career histories are publicly documented, Tinubu’s educational history remains largely unclear.
Odinkalu said Nigerians could identify the schools attended by Nigeria’s first Prime Minister, Tafawa Balewa, as well as his classmates and teachers.
He similarly noted that the educational and professional histories of former President Nnamdi Azikiwe and military leaders such as Aguiyi Ironsi, Yakubu Gowon and Murtala Mohammed were documented.
The former NHRC chairman also cited former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Shehu Shagari and Muhammadu Buhari, saying information about their educational and professional backgrounds was available.
He recalled that when Buhari became president, some of his former schoolmates from Daura visited him, describing such events as evidence of the traceable relationships surrounding previous Nigerian leaders.
But Odinkalu said Tinubu was an exception, claiming that no classmates had publicly emerged to celebrate his rise to the presidency.
He said, “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 also questioned Tinubu’s nationality and referred to controversies surrounding a Guinean passport allegedly associated with the President before he contested the 2023 presidential election.
He argued that the issues surrounding Tinubu’s background went beyond controversies over allegations previously raised about his identity and education.
“This is more than a drug story because it’s part of a larger mystery of a man whom we have in the presidency. Is he from Nigeria?” he asked.
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